Official Luthiers Forum!

I’m new to this and wanted to see what you guys think are the best books and videos for me to buy. I ask because I don’t want to spend hundreds on them and still miss out on the best.

I think my first kit will be from LMI, so I will have Robbie O’Brien’s DVD, and I want to get the Mayes collection. Do I need more than that, or will those set me right?

I will be building a steel string; I have not decided on size or shape yet. I am leaning towards OM.

By the way O'Brien's Tips De Jour videos on YouTube are real cool if you haven't checked 'em out.


Thanks y’all,

Adam

Adam, if you are interested in DVD's, go to Smartflix.com and rent a DVD from each and see who you connect with best, then go buy them. All are great, but they are three very different approaches. One may mesh better with your learning style better than the others.

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Aoibeann

Robbie and johns videos are great videos and and probably the most informative.

They all have their virtues. If you are building from a kit.. LMI, John Hall/Martin, Stew-Mac, KMG, etc... I highly recommend getting Bill Cory's Kit Guitar book. He reviews and documents, in great detail, building several different types of kits. He explains his take on the differences, pros, cons, etc... THis is invlauable for the first time building. http://www.kitguitarbuilder.com/

As for DVD's they are all pretty good, and for different reasons. The SmartFlix idea is a good one. If you can't afford all of them, pick and choose individual discs from within a set, depending on what you are interested in.

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Jim Hansen

There is enough info on the web that one can build a kit or a scratch built guitar from this information. That said I have either purchased or checked out from the library just about every book on guitar building and they all have their merits. Check the library 1st they often have guitar building books. As for video's I like The Mayes video's though ir Tim's DVD's are as good as his youtube videos they must be excellent.

Don't be afraid to ask questions on this list, everyone is helpful, it is probably best to ask before messing up than after.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

I'm with Fred in that you don't need to buy additional books on guitar building - there's just a ton of stuff on the web plus you get detailed info in the plans for the kit.

Finishing is another story though (at least for me). It seems that finishing advice is a little too spread out on the internet to be useful or perhaps the very basics are hard to find but anyway, I bought the stew-mac guitar finishing book and it upped my finish quality by about two levels in one go (that and I had to buy the stuff to do it too so unfortunately, there's that).

I used to have a habit of buying tools I'd think I'd need before I needed them only to find out that I'd over bought by about 80%. I now use what I have until I can't do it because I don't have the right tool and buy it then. The same is true for books. Odds are you'll build more than one so build one with just the books you've got planned, then buy books to answer the big questions you have after your first build.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

I use to order a lot from smartflix but now everything i want has a waiting period because its not available. The last thing i rented took a month and a half before i got. Thats a joke. The thing that gets me is they bill you right away and not when it ships. I wanted to cancel my rental but didn't see no way to do it...Mike

I really like the O'Brien DVD. The order is logical and everything is clearly explained. He has a great sense of humor - tells you to "take a victory lap around the shop" and "signing autographs" when you complete a major step. Very enjoyable.

I also like Cumpiano's book, however it jumps around a bit much for my tastes, and makes more sense in reading AFTER doing rather than the other way around.

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

+1 on Bill Cory's book.

For me it was perfect because I was building a Martin 000 kit, and that's what Bill builds in the book. He's written technical manuals before and has a gift for it. It's a very easy to follow and informative guide.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

For a first build of a steel string guitar I HIGHLY recommend Jonathan Kinkead's book. It's clear, concise, has fantastic pictures, and for my money, gets to exactly the right level of detail for a first build. Any questions left unanswered can be posted here (which I've benefited from immensely.)

AND it comes with plans for a steel string - not sure what size - think it's his version of an OM.

Good luck!

I also suggest Bill Corys book(s) if you are building from one of the standard kit vendors.

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Jim Hansen

I gotta ask this question.... What sort of learner are you?

Can someone hand you a manual and you read it and then go figure out the problem with only 1 or 2 questions to the "Expert"?

Are you the kind that needs someone to move you through each operation by hand -- Feeling your way so to speak.

Are you the sort that needs someone to Talk you through it.

Or do you need to see it to understand it?

It is worth it to think about this... before you go spend a bunch of cash on Books or Videos or Lessons or whatever... then find out that your learning style is different than what you paid for.

Personally, I learn a lot from the book. I go read the book, then try it out. If I get stuck, I go back to the book, go search online, etc..... and if I still can't figure it out... Make a call or post here.

Lots of folks can't learn this way, though..... the same way I can't learn to dance by watching a dance instructor... or by standing next to someone who is dancing and watching their feet. Just doesn't work for me.

That being said, Cumpiano's book is Well Trod Ground. It makes a guitar that is a little stiff... but will be successful and play nicely with Medium strings. I have heard the Kincaid book is good too. Bill Cory's book looks like a great work as well.

I view the videos as supplementary to the book -- probably as others view the book as supplementary to the Video. I heartily recommend a good set of blueprints as well.

Good luck with your build.

I think a good book like Cumpiano's Guitarmaking:Tradition and Technology (which is a little dated, has to be said) is a valuable reference.

A well written and organised book is superior to all the knowledge on the 'net for the simple reason it has a coherent narrative, a logical structure, and leads you through the process of construction starting with a bit of history, moving through wood selection, design considerations, the 'why do things this way' aspect of things. Reading through Cumpiano helped me understand various aspects of guitar building. I bought and read through Bogadnovich's classical book with pleasure for much the same reason.

Do I build following the instructions? No.

Cumpiano allowed me to go out to the MIMF.com and the early OLF (been a while now) and start understanding what all those posts were about. In the end, I build a bolt-on neck without a tenon, with inserts, using radius dishes, a fox-type bender and outer forms, but Cumpiano remained valuable. Bogadnovich is a joy to read and presents a variety of interesting new techniques to select from. And I'm also saving up to buy myself a copy of Somogyi's big fat book. I also enjoy reading forums, the net, etc. but it's much more work and you need to have a modicum of knowledge to distinguish the really good advice from the really stupid ideas.

The Cory is very good but it was't out when I started. I really enjoyed Frank Finnochio's DVD's and found them very helpful. Good luck with the first build.

Steve Brown