Official Luthiers Forum!

I’ve always built my own instruments and so, like many of us, I would like to make myself that truly inspirational guitar for tone and playability.
That’s how it started anyway.
I think this is still partly what drives each new build as I discover and tweak new changes in shapes, techniques and approach that may make a better instrument. And Yes, it is contagious to the point of obsession. The drive to combine my love for Music, Art and Tinkery is just too strong to deny. Once you get into it, and see results, it is very difficult to be satisfied with the latest guitar. Especially when in your mind’s eye, you can already see the next one.
Also, if you have purchased some nice tops and sets of zoot, they will haunt you to be built into musical instruments.
Why would anyone want to escape such a joyous trap?
One of my new goals is to sell some of my creations.
I have heard some of our more seasoned builders saying you shouldn’t sell your first modal of a new design. Well, what if all your builds are the first of a new design?

Thanks for a Good question Hesh!

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

Can't stop.

And I like the change and the challenge that it presents from my canoe building day job.

I can always use another distraction.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

To quote Peter Sellers as Inspector Sidney Wang in Murder by Death.
Ah, answer simple, question not so simple.
here goes
I love music, I love the guitar, I play my music on guitar, I am learning to build guitars so that I can play my tunes on my guitar.
Geordie

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some tunes on acoustic and guitar synth.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGeordieAdams
http://www.myspace.com/geordieadams

I enjoy making things I was an exceptionally keen model engineer in my last teens and have a lathe, mill, pillar drill etc, I did an electronics apprenticeship then the government privatised my department so at the apprenticeship I lost my job and started working for a blacksmith part time and am now coming to the end of my journeyman-ship in the other bit of that part-time I went to wood carving classes until they closed down. I then joined my local folk club and was pestered merciless by one of the guy to play and to join this evening class he used to belong to I couldn't really afford a guitar at the time and happened to be talking to a family friend wh said I could have hers she'd not used it in 20+ years so I might as well have it I can remember coming home from a visit to her with a guitar 2 man tent and suitcase, whose catch kept popping open on the London underground

Any way I continued to go to the folk club and also quite a bibliophile and had bought the Kinkade book and happened to be reading it in the folk club, and the guy who'd pestered me to play just said oh your interested in making are you and I said yes. The following week he came in with the wood for the neck back and sides, I used to make snooker tables for a living and had the baulks he'd got for the legs re-sawn. None of it was quarter-sawn but I thought or all the warps and cupping would pull out anyway I carried on with it and am now nearing its completion, it'll look ugly as sin but I've been told by a few luthiers it'll sound good luckily we'll see just scuff coating the body to french polish neck is rough carved and the bridge is blocked out, but needs sanding. A steep learning curve as it's really my first woodwork project since I left school, but i wish now I'd bought the proper materials rather then fight this all the way but hey number 2 will be better.

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

I just started building and know next to nothing but so far I really enjoy it. I went to a guys shop today and I was really amazed by the work that he does. He makes madolins and repairs all kind of instruments. He gave me a crappy strat body that im going to re-do with econmy parts just so I can practice. I want to get into acoustic instruments after I build my dream strat. Theres somthing else I want to try and create too. I have a friend that plays cello really well and shes always played my guitar with her bow. The problem is that you can only get a proper sound out of the E strings. So I want to make a six stringed cello with frets lol. As weird as this may sound I'm very excited to experiment and see what things I can do with it.

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" Blues is a low down achin chill, if you ain't never had it, I hope you never will."

Robert Johnson

I have this idea that when I retire I'd like to have a small workshop where I can mess around with tools and wood and guitars all day. A place where my buddies can hang out, where I can do set up work and minor repairs for people, and maybe even sell a guitar or two that I've built myself. It wouldn't have to turn a profit, but I know my wife would be much more amenable to this idea if the shop could pay for itself. Will this ever come to pass? I don't know. I have a long way to go before I would ever consider charging anyone for my work, but I'm having so much fun learning that I figure I'll just keep following this path and see where it leads.

George :-)

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George :-)

Why do I build guitars?

I could not afford a proper one like an ovation

Cheers

Kim

2 times in my life, I´ve come across "THE" guitar, loved the sound SOOO much,first was a Larrivee, dont remember the model, I was around 14-16 y old ! the next time finding THE guitar was when I was in California 4 years back, Played a Bourgouis, MAN, WHAT A SOUND" never heard something like it before and I just had to have it, 4000 something !!! did not have that !! so went back to my friends house listened to him playing his Martin D45 !! hmm, not my type, but records well ! never have the darn money to get the guitar I wanted, always loved guitars, and always had a dream of building one, but I just lacked the confidence of building one myself, so it stayed in a state of dream ! but then I bought the cumpiano book, read it, and started reading all I could find ! and then finally came across you guys !! and then I just had to give it a go , and hey, I am hooked !!! . best thing I have ever done, just came up from making a inlay jig. so perhaps in time i´ll be able to build my own dreamguitar.

Lars

Started my love affair with guitars, and started playing, in '63. About 8 years ago I wanted a higher end electric but couldn't afford what I wanted so I built it. Of course, it ended up costing about twice as much as the one I couldn't afford

I was, and still am, hooked. Built a few other instruments and am now about 1/2 way through my first acoustic with #2 already started as well.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Forced retirement from Large Co. PD and Marine Corps due to injuries, and didn't like retirement and thinking of what wanted to do. Va sent me to Bryan Galloups school. Thought of it as way to learn to do give aways and stay active in something.

Since had the Babe, thought ok now I found a way to do things for others and get rich along the way also. Still have the babes, and after 6yrs of building have done and do what I like with the giveaways. dang, the rich part hasn't happened yet. Well not in money anyway.

dylanger,
Check out bass viols. They are like 6 and 7 string fretted cellos!

Why do I build musical instruments? You might as well ask "why do I breathe".

a 6 string cello? That plays like a guitar? That's an arpegionne, invented by Johannes Stauffer. Its on my "To do" list. My wife plays cello, I'm making her a bass viol, and with an arpeggione, I can play along with her!

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Very similar to my story. About 7 years ago I decided I wanted a Les Paul. The Gibson was way out of my price range, so I looked at the Epiphones. Didn't like the feel & the action - neck too fat, mostly. I had noticed that parts for the Fender style guitars were available on eBay, so I put one together from Ebay-purchased parts. Then another, and another, and a couple of Jazz basses. Tried to sell some of these on Ebay with limited success, and little to no profit margin, so I decided to try making the necks & bodies myself. By this time (less than a year) I was completely and totally addicted.

About 4-1/2 years ago DIY Network ran a series of 4 half-hour programs called "Handmade Music" on the building of a Martin D28 style acoustic guitar. I recorded the episodes, watched them two or three times, and said to myself "Self, you can do that!" I started accumulating the supplies to build me a D28 copy, and started work on it on January 1, 2005. By August I had completed that one and two acoustic bass guitars. I've completed 6 acoustics, and have two more under construction.

What keeps me motivated is the challenge of new things - wanting to do something different two years ago, I built an electric upright bass (which I sold a year ago) and I am now putting the finishing touches on another one. The first one had a solid body of maple and ash, while the second is chambered ash with a sitka spruce carved top.

Definitely addicted.

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---Steve

I am a teenage engineer. I am the kid who would take apart his new toys when I was little and just figure out how they worked. Happened when I started to play guitar. I realized that I was really interested in how it all worked. I started reading online, and after a few years, started coming here and soaking up all of the knowledge that there is. I know it is a hobby that I will keep until I'm a lot older.

I am halfway through my first electric, and I am sort of regretting not getting a kit or plans for the first one. Life has kinda never given me enough time to sit down for an extended period and get some real work done on it. And now the weather is keeping me from wanting to go use all the big tools. But it will happen, one day.

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-Rob Eckert
Ann Arbor, Michigan

At first I wanted to save money and I was good with building stuff like model rockets and stuff, and ever since I took shop class I was dying to get into some kind of shop thing be it woodworking or metalworking. So I got a saga strat kit and it turned out not as good as I expected it to be. Later on I found out that building guitars was getting expensive and it kinda disappointed me. Now I realized that some money could be saved if you were looking to buy top end instruments. Even with all the tools you might get close to the price of a high end instruments but you could make more of them. Now it seems to become something that I would really enjoy doing even if I don't actually save much money it's still fun and it feels great because not too many people around me could do this...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

My story is very similar to many here. Started playing guitar in the sixties ( I was around 11 or 12). Could play fairly well, but not great....I have over 30 years of eperience in my career of buiding homes, along with building furniture for myself, family and friends...Always wanted a high quality Martin guitar, but never felt to be a good enough player to justify the cost...So I decided to build one...I had great success with number one and love playing it so much....I am now getting ready to start number seven...

Chuck

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Hesh:
It's a good question why I build guitars.
I can think of three good reasons.

Because ,you can't play music on a 2" by 4 "!

Guitarmaking is an art form !
We all have a want to make an instrument that we need & inject our deepest feelings into creating
the best instruments we can !

I think ?

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Mike Collins

I've played since I was 15 or so (I'm 53 now) and got my first Beatles record, and started woodworking as a hobby in college. A Guild of NH Woodworkers member had an LMI catalog at a meeting a few years ago, and I said hmmmm.... Have to say I never made the connection before that, that someone could actually make these things in a home shop.

So I was going to order a kit, then a few guild members said check out this Alan Carruth guy first, he does classes. I did, and well, I just finished my first, a jumbo, and am starting 2 more. Like others have said, it is way better than what I could likely afford, and because it's a "class", it doesn't seem to be quite as much of a luxury to my significant other! Although she doesn't quite understand why I need two more if I have 3 already. Then I pointed out the 2 breadmakers, 2 deep fryers, 2 pasta makers, 3 sets of china, on and on. Now I'm afraid to go to sleep...

So I'm making jigs, and buying tools and wood, and this is a blast. The satisfaction that comes from first stringing it up I can see is addictive.

Steve

Well I got into it for the Money.....HA HA HA

Really it is just a compulsion, Some days I love it some days I HATE it but I just can't stop.

I just think while building guitars requires you to buy tools and the first one will cost close to or higher than a high end guitar but I felt that you get more for the money. If you buy a high end guitar (more than $2000) then you just drop all that cash in one go which kinda hurts and you just get a guitar and other than learning to play them you get nothing else. However when you build a guitar you learn how to build/repair a guitar which could become a job if you want (or at least do it cheap or free for a few friends) and you get the guitar as well as all the tools you need to build a second or third or more. That and a guitar kit will generally run around $3-400 dollars if you go unserviced and you could slowly buy the needed tools as you progress. Kinda like paying in installments without the interest and debt.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Reminds me of the fingerstyle guitarist who wins a major lottery and is asked what his plans are... 'I'll just keep touring until the money runs out...'

I started playing about 20 years ago. It was love at first strum. Fast forward to about 3-4 years ago and there I am, foolishly thinking that I can easily make an acoustic guitar for the kind of ridiculous money they're asking for a high-end custom... Ho hum...

Present day, about eight to nine grand invested in tools and zoot, an olympian production rate of .7237 guitars per anum makes me ponder that exact question, Hesh. Why do I build guitars? And then the answer hits me. I'm a sucker for punishment!

Would I do it all again? Let me answer that question with another. Is a frog's ass water tight?

As for plans and aspirations, I'd like to have different models for myself (baritone, 000, dread, grand auditorium, SJ...) and then, hopefully, I'll be able to start taking orders some day, or at the very least, build spec guitars that will be for sale, that is, if I can ever conquer my uber separation anxiety...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

At work, I run the salt shaker at McWhopper and i needed something to do that was less stressful and not so intense.
While cleaning the barn, i found this old tool, like a hammer but bigger and one end was flat like an ax but not so sharp so it came to me that i should build a guitar and now i am.

I just like doing things with my hands and since i play some, but not enough to justify a real nice guitar, i thought i'd build one. By the time i am done i am sure i would have gotten off cheaper to buy a decent guitar. I am fairly certain, even if it doesn't sound good, it'll look really sharp hanging on the wall. I figure i can stuff a plastic bag in the soundhole, fill it with potting soil and put some ivy in there. It'll be really cool.

Rob

I have to

Many thanks to everyone for sharing a bit about why you build guitars.

I for one see a number of members who have motivations very similar to my own. So this was helpful to me, I now know that I am either not nuts or that many of us, me included are nuts......

Rob my friend I think that you just invented the term "guitarden" and in doing so gave Ovation owners hope for a justifiable purpose for their instruments.......

I would love to hear from more of you and I am sure that many others would too. Also - if there was anyone who was instrumental, pardon the pun please...., in introducing you to Lutherie let's hear those stories too please?

And to give credit, or blame..... (just kidding of course) where it is due although this question had been asked prior on the OLF I believe that OLFer Zach was the first that I am aware of to start a thread such as this one. Good going Zach!

Many thanks!