Dylan. I recognize you're into new territory, inasmuch with scratch built. I'm a retired police officer. Before my policing career, I was an automotive mechanic. The hours and hours I put in studying law and police policies paid off. The hours and hours I put into studying automotive service and repair paid off. Your time spent in growing your business will pay off too. Keep at it.
QC makes or breaks a business with physical products. Especially in an industry where the consumer is going to inspect everything in detail. You’re doing the right thing.
Super smart move! Having QC control is extremely important in both time and cost savings for you over the coarse of time and even more importantly allows you to create a much better and consistent product (pickups) for your customers! Win-win!
There are absolutely things they could do to not have to deal with the laser residue, and the inconsistency is likely due to the laser kerf, if they're cutting multiple sheets the ones further from the focal point will be too loose and the ones at the focal point will be too tight. My girlfriend actually works in the laser cutting industry.
In the world of electronics, you really do get what you pay for. The more you can do in house, the more you can cut certain costs for your business. Congrats Dylan, this is the way.
Nicely done. I like quality parts. You’ve definitely made a big investment, but if you keep making top quality pickups, someday you may have 3 or 4 of those things running 24-7. I’ve always said I’d rather apologize for my price than for my quality. Stay true to your mission and good things will happen.
Level up! I hope you recoup this many times over. And yeah, consistency is king. Dies wear out and the shapes they cut change. Lasers don't. Go,, Dylan!
Very cool, I remember touring the G&L factory when they first started laser cutting their own bobbins back in 2008 or 09. Don't know about now, but back then they still wax potted with an electric skillet. Are you going to do your own P-90 bobbins too?
I am wondering if it wouldn't have been more cost effective to have a die made. Like the old school way. Then you take a wooden mallet, set it on the material and smack it with the mallot on an oak table. I worked at USDA in the late 80's early 90's these dies exist and someone made them. I got a feeling the old school way would be much cheaper and quicker. As usual.
wow ! what a cool view behind the curtain(or, as a former employer said, a peak behind the kimono...) ! thanks. i am a very amateur pickup winder. i have been wondering about tonal qualities of aluminum magnet wire. not finding it in gauges smaller than 28 awg. am i just being a mega dork ? or, is this something that is actually interesting ? thanks, steve
I appreciate your dedication to quality. You seem to be following a sustainable innovation model: Building brand equity by delivering on your brand promise better than your competition, in order to drive profitable growth. Then investing in innovation and Brand.
Congrats on the Lazer . I think in the long run it will save you time and money, due to the fact that you won't have to throw away part's that you paid for. Can I ask why the material that you cut matters ? How does it affect the pickup?
Years ago I built snowboards. In order to do my own graphics on the plastics, I had to teach myself dye sublimation printing and color calibration for a 3 stage dye transfer process. Took months and a lot of wasted materials. Also had to teach myself how to run a CNC router and to do the CAD/CAM design and cutting both forms and parts with BobCAD software on my 4x8 vacuum table router. Unfortunately USA-made costs make it almost impossible to compete with Burton and others who sell boards sourced in CCP or Dubai for production cost $75 each and sold in USA and Europe for $600-1000. In the end sold my equipment and moved on to other things, in part because the building where I had my shop was put up for sale and all tenants were evicted. I spent 6 months looking for a suitable location I could afford to move into and could not find one. It was a 'side business' at the time and I could not do it full time so had to make a choice. I learned a lot in those experiences. The biggest thing is new respect for color press operators and their color techs. It is WAY harder and more complex than doing CAD/CAM. That laser looks like a lot of fun and there is a ton of other stuff you can do with them too.
You probably could have saved some time and money. You can get a diode laser for less than $1,000 that will cut that flatwork material to the same precision as your CO2 unit. Also, you didn't have to draw the designs from scratch. I found downloadable STL files for the flatwork. It took about 10 minutes with my CAD and laser software to covert those to DXF files that my laser can read. Now admittedly, your 40W or 80W CO2 laser can do a lot of things that a 10W diode laser can't do, and it will work a lot faster than a lower powered diode unit, but you didn't have to spend five figures to laser cut vulcanized paper. Also, did they tell you that the laser tube on a CO2 laser is a consumable?
If all I was going to do was cut paper I’d have gotten a pair of scissors. Also… sure there are a lot of drawings out there … but I wasn’t satisfied with them
@@DylanTalksTone What kind of software are you using. Lightburn is pretty full featured and I think it's only $60. It even has some drawing features. One thing that I would recommend when you are fine tuning the fit of parts is cut samples out of cardboard. It cuts very fast and is rigid enough for making mockups. As for the drawings out there, it's a mixed bag. Some are accurate, others are not. Even the inaccurate ones, though, can be templates for designing your own parts, like adjusting the size and location of holes in the DXF file, modifying lines and curves, etc. One of the nice things about Lightburn is that you can import an image and then use that as a template over which you can use the app's drawing tools. Have you thought about offering custom engraving on metal pickup covers? I haven't tried doing nickel or chrome myself, but I assume that you'd need some kind of laser marking spray. Those absorb enough energy to be able to use relatively low powered lasers to mark metals. The actual laser marking paints can be pretty expensive, but there are lower cost alternatives like dry moly lube, which in my experience works just about as well as the specialty laser stuff. Have fun with your new toy. I'm sure you'll find all sorts of things you can do with it. Are you going to offer custom engraving on pickup covers? I bought my current laser specifically to cut the pickup magnets for the Harmonicaster electric harmonica but I use it for a lot of stuff. I know Billy Davis, who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (he played on Hank Ballard's original recording of The Twist) and just had his 86th birthday. I found a photo of an album cover online that he had autographed, and was able to use my laser to engrave his signature on a guitar strap as a gift.
I did the same thing as you did, except there are lot of laser cut vendors in my Hometown and the service charge were cheap ($0.02/piece) off course I had to provide the materials by myself. However, the issue with vulcanized fiber board is that it's not so durable and often bends through the time, so i am thinking to switched into other materials type and methods such as 3D print or FR4 cut (same board as PCB, the manufacturing process also done by PCB manufacture). I agree that laser cut might be super fun, but this method also limited to lack of type materials that could be cut by the machine, such as it would be EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to work with materials like PVC, Nylon, or any kind of fiber (FR4 or Ebonit).
Thanks for sharing this video Dylan. It’s really cool to see you sharing how you continue to refine your processes in the name of better quality and craftsmanship, especially on your already established products. To me it shows two things: 1) your business acumen to improve manufacturing costs thru higher quality yields, and 2) that you care about providing consistent quality product to the customer. I’m excited to see your growth and what you have in store for us next!
I think he said about the extraction in part of the video. I always thought you put a ply deck on your laser cutter which stops small stuff falling through and prolongs the life of the device. They had this at the Uni I work at
You’re not alone, dude. Just depends on where the microphone is, really. If the mic is right there, next to the mouth…capturing every gulp, every chomp, every swish in full stereo…then, yeah, it’s rather unpleasant. However, if the person is using a room mic, sitting a few feet away….it’s not so bad. I mean, we watch people on TV and in movies consume all the time. Ultimately, it’s no big deal…unless they’re chomping away the entire damn video with that mic right next to the mouth…lol.
You seem to be whining about learning CNC production this whole video.?. And then you admit that you have to wash your own production flats. Then you admit learning CNC is creative. But you whine about it.
Whining? I’m not sure what you consider whining where you come from… but I am so excited about this and I’m having a BLAST. This whole process is fantastic…. If you are seeing negativity in what I’m saying…. Our sponsor betterhelp.com/dylantalkstone could provide some help with whatever internal battles you are struggling with
Bravo for not settling for mediocracy and always raising the bar
Dylan. I recognize you're into new territory, inasmuch with scratch built. I'm a retired police officer. Before my policing career, I was an automotive mechanic. The hours and hours I put in studying law and police policies paid off. The hours and hours I put into studying automotive service and repair paid off. Your time spent in growing your business will pay off too. Keep at it.
The more things you can keep in house the better things are.
You have a very professional approach that shows a lot of pride in your product AND yourself. You sir, SHOULD be proud!
QC makes or breaks a business with physical products. Especially in an industry where the consumer is going to inspect everything in detail. You’re doing the right thing.
Super smart move! Having QC control is extremely important in both time and cost savings for you over the coarse of time and even more importantly allows you to create a much better and consistent product (pickups) for your customers! Win-win!
Congratulations Dylan !!! Amazing step forward !! So happy for you !!!
There are absolutely things they could do to not have to deal with the laser residue, and the inconsistency is likely due to the laser kerf, if they're cutting multiple sheets the ones further from the focal point will be too loose and the ones at the focal point will be too tight. My girlfriend actually works in the laser cutting industry.
Love your channel man!
I’ve learned so much about pickups,capacitors from ya.Im glad I saw you on the Texas Toast channel awhile back.Rock on man!🎸
Level up! I love the craftsmanship you put into your product!
Keep the dream alive, we love the quality and character of your products.
Above all, man, I'm digging that shirt . . .
Also: vertical integration! Soon you'll be owning iron and nickel mines!
Seriously, this is very cool.
In the world of electronics, you really do get what you pay for. The more you can do in house, the more you can cut certain costs for your business. Congrats Dylan, this is the way.
Nicely done. I like quality parts. You’ve definitely made a big investment, but if you keep making top quality pickups, someday you may have 3 or 4 of those things running 24-7. I’ve always said I’d rather apologize for my price than for my quality. Stay true to your mission and good things will happen.
Level up!
I hope you recoup this many times over.
And yeah, consistency is king.
Dies wear out and the shapes they cut change. Lasers don't.
Go,, Dylan!
Bespoke?
Nice
+10
hey Dylan tha KS for the 411 thru the years
...what do u have that would amount to a throatier JB and a Brighter Jazz?
Will you also be doing F spacing pickup?
Also what is the brand name of your pickups?
Very cool, I remember touring the G&L factory when they first started laser cutting their own bobbins back in 2008 or 09. Don't know about now, but back then they still wax potted with an electric skillet. Are you going to do your own P-90 bobbins too?
I am wondering if it wouldn't have been more cost effective to have a die made. Like the old school way. Then you take a wooden mallet, set it on the material and smack it with the mallot on an oak table. I worked at USDA in the late 80's early 90's these dies exist and someone made them. I got a feeling the old school way would be much cheaper and quicker. As usual.
wow ! what a cool view behind the curtain(or, as a former employer said, a peak behind the kimono...) ! thanks.
i am a very amateur pickup winder. i have been wondering about tonal qualities of aluminum magnet wire. not finding it in gauges smaller than 28 awg. am i just being a mega dork ? or, is this something that is actually interesting ? thanks, steve
I appreciate your dedication to quality. You seem to be following a sustainable innovation model: Building brand equity by delivering on your brand promise better than your competition, in order to drive profitable growth. Then investing in innovation and Brand.
Your videos make me want to buy pickups from you.
I don’t even own any guitars that need pup upgrades. But I love these videos so much…
Congrats on the Lazer . I think in the long run it will save you time and money, due to the fact that you won't have to throw away part's that you paid for. Can I ask why the material that you cut matters ? How does it affect the pickup?
It's a darn shame that companies don't care about the quality of the products they make and sell. It's all about the money.
The bobbin cost $10k, You need to find a new supplier.
Also it would be good to look into a honeycomb table for your laser. Having parts fall to the bottom like that can be a fire risk.
What machine is that? should be good for knife making.
Does the bobbin material have an influence on the sound? I have seen people use wood.
and it just so happens, that i'm in the market for 3 singlecoils ❤
Colored Bobbins would look cool behind a Slant 6 Grill !
Another reason to buy pickups from you.
Years ago I built snowboards. In order to do my own graphics on the plastics, I had to teach myself dye sublimation printing and color calibration for a 3 stage dye transfer process. Took months and a lot of wasted materials. Also had to teach myself how to run a CNC router and to do the CAD/CAM design and cutting both forms and parts with BobCAD software on my 4x8 vacuum table router.
Unfortunately USA-made costs make it almost impossible to compete with Burton and others who sell boards sourced in CCP or Dubai for production cost $75 each and sold in USA and Europe for $600-1000. In the end sold my equipment and moved on to other things, in part because the building where I had my shop was put up for sale and all tenants were evicted. I spent 6 months looking for a suitable location I could afford to move into and could not find one. It was a 'side business' at the time and I could not do it full time so had to make a choice.
I learned a lot in those experiences. The biggest thing is new respect for color press operators and their color techs. It is WAY harder and more complex than doing CAD/CAM. That laser looks like a lot of fun and there is a ton of other stuff you can do with them too.
Dylan, Could you use a scanner to scan the part you want to replicate?
Awesome upgrade for the business!
OMG.....a wire wheel would take off the die cut waste in 3 seconds. You need a production expert.
I mean…. If I need an extra step I don’t want it… period.
You probably could have saved some time and money. You can get a diode laser for less than $1,000 that will cut that flatwork material to the same precision as your CO2 unit. Also, you didn't have to draw the designs from scratch. I found downloadable STL files for the flatwork. It took about 10 minutes with my CAD and laser software to covert those to DXF files that my laser can read. Now admittedly, your 40W or 80W CO2 laser can do a lot of things that a 10W diode laser can't do, and it will work a lot faster than a lower powered diode unit, but you didn't have to spend five figures to laser cut vulcanized paper. Also, did they tell you that the laser tube on a CO2 laser is a consumable?
If all I was going to do was cut paper I’d have gotten a pair of scissors. Also… sure there are a lot of drawings out there … but I wasn’t satisfied with them
@@DylanTalksTone What kind of software are you using. Lightburn is pretty full featured and I think it's only $60. It even has some drawing features. One thing that I would recommend when you are fine tuning the fit of parts is cut samples out of cardboard. It cuts very fast and is rigid enough for making mockups. As for the drawings out there, it's a mixed bag. Some are accurate, others are not. Even the inaccurate ones, though, can be templates for designing your own parts, like adjusting the size and location of holes in the DXF file, modifying lines and curves, etc. One of the nice things about Lightburn is that you can import an image and then use that as a template over which you can use the app's drawing tools.
Have you thought about offering custom engraving on metal pickup covers? I haven't tried doing nickel or chrome myself, but I assume that you'd need some kind of laser marking spray. Those absorb enough energy to be able to use relatively low powered lasers to mark metals. The actual laser marking paints can be pretty expensive, but there are lower cost alternatives like dry moly lube, which in my experience works just about as well as the specialty laser stuff.
Have fun with your new toy. I'm sure you'll find all sorts of things you can do with it. Are you going to offer custom engraving on pickup covers?
I bought my current laser specifically to cut the pickup magnets for the Harmonicaster electric harmonica but I use it for a lot of stuff. I know Billy Davis, who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (he played on Hank Ballard's original recording of The Twist) and just had his 86th birthday. I found a photo of an album cover online that he had autographed, and was able to use my laser to engrave his signature on a guitar strap as a gift.
I was about to buy some pickups. I’ll wait until I can get a fully in-house made pickup.
You can now
Congratulations, great job!
The next chapter starts now 🎉
I did the same thing as you did, except there are lot of laser cut vendors in my Hometown and the service charge were cheap ($0.02/piece) off course I had to provide the materials by myself. However, the issue with vulcanized fiber board is that it's not so durable and often bends through the time, so i am thinking to switched into other materials type and methods such as 3D print or FR4 cut (same board as PCB, the manufacturing process also done by PCB manufacture). I agree that laser cut might be super fun, but this method also limited to lack of type materials that could be cut by the machine, such as it would be EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to work with materials like PVC, Nylon, or any kind of fiber (FR4 or Ebonit).
R&D-lyan
Thanks for sharing this video Dylan. It’s really cool to see you sharing how you continue to refine your processes in the name of better quality and craftsmanship, especially on your already established products. To me it shows two things: 1) your business acumen to improve manufacturing costs thru higher quality yields, and 2) that you care about providing consistent quality product to the customer. I’m excited to see your growth and what you have in store for us next!
Sooo COOL, ULTIMATE quality control. Will you be doing the same for P-90's?
Love the passion!
GOOD job Dyl!
Why copy fender? Or anyone else?
Find your own materials. Make some new shapes. Experiment.
He has original designs
@@ramencurry6672 cool
New shapes… if you want to rout your guitar
I'am astonished to hear you have been making premium custom pickups for 10 years with out making the flatwork in house.
Sting Ray?
Taking "Dylan Talk Tones" to the next Level! Thanks for sharing 🎸🎶🎶🎶🎶
Excellent - As an Electronics Engineer I'd love to see more about pickup design and what the compromises are.
Also if you're cutting rubber please tell me you have something venting the cabinet outside and are not relying on the internal air filtration.
I think he said about the extraction in part of the video. I always thought you put a ply deck on your laser cutter which stops small stuff falling through and prolongs the life of the device. They had this at the Uni I work at
@@MrSongwriter2 yes, most lasers have a honeycomb grid that keeps small parts from falling through.
Dylan Talks Tone - the most honest peeps in the guitar universe. Very happy for you and I can't wait to hear what's next.
thats so cool!
That's a nice looking pickup bobbin. Congrats on the new purchase.
Jazzmaster?
I’m sure Leo had his workers sort it out! He made a couple and said this is what I want and then told them to copy it exactly!
This is very impressive work you’ve done here! Hope it pays off for you!
I really hate to hear people eat or drink on mic. It's like scratching fingernails to me.
There is a fast forward button
Stop whining
You’re not alone, dude.
Just depends on where the microphone is, really. If the mic is right there, next to the mouth…capturing every gulp, every chomp, every swish in full stereo…then, yeah, it’s rather unpleasant. However, if the person is using a room mic, sitting a few feet away….it’s not so bad. I mean, we watch people on TV and in movies consume all the time.
Ultimately, it’s no big deal…unless they’re chomping away the entire damn video with that mic right next to the mouth…lol.
Well when I buy a strat I’ll try out your pickups
Great explainer, Dylan. Thanks!
i approve of this endeavour %100
Im glad you let others see the stuff we go through.🙃
Nice setup Dylan
Thats cool man, congrats !
Class act Dylan
10,000?? 😳
Nice piece!!
You seem to be whining about learning CNC production this whole video.?. And then you admit that you have to wash your own production flats. Then you admit learning CNC is creative. But you whine about it.
Whining? I’m not sure what you consider whining where you come from… but I am so excited about this and I’m having a BLAST. This whole process is fantastic…. If you are seeing negativity in what I’m saying…. Our sponsor betterhelp.com/dylantalkstone could provide some help with whatever internal battles you are struggling with