This is quite interesting. Here is Richard Hoover, founder of Santa Cruz Guitars, discussing modern day lutherie and what makes his boutique guitars, and probably others, different than factory made guitars such as Martin, Taylor, Gibson, and presumably Guild. He emphasizes that factory made guitars are made to spec, while each top of a luthier made guitar is tap tuned to achieve characteristics that are desirable to the specific customer. While I am not completely sure he is insinuating that a factory made guitar is inferior, I do believe that build and tone consistency from a proven recipe makes Factory guitars a very special thing. Heck, Gibson and Martin have been doing it for over 100 years. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbjC9IvF9Wo&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbjC9IvF9Wo&feature=player_embedded#!