DIYNet guitar making?

[werlax]

Did anyone happen to catch the most recent 4 part (I believe) series on DIYNet about guitar making? I don't get the network but would have loved to have seen it (if it was any good). Did anyone tape it? I checked DIYNet but they don't offer tapes of their regular programming.

Mark

[Paul Franklin]

Yes, I saw the shows, aired as part of their "Handmade music" programs.

Although I recorded them on DVR, I did not save them, sorry.

IMO, the shows actually gave a pretty good overview of the process of building a fine acoustic guitar, from finding and felling a proper yellow spruce tree to make the top, to playing the finished instrument. As with all or most of the DIY network shows, the information bandwidth was low, with lots of reviewing and summarizing and of course, the frequent and long commercial breaks. And given that the whole series was only 4 half-hour shows, there wasn't time for great depth.

But having said that, they did a reasonable job of showing all the important steps, and gave a pretty good impression of the level of detail and skill required to do a good job. What they didn't make clear, except very indirectly, was just how *long* it takes to do a good job.

I did think it was rather silly to give the impression on the air that one could fell a yellow spruce tree one day and be building a guitar top from the wood a few days later....completely skipping the drying and seasoning stage. But it did drive home the importance of wood type and selection.

I have viewed the photo's from the show on the DIY Web site and they pretty much cover all that was included on the show. So if you've reviewed all that, you pretty much get all the info (probably a little more, actually) that was on the show.

Although I wouldn't watch a DIY network show except on tape or DVR so I can skip all the prattle, I give them credit for doing a nice job on a very special interest topic.

Paul