VietNamNet Bridge - This guitar making facility is located on Highway 50, Binh Chanh District, in HCM City. It produces 2,000 guitars for the domestic and foreign markets each month.
The workshop is nearly 1,000m2, with more than 100 workers. Depending on the design and type of wood, the guitars are sold from a low price of VND300,000 to a high of more than VND10 million ($500).
In the old days, guitars were made purely by hand, but now workers have support from machines. According to a worker at the facility, without machines, a worker can make about 70 guitars per month and more than 100 guitars with the support of machines.
The wood used to make guitars is pine, imported from North Africa, Canada, USA, Japan and Thailand.
Mr. Tu, 69, has been making guitar from the age of 19.
Each worker is involved in a stage of the production. When all parts are combined, they form a guitar.
This workshop produces approximately 2,000 guitars a month.
The most time-consuming phase is flattening the fretboard.
Mr. Nguyen Van Trang, the workshop owner, says: "The most important character of guitar makers is meticulousness and skills in all production stages. Except for making the fretboard, painting and polishing stages, other parts are made manually and they require very high accuracy."
Polishing guitars before painting.
Many workers in this workshop are young and come from the southwestern region.
The guitars are checked carefully by an experienced craftsman.
A female worker.
Many musical students come here to order guitars. The guitars are sold in Vietnam and exported to Mexico and the U.S.
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