I heartily recommend it! I've been building solid-body guitars & basses for about 4 years now, and up until this winter I'd been saying "I can do this, but an acoustic instrument--no way!"
Then last Fall I watched a 4-episode show on DIY Network called "Handmade Music" which chronicles the building of a D-28 style guitar by Lynn Dudenbostel, a luthier who lives in Chattanooga TN. I recorded all four episodes on my Tivo, and watched them again. And again. And I said to myself, "Shoot, I can do that!"
Here's the results:
Number One:
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2 and 3:
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4 (Still under construction):
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one was in a sense a kit. I bought a pre-carved neck, and had the sides pre-bent. The top was a Martin-factory reject with the rosette already installed. The rest were scratch-built except for the sides, which I bought pre-bent.
There are a lot of resources on the Web that provide all kinds of advice & counsel on guitar building. You'll find that you'll be making all sorts of special tools and jigs, and that's part of the fun!
Take a look at these pages on my web site:
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luck!
--Steve
Tom Wats> My wife gave me a Martin D-28 for my birthday, five years ago.
Tom, the D-28 is a beautiful thing, you are lucky to have it. I couldn't agree more that wooden instruments are one pinnacle of the art, better still if you can play worth a damn, which I can't and never could. Certainly not worthy of a D-28.
I've always wanted to try building one, but have been fearful of the size of the task...do I have anywhere near enough patience, let alone skill?
But Martin does sell those kits...maybe a way to test the water and build confidence.
Go for it and let us know how it comes out. I've thought about it (making instruments) a number of times. Have two sons that are accomplished musicians. Youngest plays the upright bass. he's been through the classical, blue grass and jazz phases. Other son sticks to the electric bass and acoustic six string and is very good. Problem is they are better musicians by far than I am a woodworker.
And Swingman, if you read this, try to catch my neice, Rachel, at one of those little oprys around Richmond/Rosenburg. Tiny little girl, absolute treat.
A number of years ago, I attended some one-week summer classes at a college in West Virginia. The classes were mostly about music & dancing (mostly making the former and doing the latter), but they also has a number of "craft" classes, ranging all the way up to building a log cabin (they built it right there on campus). The classes were almost all about one week's duration, but there were so many that the whole program lasted about four or five weeks. Each week had some sort of "theme," such as "Dance Week" or "Blues Week" or "Bluegrass Week." This was a total immersion learning experience--you stayed in a dorm room, ate at the school cafeteria, went to classes during the day, attended evening concerts given by the instructors, practiced and/or played in jam sessions around campus 'til the wee hours, drank at the campus pub (where EVERYBODY played and sang better), rolled into bed, then got up and started all over.
Finally getting to the point, I remember that over the years there were a number of different instrument-making classes. In fact, one of my most wonderful memories was a concert in which the instructor in the guitar-building class was up on stage with a fellow named Robin Kessinger, and they just sat there and played off one another (flat pickin') still smoke started coming off their fingers. When they finished, bowed, and left the stage, the applause JUST WOULD NOT STOP (there was a STRICT no encore policy in effect). Well after a while, the Program Director came out on stage and asked the audience to please sit down and stop applauding so that they could get on with the program. Well, that didn't work, so after a while, they came out and asked again. When it STILL didn't work, they finally relented and sent the two of them back out for an encore. I'll never forget that.
My recommendation here is that you look into Augusta Heritage
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or some similar program. I think you'll be delighted that you took the time. Who knows? Maybe your wife will sign up for a class too. Believe me, it's worth your time.
That's the one and the same. Ever since I got my first Grizzly catalogue, I've been itching to build myself a 6-string to go along with my 12-string Ovation as well as an electric. I've got some nice red maple that I think would make a nice hardbody (after I spalt it, of course).
And here I was, considering the construction of a Western style acoustic guitar, and you post this. Played when I was much younger, but it never sounded quite a good as a professional (whatever THAT is) musician. I have a very old, nicely detailed solid body electric made in Sweden, but it just doesn't have the sound that a nice acoustic does...
Now I'm thinking, "What's the point?" It'll sound like crap when I get my hands on it anyway...
About the time I started building my first acoustic guitar in January, I found this web site, which has step-by-step illustrated instructions on building an acoustic guitar. It was very helpful to me.
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a look--this is a great resource for the beginning guitar builder.
Also, you might consider a kit. They're available from Martin, from Stewart-MacDonald
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and Luthier's Mercantile (www,lmii.com). And there's at least one vendor on Ebay that sells acoustic guitar kits as well.
I made a xylophone a few years ago that I really enjoyed making and playing, although I never practiced enough to get good at it. Finally gave it to the grandkids.
I've got a hankering to build a hammered dulcimer next, or maybe just a plucked one, but my project list is already long.
If you've got the time, have at it. At the very least you'll learn something.
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