Barry wrote:
He replied that there was nothing proprietary in the design as such, however, IIRC, they had to set up 5 times in order to create the specified compound radii and tapers involved. His comment was that no modern manufacturer would invest that kind of effort as it's simply cost prohibitive. Point being, that, for Westone, it was a matter of prestige and showcasing new ideas, so the cost was borne. But for a small private label run?? Can't see it happening.
We aren't talking specialized compound radii on different necks requiring a progressive series of cuts.
We're talking different body shapes. That's simply modifying one single axis when milling the body blank, maybe two if there's a chamfer.
That's telling your programmer to spend the next 20 minutes changing the code. Even in 1983.
Point being, if there's a case to be made against these Taks being Matsu made, cost 'prohibitiveness' isn't one of them. The aesthetic differences between Taks and established Matsu lines from the same time aren't that drastic, not to mention a lot of the materials are identical, identical hardware, identical assembly techniques, etc.
Either way, it's an interesting discussion.
Still at work, those darn pics coming eventually