Fretfind fretfind 2d doesnt just calculate fret spacing. Another book from the gal, this one containing articles about wood and making steel string guitars. Featuring nearly 700 photos and illustrations, luthier martin koch details the complete building process. He gave me with his book a look in his world of guitar building, a book with a lot of very nice illustrations and its not boring reading at all. Hailed by guitar player magazine as perhaps the finest book on guitars ever produced, and by booklist as a rolls royce of construction guidebooks, this. It turns out that guitar making is a complex art and there are many different ways for a beginner to approach it. Im proud of myself as i basically had no experience in woodworking before i started with the ukulele, 1,5 years ago.
The mimforum bookstore offers books on musical instrument construction relating to guitar building, violin making and other forms of lutherie, woodwinds and brass, keyboards, experimental musical instruments. I have many reference books on traditional guitar making and this is now top of the list. Top 5 acoustic guitar making books acoustic guitar, best acoustic. In these pages are instructions for making tools, cutting. Recommended lutherie books liutaio mottola lutherie. The classical guitar making book by john bogdanovich is a complete guide to building a quality classical guitar, widely considered to be the best book on 8283988704 member login. The man primarily responsible for crafting this singular work, written with thenpartner jon natelson, is william cumpiano, but even this outstanding book pales in comparison to his talent as a luthier and teacher. Bogdanovich, author of the popular book, classical guitar making. Guitarmaking, tradition and technology 1993 edition. Partner, publisher of guitarmaking textbook see publications 1990 1993 artists in resonance cofounder of instrumentmakers collaborative consisting of three guitarmakers, one drummaker and one harpmaker, in hadley, massachusetts. Buy books, cdroms and plans on how to make electric guitars and lap steel guitars. However, we should probably get back to mandolin talk. I start by setting up the scarf cutting jig on my table saw. Altho a little dated in appearance, with photos that arent a clearsharp as i would like, it has all the copy content that counts.
A modern approach to a traditional design gives a video. May 18, 2017 i have been making guitars for almost 20 years, and have been self taught since the very beginning. Cumpiano, 9780811806404, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. These books are unquestionably for the serious student of guitar building, as indicated by the price alone. William cumpiano presents a step by step tutorial on how to build either a classical or steel string guitar, from scratch. Best guitar building books telecaster guitar forum. I use oak since it is cheap and readily available at my local home store.
Learn to make better guitars and how to shape the tone and playability of your guitars. Nowhere have i found information on building guitars as complete as in this fine publication. Im a reasonably experienced luthier at this point and am looking for prolevel techniques and maybe some jigs and specific howtos to take my guitars to the next level. I dont remember if it has the term bass guitar anywhere in it but its absolutely the most essential book you should have. I started out with cumpiano and natelson guitar making. Over 450 photographs, drawings, and diagrams reveal in exquisite detail the hows, whys, and. Book description chronicle books fran, san francisco. Natelson, william cumpiano, jonathan solomon, jonathan natelson. This is souptonuts on the topic of making a carvedtop jazz guitar. Tom bills has been hand crafting one of a kind custom guitars for the top players and collectors around the world since 1998. Cumpiano coauthored, with jonathon natelson, the worlds leading guitarmaking textbook, guitarmaking. The most complete book is william cumpiano s guitar making, tradition and technology. For this guitar i bought the book guitar making by cumpiano and natelson.
Since 1971, bill cumpiano has been building and repairing some of the finest handmade guitars and stringed instruments on the planet. Tradition and technology was a recommended book from some of my forums and online groups. It is shorter and clearer than cumpiano and interestingly, a lot of the steps, sequence of operations, and jigs are different. Tradition and technology, a complete reference for the design and construction of the steel string folk guitar and the classical guitar, which has been acclaimed as the principal textbook in his field and considered by many as the bible of guitarmaking. The book has been in continuous print now for almost thirty years and sold over 80,000 copies. The weight of these two thick volumes is a fair indicator of how meaty their content is. We truly live in a golden age of guitar making and the resources available to a beginning builder are more extensive than ever in history. I recommend this book as the best there is in classical guitar making, a must have for everyone building his first guitar or the more experienced builder. The most complete book is william cumpianos guitar making, tradition and technology.
For a video about the process i am about to describe, check out my youtube video on making a guitar neck. Hailed by guitar player magazine as perhaps the finest book on guitars ever produced, and by booklist as a rolls royce of construction guidebooks, this impressive volume is the first book of its kind to describe in depth how both steelstring and classical guitars are actually designed and built. This book is truly a treasure for handson guitar making. That book is still a wonderful book, especially if your interest is in steel string acoustics. Im already making my own guitar following the clear and simple instructions. These are as far as our professional web monkeys could determine free. This book has been called the bible of guitar making by many and although it shows some signs of age, the concept and execution are brilliant. I feel like i have seen a few really good luthiers on instagram refer to ervin somogyis making the responsive guitar book. The tool crib 11 free guitar plans, 20 guitar building. For me, the differences between the two books help in. Back in the 80s, just after the book came out, i was fortunate enough to take a weeklong workshop with bill in new jersey. Since completing his apprenticeship in 1972, william cumpiano has created hundreds of individuallycrafted guitars and other stringed instruments in the european, north american and latin american traditions. Hailed by guitar player magazine as perhaps the finest book on guitars ever produced, and by booklist as a rolls royce of construction guidebooks, this impressive volume is the first book of its kind to describe in depth how both steelstring and classical guitars are. Cumpiano maker of artisanal guitars for almost half a century.
To start this process, there are two jigs that i find essential. It has since become the standard world reference for our industry. First thing you might want to do is to check out robert benedettos excellent book making an archtop guitar, by centerstream publishing, 1994 isbn1574240005. Tom is also the author of the guitar making book dvd set the art of lutherie published by mel bay, and has written for and been featured in may publications both in print and online as well as several television and film spots. However, i found willis step by step guitar making useful and valuable. William cumpiano and jonathan natelsons book on building an acoustic steel string guitar and classical guitars is by no means dated unless you consider the time it was published. Tradition and technology guitar reference 9780811806404. I did build an ukulele before, with help and inspiration from youtube. It is not an abc book, but a companion that teaches many of the things that the other books leave out. I have many reference books on traditional guitar making. If youre considering making guitars, youll definitely need to invest in some decent tools. I cover the mdf with several coats of clear varnish or shellac to make a clean surface.
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