Posted by Kenneth Sloan on September 06, 2002 at 17:28:10:
In Reply to: Re: If handmade is better - why? posted by N.Dwyer on September 06, 2002 at 10:46:46:
I think it's more subtle than that.
A manufacturer can afford to commit to the tooling for machine-made instruments
if (AND ONLY IF) there will be a fairly large market for that particular model.
From this point of view, "machine made" indicates "mass market", and "hand made" indicates "speciality product".
The absolute quality can go either way. The "hand made" product can be much better, or much worse, than the machine made one - but it is almost certainly something that only
a (relatively) few people are likely to purchase.
So...if you are one of the few who really needs a particular style of instrument, then "hand made" isyour only choice. If "machine made" models fit your needs, I think it unlikely that you will be in the market for "hand made".