15 min read
Some of my favorite tonewoods with photos, descriptions and statistics.
46 min read
Highlights of my building the first steel string acoustic guitar to be reliant on the TurboTail fixture. I call it the "Turbo-D".
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.
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.
16 min read
A comprehensive look at neck and tail blocks as well as linings/kerfings. This article includes an overview of wood and how moisture affects it.
28 min read
An in-depth look at the history of the truss rod and all of the related topics, including neck bow, string tension, action, relief, setups and more. If you are interested in the D-Tube, a truss rod alternative, consider this article to be required reading.
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.
20 min read
What is a neck reset? Is a neck reset really necessary? Why would I want one? How do I determine if my guitar actually needs a neck reset?
12 min read
Is there really a raised hump in my fretboard directly above the point where the neck joins the body (12th fret, 14th fret, etc), or is it an optical illusion? And what does it have to do with swayback horses?
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.
32 min read
When performed in proper sequence and completed accurately, these steps will result in a perfectly playable acoustic guitar.
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
This pickup from James May Engineering is a passive, bridgeplate-mounted, soundboard transducer (SBT) pickup with on-board feedback suppression.
The Amulet M-VT Phantom is a phantom-powered, bridgeplate-mounted, multi-transducer, low impedance (low noise), feedback resistant pickup.
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 ...
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.
Phantom-powered condenser mic, may be soundhole-mounted or affixed internally. Two versions: External (16 ft/5 m cable) or Integral, pre-soldered to endpin jack.
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?
Does the most well-known, well-respected magnetic soundhole pickup ever made remain a viable choice today, 40 years after its debut?
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.
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.
My pegboard rack is housed in a sturdy shadow box frame made with hand-cut dovetails, and uses magnets and plastic accessories.
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?
A completely non-instrument-related topic: This is how I made my kitchen table made from 100+ year-old Southern Pine floor joists.
The right wood, worked the right way by the right person becomes more than simply the sum of the parts.
Is there a tangible difference between a handcrafted guitar and a mass-produced guitar? Which is better?
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15 min read