Official Luthiers Forum!

    Hello all,

       My name is Kevin Maguire, and I share a great passion for the art of stringed instrument making. I have some basic knowledge of this fine art, however, I seek more.  I am attempting to write a moderately in-depth research paper on this topic, and one of the criteria is to interview someone more involved in lutherie than I. The general questions I seek opinions on are: Does a particular species of wood produce a superior tone to the rest? Of all types of finish, which is superior, and why? Finally, if time has tought luthiers anything, what would it be.  I would greatly appreciate any, and all resonces to this post, and I look foreward to hearing from you.

Hi Kevin,

You're fortunate to have some of the world's finest here on this forum. I would suggest you do this interview style. Ask one question per thread, and give the folks here an opportunity to respond. Some of those questions are going to have as many answers as the number of people answering, but that's all good information for you.
Prepare your list of questions, then post a thread for each one. I'm sure there are bunches of folks here who would love to be "interviewed" by you for your paper.
Start each thread with the words "Research Paper" and then the topic.
This will be a very informative process for you and probably for others as well.

Best wishes!

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

You might also consider drastically narrowing your questions and defining your terms.  For instance, you may want to limit your research to one type of guitar and one style of music.  Otherwise you will likely end up with a dizzying scattershot of opinions that may or may not be meaningful.

Any aspect of any of those questions could make for a PhD dissertation and then some.

I like the last question.  I doubt you'll get a consensus but it will be fun to hear answers.

If time (12 years for me) has taught me anything it's "be careful answering questions".

 

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

Hi Kami,

Ask 100 luthiers the same questions and you will likely get 79 different answers. Here are my responses to your questions:

1. Does a particular species of wood produce a superior tone to the rest? I assume that you mean for a top wood and as such, the best and most famous instruments have been european and used European Spruce, sometimes called German Spruce.

There are many great woods that can be used for tops but in almost every case what is desired is wood that has long straight radially cleft grain that is light weight and stiff across and along the grain that has been thinned so that the wood moves freely. The long grain allows he sound waves to vibrate unimpeded with maximum sustain.

2. Of all types of finish, which is superior, and why?

In general, the best finish is as little finish as possible while still providing the amount of protection desired for the type of playing and handling for which it will be used.

For some that is french polish but it is the thinness of the finish that is preferable.

3.Finally, if time has taught luthiers anything, what would it be.

It is that advances in what we know about what a makes a good guitar is based on empirical information meaning that we are learning from what others have learned and built into their instruments. It is the evolution of the guitar from its humble origins as the Vihuela De Mano to its present form is based on the guitars that came from great makers before.

Hi Kevin, your request refers to yourself nine times.

You say this is a college level project, yet you misspelled two words in your brief request.

It would be nice if you referred to the college by name and maybe mention what course requires this assignment.

Now what were the questions?

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Kevin,

Once you have found your footing with this amazing subject, I recommend you utilise the search option, selecting "Forum Archive". This forum is rich with information- a lot of my time here is spent researching.

[QUOTE=Bruce Dickey] Hi Kevin, your request refers to yourself nine times.

You say this is a college level project, yet you misspelled two words in your brief request.

It would be nice if you referred to the college by name and maybe mention what course requires this assignment.

Now what were the questions?[/QUOTE]


Gee, Bruce, have you had a long day?

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Ron, Now that I've slept on it.

That was a bit over the top.

Thanks for calling me on the carpet.

Actually, there were three misspelled words.

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Bruce, your first sentence is a fragment. I'm just sayin'...

Actually, I'd like to know the college, course objective, paper purpose, etc, too.   

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Wow, he hasn't even started his paper yet and we are already correcting his mistyping and spelling.  Way to go guys!    Nice welcome.  You're right, Bruce, three words.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks Bill.

Maybe posting after a second glass of wine is a bad idea?

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

By the way, Welcome to the forum, Kevin.  This is a family friendly forum, but like any family, there is a lot of cross banter, and some of us enjoy giving others a bit of a hard time.  Just play the game, keep your feelings off of your shirt-sleeves, and you'll get some answers to your questions. One more thing, the more specific your questions, the better the answers will be.  Also, the more people know the more interest they will take in your project.  Sort of, the more you give, the more you get.  Good luck with your project.  I will enjoy the discussion that should ensue.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Kevin, Welcome to the forum. I'm sure some of the more experienced builders will be happy to answer your questions. Don’t be offended by what Bruce said he really is a nice guy.

Bruce, Have a cup of coffee and chill

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Dear Kevin,
I want to apologize for my posts in this thread. It broke the spirit of "Be Nice", one of the few rules of the OLF. What I said was "not nice", especially to a newcomer. It's possible that you are long gone, but on the chance you may come by and visit this thread once again, I wanted to say I'm sorry and I'll try harder to "always be nice in future posts". So, for penance now, I'm going to clean shop and listen to Nickel Creek cd about the fire.
Sincerely, Bruce

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com