Wood Topics
Tonewoods
Tonewoods

15 min read

Some of my favorite tonewoods with photos, descriptions and statistics.

Build and Repair (updating ...)
The First Turbo Guitar
The First Turbo Guitar

36 min read

IN PROGRESS ... Highlights of my building a steel string acoustic guitar to take advantage of the TurboTail fixture.

The TurboTail
The TurboTail

29 min read

What is it? What does it do? Do I need one? I conducted tests and recorded the measurements to find out for myself.

Body Flexion - Neck Block Shift and Soundboard Shear
Body Flexion - Neck Block Shift and Soundboard Shear

35 min read

Permitting an acoustic guitar body to flex, "torque-ing" the neck block, rotating it forward (along with whatever is attached to it) often results in the neck block shifting out of position and the soundboard shearing off completely into the soundhole.

Body Shell
Neck Blocks, Tail Blocks and Linings

16 min read

A comprehensive look at neck and tail blocks as well as linings. This article includes an overview of wood and how moisture affects it.

D-Tube by DragonPlate
D-Tube by DragonPlate - Truss Rod Alternative

25 min read

The DragonPlate® Carbon Fiber D-Tube Neck Beam™ has been specifically designed to stabilize instrument necks with its unique D-Tube profile. The D-Tube Neck Beam significantly increases bending and torsional stiffness and weighs less than the wood it replaces.

Swayback Horse
The Fretboard Hump

12 min read

Is there really a raised hump in my fretboard directly above the point where the neck joins the body, or is it an optical illusion? And what does it have to do with horses?

Neck Resets
Neck Resets

20 min read

What is a neck reset? Is a neck reset really necessary? How do I determine if my guitar actually needs a neck reset?

Acoustic Guitar Setups
Acoustic Guitar Setups

32 min read

When performed in proper sequence and completed accurately, these steps will result in a perfectly playable acoustic guitar.

Tuning Machines
Tuning Machines

15 min read

Tuning a guitar string requires a small machine, a mechanical device that can generate the force necessary to bring the string to pitch, as well as maintain it.

RainSong Refret
RainSong Refret

14 min read

How I re-fretted my 1999 Rainsong WS1000 carbon fiber guitar, including how to remove the old jumbo frets, re-radius the carbon fiber fretboard, and install new, thinner frets.

Guild Makeovers
1994 Guild DV-52 NT
1994 Guild DV-52 NT

7 min read

It started with a broken truss rod. Then there was the loose neck joint. Then the back plate seam separation. Then the bellying behind the bridge ...

1996 Guild D25-12 NT
1996 Guild D25-12 NT

6 min read

A catastrophic neck block shift and soundboard shear on both sides of the fingerboard extension qualifies this guitar for a complete makeover ...

1975 Guild F-212
1975 Guild F-212

54 min read

LONG article - I documented my re-building of this Guild. All that remains of the original are the Mahogany back and sides.

1999 Guild JF65-12
1999 Guild JF65-12

112 min read

Extremely LONG article - A fully-documented rebuild of a classic 12-string including a new soundboard, tasteful inlay, a special finish and more.

1994 Guild D4-12 NT
1994 Guild D4-12 NT

13 min read

What should have been a simple bridge repair ended up being a complete remake of a Mahogany archback dreadnaught Guild 12 string ...

1980 Guild F-412
1980 Guild F-412

18 min read

By the winter of 2014, my venerable 1980 Guild F-412 12 string was in need of a neck reset. The time had come to put things right ...

1976 Guild F-512
1976 Guild F-512

7 min read

My favorite 12 string needed a neck reset, new binding, frets, tuners and pickup. Oh, and a new soundboard, too. And and a complete refinish. Learn why ...

The Infamous Guild Neck Reset
The Infamous Guild Neck Reset

9 min read

A deep dive into the topic of Guild neck resets, using my own 1976 F-212 XL as an example. Dedicated to Guild owners everywhere ...

Luthiers and Mentors
John Greven
John Greven

5 min read

During Christmastime of 2012 I was able to spend some invaluable time with master luthier John Greven in his shop, in his home in Oregon.

George Gruhn
George Gruhn

4 min read

Thanks to a Let’s Talk Guild meet-up in Nashville, Tennessee in April 2013, I was privileged to spend a Saturday with George Gruhn.

Kent Carlos Everett
Kent Carlos Everett

6 min read

Spending a week with master luthier Kent Carlos Everett was a career-altering event, as it took my guitar building to a whole new level.

Acoustic Guitar Pickups
James May Engineering Ultra Tonic
James May Engineering Ultra Tonic

9 min read

This pickup from James May Engineering is a passive, bridgeplate-mounted, soundboard transducer (SBT) pickup with on-board feedback suppression.

Trance Amulet M-VT Phantom
Trance Amulet M-VT Phantom

5 min read

The Amulet M-VT Phantom is a phantom-powered, bridgeplate-mounted, multi-transducer, low impedance (low noise), feedback resistant pickup.

Barbera Soloist
Barbera Soloist

3 min read

The Soloist from Barbera Transducer Systems is a passive saddle transducer, that is to say, the saddle is the pickup! Feedback is near non-existent ...

DPA 4099 CORE
DPA 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone

2 min read

Lightweight, high-quality, phantom-powered mic on an adjustable gooseneck with an innovative clip-on adapter that can easily move from guitar to guitar.

NV Tone Swan NT
NV Tone Swan NT

6 min read

An affordable, phantom-powered, high-quality condenser mic that mounts in the soundhole. External (w/ 16 ft cable) or Internal (pre-soldered to endpin jack).

Mojotone Quiet Coil NC-2
Mojotone Quiet Coil NC-2

7 min read

What do you get when you combine an active magnetic soundhole pickup already "voiced" after a condenser mic with a condenser mic, along with an onboard preamp?

Sunrise Acoustic Guitar Pickup
Sunrise Pickup

6 min read

Does the most well-known, well-respected magnetic soundhole pickup ever made remain a viable choice today, 40 years after its debut?

In The Shop
Building the Dauphin
Building the Dauphin

1 min read

IN PROGRESS ... How I build one of my favorite models, the Dauphin. Features include my own Shoulder Port design, open headstock and bracing pattern.

Body Molds
Body Molds for Acoustic Guitar

19 min read

How I make a custom acoustic guitar body mold, a wooden form that holds the precise shape of the guitar body during construction.

Luthier Tool Rack
Luthier Tool Rack

12 min read

My pegboard rack is housed in a sturdy shadow box frame made with hand-cut dovetails, and uses magnets and plastic accessories.

LR Baggs Onboard Element to Stagepro Anthem Retrofit
LR Baggs Onboard Element to Stagepro Anthem Retrofit

10 min read

I replaced an LR Baggs Onboard Element with an LR Baggs Anthem Stage Pro. The existing opening left in the guitar from the Element was too large. What could I do?

Pine Table from Floor Joists
Pine Table from Floor Joists

9 min read

A completely non-instrument-related topic: This is how I made my kitchen table made from 100+ year-old Southern Pine floor joists.

Musings
Wood is Wood
Wood is Wood

7 min read

The right wood, worked the right way by the right person becomes more than simply the sum of the parts.

Hand-crafted vs Factory-built
Hand-crafted vs Factory Built

10 min read

I have owned many hand-crafted and factory-built guitars. I build guitars mostly by hand. Here are some thoughts on the topic.

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