Official Luthiers Forum!

Todd,

What you say here makes a lot of sense, and it certainly mirrors my experience (as a student, and during my limited experience as a teacher). I know that different students need to process new information in different ways - I've always thought that a course in High School which explored this topic, with the intent of showing each student how they most effectively (reading, hearning, working through practical experience, etc. ) learn would be a great foundation for the rest of one's "learning life"

One comment that I'd like to make (as a novice builder).

You're comment that a direct copy of a tried and true design as a first build - to take design considerations and variables out of the picture - certainly makes sense. There are so many places where my first build went astray - to start with a rock solid design is a very good idea.

But there's one comment that I'd like to make about my experience in building my first couple of guitars. The scope of the task appeared to be so monumental that I needed something to get me through to the end - for me, that was to bring some creativity to the process. For me, I used some unconventional wood (from a tree in my backyard), and put a custom inlay into the headstock - certainly not a prudent thing to do if one is focused on limiting errors or maximizing likelihood of having the first guitar be the best it can be.

My comment is only that some first builders need to do whatever they can do to make it fun, since the first build is likely to be frustrating on many counts, and "getting it done" might just be a pretty good ultimate goal for some on number 1.

Thanks.

I have the first two books you mentioned and I like them both. They really complement each other. Jonathan Natelson's book has great explanations of all the various processes, although some of it seemed a little deep for a beginner like me. That's where Kinkade's book is great. It's a great easy to understand book with great pictures. Not as in depth as Natelson's though. I would get both if you could. But being that you have already done two kits you are far ahead of me so what do I know!!