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My first build was a Martin Kit, as was my second. My first scratch build was an OM that I took specs off of a Martin that I had in shop at the time. I built it way to heavy but all in all It turned out to a fine playing guitar. It had some cosmetic issues but no real structural issues. In fact it is kind of a Timex. It takes alicking but keeps on singing.

My first was a through neck fretless bass.

it was playable.......

but other than that, it was a learning experience.

i learned not to shape the neck before cutting the trussrod slot.

I learned not to use mahogany as a fretless fingerboard.

I learned to plan ahead (a little!!)

it was bandsawed to salvage parts for another bass build recently

Next build was a hollowbodied acoustic Les Paul. it actually WORKED and I played it regularly in church before I had a cull recently to clear some space and flogged it on Ebay

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My soundclick xx luthier blog xx luthier soundclick

Man do I love this forum - the level of passion, generosity, and interest in all things luthiery is really encouraging. Thanks to all of you for helpuing me get a bit smarter on this lovely obsession.

I'm a novice builder, having just completed my fourth steel string, and I've learned a lot from each successive build. About the only insight I can offer is to a novice about to start on their first build. Compared to some of the seasoned experts contributing here, I'm in kindegarten.

My first was a dreadnought made from a silver maple (back and sides) that we were cutting down on my property - I had a desire to do something lasting with this tree that had shaded the house for the last 80 or so years. Friends in the neighborhood had motivated me to start playing guitar, and so.... why not build a guitar?

Plans I used came from Jonathan Kinkead's book - highly recommended for a first build. Accessible, lots of great pictures, and the tone was just right for me - encouraging and not too demanding of perfection. For if there's anything I can share, it's that the real objective for me onthe first build was to get through it. I made a hundred errors, some serious (does routing straight through the back of the neck count?) Some not so serious. But what I really learned is if you really want to finish the guitar, you can recover from anything.

What I also learned was that the world of luthiery is full of some very generous, patient, passionate people. A highlight was having a neighbor call me to say his uncle, who knew something about building guitars, was in town, and would I like to meet him? That was an easy one. His visit to my woodshop, his help with some very basic stuff, like helping me set up my block plane properly and his extraordinarily kind appraisal of my first effort were a real motivator to keep me on track. Only after he left, and I bought his book, did I realize what it meant to have Bill Cumpiano help with a first guitar. What a great guy.

How did it turn out? Well, let's put it this way. The tone isn't too bad (even though Silver Maple, I've since learned is a lot softer than other tonewoods for back and sides), and it's roughly symmetrical. In short, a first guitar. But finishing it and stringing it up was a real treat. I couldn't have been prouder. After tweaking the setup three or four times, it's even playable. A great experience. Now to start on my fifth!!

Corky Long

Q: What was your first "build" like?

A: Totally crap.

My first one was finished just about a year ago. Though not a cabinet or furniture maker by trade, I grew up in a cabinet shop. I swore once I went off to college that I would never fire up a saw again. But several years into my first home, the itch hit. It started off simple enough. Rather than buy that cheesy book case, I could buy some tools and make one. Then came the beds and more tools, the desks and more tools, the tables and more tools. During that period, I also got into model airplanes, building a number of large scale remote control planes. Now over 20 years have passed since that initial itch, and I have assembled a garage full of tools.

My slip into luthiery began a couple of years ago when a buddy of mine who I played guitar with told me I should build my own acoustic. Up until then I had never thought of it. Even after he mentioned it, I quickly dismissed it. A little over a year ago, a fellow guitar nut suggested I build a guitar. This time I purchased a book and started poking around the internet. By fall 2007 I had purchased a kit made from Martin cast offs and proceeded to slog my way through without a dedicated set of plans. Seem that for every hour I spent building, I spent ten researching! Progress was slow, but I was determined to make as few mistakes as possible. By May or June of last year, the OMC was done. It turned out nice and sounds amazing. Yeah, it has a few issues, but it really is a great guitar. And that is the big problem!

Given my experience, I knew I could turn out a guitar that looked good. The big question was could I turn out a guitar that sounded good. If the OMC had sounded like crap, my foray into luthiery may have ended there. However, once I played it, any interest I previously had in model airplanes, cabinets, or furniture disappeared. Now, I don't want to build anything but guitars! I have since built an OM (waiting to be sprayed), and am part way through one of Michael Payne's SJ's. I already have ideas for numbers 4 and beyond. There are so many variables that can be tweaked to impact sound, and I want to play with them all. I want to use different sound boards, different woods for backs and sides, and experiment with bracing.

It is a disease!!

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

Hey:
Learning curve.
measure twice/glue once.
After the first one I have a long list of things I'd do better. I built a guitar using go bars and sanding dishes while reading Compiano's book. Two different schools, still come out great.
(A lot of guesses there, don't know if they were intelligent guesses tho.)
Oh well... it's just a box of sticks and strings.
Bill

My first was a kit from LMI. And a plan by Scott Antes. It was the first time I had ever joined wood to wood. I had so many screwups that if I could tell my old self one thing, it would be, "Maybe it's a good idea to order an extra kit as a backup."

I read everything available -- books, MIMF and 13th Fret -- and finally ran out of excuses to not start making shavings. Before getting started I had many ideas for improving the guitar-as-we-know-it. Very soon I had abandoned all of that in favor of a no-daylight-in-the-glue-joint sort of practicality. And accomplishing that joint with a minimum of blood spilt was a wonderful thing. Having an aural mind-image of the perfect guitar sound has nothing, and I mean NOTHING, to do with your first guitar. So I made a "deep" Antes OM. Turns out that a standard-depth OM may be "standard" for at least a few good reasons. And, referring to my Antes plan, it turns out that spec'ing a 0.095-inch top (iirc) with 3/8-inch braces is Mr. Antes' own contribution to improving the guitar-as-we-know-it, i.e., it's a bad plan and LMI should not let nubes buy it without some warning on the packaging. Has anyone at LMI every played a Scott Antes guitar?

All newbie guitar makers should know that you can drill bolts into a dovetail and make it work. And don't forget that every pass with sandpaper on those neck shoulders gets you closer to a joins-at-the-13th-and-a-half-fret guitar. Not popular with players, but this one is for you, right?

My big teaching moment is this: when you finally get a good edge on a scraper, don't get so enthusiastic that you shave your neck down to 1/8-inch thinner than spec. That was a zen-like moment -- when the curls finally started coming off the scraper. So pretty and effortless. Not dust like before. "Look Honey, curls!" All too soon I was wondering if perhaps a 0.73-inch-thick neck wasn't going Bob Taylor one (tenth-of-an-inch) better in the "incredible action" department. No, a .73-inch neck is a bad thing.

Oh, and finishing that first guitar. The hardest part. There is NO good pore filler. I know because I tried all of them on that first guitar and none of them worked. French Polish is a good finish for your first guitar because it will teach you lessons in humility that wood alone cannot. Just when you get it looking like a guitar and start feeling cocky and impatient you will get the ultimate slap-down -- a good french polish. This is obviously the simplest finish. Some rags and shellac. This is totally organic, dude. And lots of people have written about it. Everybody has their own way of doing it. Well, it turns out that everybody has their own way because the other guys' methods don't work at all!

I would have smashed that first guitar to bits if not for the wisdom of my wife, a kindergarten teacher who possesses the smile of an angel and the mind of an gifted engineer. She always came up with methods for fixing my mistakes. If only I had asked her how to do each bit before attempting and bruising the wood or myself, things would have gone much better. But then again, I'd have poorer repair skills. If she ever gets the guitar building bug, Mr. Olson will be looking over his shoulder in fear.

But here's the thing about building a first guitar: you learn that there is something in the world that doesn't conform to your worldview. Up to this point in your life, your mind could rationalize everything that didn't go well for you and spit out pretty much the same answer: it's not your fault that x or y doesn't understand how things work in the real world. Or something similar. Anyway, your mind can make excuses for everything you don't agree with or which don't come out perfectly. And you will believe it. But having the opportunity to bend and glue wood is such a comeuppance. By the wood. Wood is one of those things that won't bend to your will or your wit. And to be 40 years old and have to confront a substance like wood for the first time is way too late. The simplest glue joint can totally rearrange your attitude if you have high standards. And I think that for most of us who live in the squishy white-collar world of ideas and paperwork, the best kind of "outward bound" experience is to stay home and get some respect for the real nature of this earth by building a guitar. You'll learn a lot about yourself and a bit about guitar making. And the Next One will be incredible...

My first was a scratch build classical. With lots of help from folks here at OLF, it came out fairly well, and I play it almost every day. I think, when I strung it up, it was one of the most exciting times of my life. I am still amazed by my accomplishment. It surprises me every time I look at it or play it.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

What a great thread. I am enjoying it a whole lot. And learning a whole lot.

I am in the middle of #1 so can't really answer the question. But - it looks like I'll be able to finish by spring, the goal is to have it playable (for me but mostly for my son, whose guitar it is, ostensibly) by like June 1. Doable.

I hope the thread is active and I can tell my story -

David

Radsboy, good luck on your guitar! Love to see pictures and hear the story when you're done. Today I'm working on the body on my guitar (bracing and thicknessing top/back) - one of those strange days when things are going smoothly ( I guess I shouldn't have said anything ) Wish me luck!!

An acquaintance built a Martin Kit D18, then another a D28. I thought if he could, I could, and did. Mine is an Martin HD28 and was given away to a gifted musician. It actually came home recently for some tlc and pickups. Your first guitar is usually proof that you get better if you keep building. This one has a great sound, sitka on Indian. Cheers!

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

My first was a 000 kit from StewMac. It was the most frustrating and rewarding experience of my life. I don't think there was a single step of the process that doesn't have at least one mistake. It's been finished for about a year but, I only got the bugs worked out of it within the last week or so (thanks to the good folks here). It looks awful to say the least but, it plays and sounds pretty good. I'm working on a mountain dulcimer right now for my wife but, I have #2 started. It's an OLOF-OM made from Bubinga/Sitka. This one is going to be from scratch. I'm hooked! The most important lesson I think I've learned is it takes longer to do something over than it does to take your time and do it right the first time. Good luck and enjoy.

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- Ben Pak
North Wales, Pa.

Yeah.... i'm still working on that

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Olivier Gauthier
Montreal, QC