Factory Tour

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PG's Rebecca Dirks is on location in Corona, California at the Fender Amps Factory. In this video we get to follow a Fender Eric Clapton Amp from start to finish. Watch our video demo of all three Eric Clapton signature amps here.

Go inside the brand-new public Visitor Center at Fender''s Corona, CA factory.

PG's Shawn Hammond is in Rodgau, Germany where Nik Huber gives him a tour of his workshop where he makes some of the best guitars in the world.

PG's Charles Saufley is in Deidesheim, Germany where Jens Ritter gives him a tour of his winery that he's converted into a workshop where he makes some of the best bass guitars in the world.

Robert Godin gives us a tour of his acoustic guitar factory in Princeville, Quebec.

Robert Godin gives Premier Guitar a tour of the Electric Guitar Factory in Richmond, Quebec

Joe Coffey is On Location at the Schecter Guitar Research setup shop and custom shop. See how Schecter import guitars get set up, and what kind of things Schecter does in their USA Custom Shop. Also, check out the company's home offices.

PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at San Luis Obispo, CA, where he visits the Ernie Ball Music Man factory. In this segment, Scott Ball (grandson of Ernie Ball and son of Sterling) who specializes in sales and product development for EBMM, shows off new colors, configurations and pickguard options that EBMM are currently mulling over the 2011 production year.

PG's Joe Coffey is On Location in San Luis Obispo, CA, where he visits the Ernie Ball Music Man facilities (where they make the guitars and basses). In this video segment, Chief Gear Designer Dudley Gimpel shows off two rare guitars--the #2 Steve Morse Signature guitar and the original Reflex prototype. While the Reflex is currently in EBMM's production line, the Reflex shown in this video is different from those you'd find on the shelves of your local guitar store--but it is the current guitar's namesake!

PG's Joe Coffey is On Location in San Luis Obispo, CA, where he visits the Ernie Ball Music Man facilities (where they make the guitars and basses). In this video segment, Chief Gear Designer Dudley Gimpel opens the EBMM vault to show off some vintage basses. Here, Gimpel shows off a Leo Fender-built 1976 StingRay bass that preceded the EBMM company. In addition, we get to peek at the original EBMM StingRay bass, an original-run Sabre, a Classic Series StingRay 5 and an original Bongo 6-string.

PG's Joe Coffey is On Location in San Luis Obisbo, CA, where he gets a tour of the Ernie Ball Music Man facilities from EBMM's CEO Sterling Ball.

In this segment, Sterling takes us through the Ernie Ball Music Man factory that produces the company's guitars and basses. Here, we get to see specific processes on how the guitars are setup, how the necks are carved, shaped, and given EBMM's signature feel and playability, the patented chamber patterns of an Axis, how they do seamless binding, and Sterling talks about how it's hard being a CEO during these shaky economic times.

PG's Joe Coffey is On Location in San Luis Obispo, CA, where he tours the Ernie Ball Music Man factory. In San Luis Obispo, CA, EBMM designs and builds their guitars and basses, while their facility in Coachella, CA, handles manufacturing of strings and other guitar-related accessories.

In this segment, EBMM's Chief Designer Dudley Gimpel gives a personal tour of their historic guitar collection, including rare models and prototypes of the Eddie Van Halen guitar, Nigel Tufnel's (Spinal Tap) Signature Mr. Horsepower guitar, Steve Morse signature, one of the first Silhouettes, and a prototype of Albert Lee's signature guitar.

PG's Joe Coffey is On Location in Arroyo Grande, CA, at the Premier Builders Guild shop. In this video segment, we get the lowdown on what Premier Builders Guild is all about, what builders are affiliated with the guild (Gene Baker, Dennis Fano, Roger Giffin, Johan Gustavsson, Saul Koll, and Jason Z. Schroeder), and also how these US-made, handbuilt guitars differ from the custom-made instruments built by the guild's luthiers.

Here, we get to see how PBG enables players to choose from their portfolio of boutique, masterbuilt guitars without the uncertainty, long wait times, and lack of customer support often associated with boutique instruments. The PBG shop is run by master luthier and head engineer Gene Baker and production manager Gil Vasquez who have over 30 years of combined experience and expertise in the guitar-building world.

Over the past few years, Premier Guitar has traveled across America documenting some of the coolest places gear is made, played, and displayed in our On Location series of videos—we’ve even made a stop in Germany. Now that the summer travel season is upon us, we’ve compiled your guide to these gear destinations to help you plan a guitar-ific vacation.

PG's Joe Coffey is On Location in Memphis, TN, where he visits the Gibson Custom Memphis factory. The Gibson Custom Memphis factory builds all the ES hollow- and semi-hollow bodied guitars, the white Les Paul and the Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck. In this segment, we get to check out how the ES Series guitars are built. Here, we get to see how the wood is cut, pressed, sanded, bound and eventually put together.

PG's On Location in St. Wendel, Germany, where they visit the Hughes & Kettner factory. In this video segment, we get to check out the countless tests, trials and evaluations each amp must go through before receiving the final approval. Here, Hughes & Kettner show us several ways they test the amp, the chassis, the sound quality, the tubs, general functions and the "tone" test.

PG's On Location in St. Wendel, Germany, where they visit the Hughes & Kettner factory. In this segment, we get to check out how each amp is designed, constructed and eventually tested. In addition, we get to see how Hughes & Kettner tests their tubes before they are biased.

PG's On Location in St. Wendel, Germany, where they visit the Hughes & Kettner and HK Audio factories. In this segment, we get an up close and personal tour of the factories that builds both Hughes & Kettner cabs and HK Audio PAs and wedges. As shown through the video, both companies are diligent on quality, craftsmanship and making sure each product is ready to go with numerous trials and tests.