Official Luthiers Forum!

Besides the standard library...

Inspiration:
Hand made Hand Played - Robert Shaw
The Art and Craft of Making Classical Guitars - Manuel Rodriguez
The Classical Guitar - John Morrish

Technical:
The Physics of Musical Instruments - N. Fletcher/T. Rossing
Musical Instrument Design - Bart Hopkin
Guitars: Music, history, construction and players from the Renaissance to rock - Tom Evans (not that technical)
Journal of Guitar Acoustics

Other instruments:
Historical Lute Construction - Robert Lundberg
Die Kunst des Geigenbaues - Otto Möckel

Live entertainment:
Making a Concert Classical Guitar - John Bogdanovich
Free plate tuning - Alan Carruth




Best regards,


Edzard

Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking
Several of the Krenov Books
Cumpiano/Natelson: Guitarmaking
Crawford: Shop Class as Soul Craft

-jd

I know some will disagree and say it's a waste of time/money but I literally buy everything I come across and can afford.

My library is probably 20+ guitar focussed books at the moment. I have a much larger library of general woodwork, finishing and restoration. Several of those books were handed down from my father. Benedetto's Making an Archtop Guitar and Cumpiano's Tradition and Technology were my first guitar books. I probably read Making an Archtop cover to cover 3-4 times and Tradition and Technology 10+. I've also got all the Stew Mac books other than I see there is a 2nd edition of Fretwork out now.

I will be adding the Somogyi boxed set once Chapters restocks it.

I don't think you "need" to buy more than 1 or 2 books but I enjoy reading them and I definately like seeing the different opinions and approaches everyone takes.

In addition to my purchased books I also keep a scrapbook of things I come across. Articles on builders I appreciate and photos of different guitar styles I like/would like to make my own spin on.

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CVT Inc.
A tour of our shop (Somewhat outdated)
My Personal eBay profile. BCWoodBug

Nice thread Todd.

I like to read and watch DVD's so maybe I'll pickup on some more reading material in this thread.

Here's a list of what I have now. I know I have a few other items back in Illinois but can't remember what they'd be.

Historical Reference:
- Martin Guitars: A History (Longworth, et al)
- Martin Guitars: Technical Reference (Longworth, et al)
- C.F. Martin and His Guitars (Philip F. Gura)
- Gibson's Fabulous Flattops (Erlewine, et al)
- Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars (2nd Eds)
- Violin Making as it was and is (Edward Heron-Allen)
- The Secrets of Stradivari (Simone F. Sacconi)

Lutherie:
- The Responsive Guitar (Somogyi)
- Making the Responsive Guitar (Somogyi)
- Make your own Spanish Guitar (A.P. Sharpe)
- Left Brain Lutherie (David C. Hurd)
- Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology (Cumpiano/Natelson)
- How to set up the Best Sounding Banjo (Roger H. Siminoff)
- Constructing a 5-String Banjo (Roger H. Siminoff)
- The Luthier’s Handbook (Roger H. Siminoff)
- Make Your Own Electric Guitar (Melvyn Hiscock)
- Pearl Inlay Book (James E. Patterson)
- Understanding Wood (R. Bruce Hoadley)
- Identifying Wood (R. Bruce Hoadley)
- Violin Restoration (Hans Weisshaar and Margaret Shipman)
- A Dulcimer Builder’s Reference Manual (Scott E. Antes)
- Violin Making, Step by Step (Henry Strobel)
- Art and Method of the Violin Maker (Henry Strobel)
- Useful Measurements for Violin Makers (Henry Strobel)
- Violin Maker’s Notebook (Henry Strobel)
- American Lutherie quarterly journals, too many to count
- Big Red Book One
- Big Red Book Two
- Big Red Book Three
- Big Red Book Four

Repair:
- Complete Guitar Repair (Hideo Kamimoto)
- Guitar Finishing, Step by Step (Erlewine)
- Guitar Player Repair Guide (Dan Erlewine)
- How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great (Erlewine)
- Trade Secrets Book One ( Stewart-MacDonald)
- Trade Secrets Book Two ( Stewart-MacDonald)

DVD’s
- John Mayes the whole set
- Guitar Finishing with Oil Varnish disk 1 &2 ( Brackett Instruments)
- Spray Finishing Basics (Don MacRostie & Dan Erlewine)
- Sunburst Finishing (Don MacRostie & Dan Erlewine)
- Making a Solidbody Electric Guitar (Dan Erlewine)
- Violin Setup (Paul Newson)
- How to Build a Carved-Top Mandolin (Don MacRostie)
- How to Wire a Fender Guitar (Dan Erlewine)
- Neck Resetting (Dan Erlewine)
- Fret Basics (Dan Erlewine)
- Advanced Fretting, vol 1 & 2 (Dan Erlewine)
- Acoustic Guitar Maintenance Vol 1 & 2 (Dan Erlewine)
- How to Wire a Gibson Guitar (Dan Erlewine)
- Pearl Inlay Techniques (Don MacRostie)
- Bridge Repairs Vol 1 & 2 (Dan Erlewine)
- Free Plate Tuning (Alan Carruth)
- Guitar Finishing (Robbie O’Brian)
- Guitar Making, disc 1 - 5 (Frank Finocchio)
- Violin Making, disc 1 - 7 (Carl A. Mills)
- Fiddle Repair and Setup (Hayden M. Dickson)
- Pearl Inlay (Hayden M. Dickson)
- French Polishing for Guitarmakers 2.0 (Ronald L. Fernandez)
- Nut Making, Step by Step ( Dan Erlewine)
- Elec Guitars & Basses Maint & Setup Vol 1 & 2 (Dan Erlewine)

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

We got nothing on you Chuck!

My collection is quite small. I'd love to have more books/DVD's and even need some to do certain things.

classical guitar making JS Bogdanavich
building electric guitars Martin Koch
the mandolin project Graham McDonald
making early stringed instruments RZ Taylor
The Hand Sculpted House (lots of philosophy that applies to just about everything)

Woa, Chuck, got us all beat!

Haven't cracked any of these open in years, especially the Overholtzer book:
Classical Guitar Making by Overholtzer (~1977)
Cumpiano & Natelson
Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar by Kinkead
The Acoustic Guitar: Adjustment, Care, Maintenance and Repair by Teeter (~1977)
Guitar Repair by Sloane (~1977)
Complete Guitar Repair by Kamamoto (~1979)

These are still currently in use:
The two Somogyi books by what's-his-name
Art of Inlay by Robinson
Free Plate Tuning DVD by Carruth
Voicing a Steel String Guitar by Everett
Smattering of CAS Journals from the 70s
Professor's (father-in-law) papers from an undergraduate class in Physics for Musicians
Professor's (father-in-law) papers from an undergraduate class in Acoustics of Musical Instruments
French Polishing for Guitarmakers VHS by Fernandez
Various issues of American Lutherie

Machinery's Handbook (~1980)
Care and Repair of Shop Machines by White
The Accurate Table Saw by Kirby
Shopcraft as Soulcraft by Crawford
Art and Nature of Workmanship by Pye
Understanding Wood by Hoadley

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Hehe....I have one book...Benedettos's, "How to Make an Archtop Guitar".

I DID just order "Understanding Wood" by Hoadley....looking forward to it.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

A couple of books I like to go back to:

-Making Musical Instruments: Strings and Keyboard. Edited by Charles Ford.
Pantheon, 1979.
Short but illuminating chapters by excellent makers of viol, lute, violin,
classical guitar (28 pages by Jose Romanillos), harpsichord, and an
interesting chapter on restoration and conservation.

-Music in the Wood, by Cornelia Cornelissen, with (exceptional)
photographs by John MacLachlan. Delacorte Press, 1995.
A short picture book really, for children or adults, of the making of a cello
by Marten Cornelissen.
Includes a cd of the finished cello being played by Roel Dieltiens.

btw a source I've found handy for out of print and other books
is addall.com.

Luthiers book are hard to come by in Taiwan... but I don't need them, because they take up precious space.

However I do have electronic copies of the Dan Erlewine "Guitar player repair guide" although I haven't really read that book in ages, since I already know most of its techniques by heart.

I also have a copy of the Build a Steel String guitar that came with a LMI kit, but since that DVD is no longer needed, I gave it away.

I find that this forum provides me with a lot of mentoring and advise I need, and the rest I can do myself, although I would love to have some face to face mentoring...

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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

lots to list....but one recently has become one of my favorites.

not luthier specific, but a great book on wood finishing, finish repair, and care of finishes in general.

"Understanding Wood Finishing: How to Select and Apply the Right Finish" by Bob Flexner.


very informative in many respects, and he makes several statements regarding business ethics/practices in the finishes manufacturing market.

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brendan 3.0 new and improved, with better interpersonal subroutines

The only book I regularly refer to is The Larson Creations.

It would, if there are no stupid regional restrictions like iTunes...

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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

What I mean is, a lot of content distributors (I do not know about Amazon.com) restrict which countries may purchase the music/movie/possibly books due to copyright restrictions. For example, I can't buy music off of iTunes because I do not have a US credit card, and the music selection in Taiwan is terrible.

Furthermore, a lot of good books are simply not available as digital copies, so buying the book would require paying high shipping costs.

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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

cumpiano´s guitarmaking...

bogdanovich´s (insert title that i can never remember here)

making musical instruments, by charles ford (already mentioned, valuable insight by romanillos)

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

The ones I go through more than anything else are
The Big Red Book of American Lutherie #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 (wish there was an easy accumulated index for these)

Also there for reference:
Lutherie Tool GAL
Lutherie Woods GAL
Martin Gutars Longworth
Antonio de Torres Romanillos
Vintage Guitars Gruhn
Luthiers Handbook Siminoff
Finishing Jewitt
Fretwork StewMac
Guitar Finishing Stew Mac

Repair:
Guitar Player repair guide Erlewine
The Acoustic Guitar Teeter

and the building books by:
Cumpiano
Kinkead
Somogyi
Williams
and Ukeleles by Wickham

But my best reference library of all are the experience of
Ed Claxton and Richard Hoover

Acoustic Guitars--Gruhn and Carter
Electric Guitars--Gruhn and Carter
Musical Instruments of the World--Midgley ed.
Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics--Benade
On the Sensations of Tone --Helmholtz
Wood--Dept. of Agriculture handbook #72
Shaping, Veneering, Finishing--Frid
Joinery Tools and Techniques--Frid
You Fix Them--Sherl and Roth inc.
Musical Instrument Design--Hopkins
Gruhns Guide to Vintage Guitars--Gruhn and Carter
Degradation and Protection of Wood--Nicholas ed.
Strength of Materials--Hartog
The Master Handbook of Acoustics--Everest
Sound Reinforcement Handbook--Davis and Jones
The Acoustic Guitar vol. I & II--Teeter
Blue Book of Guitars--Fjestad ed.
Electric Guitar Set Ups--Kamimoto
Complete Guitar Repair--Kamimoto
Guitar Player Repair Guide--Erlewine
Guitarmaking--Cumpiano and Natelson
Catgut Journals--Hutchins ed.

Can't match Chuck but have a few things.....
Luthiery and Repair
-The Steel String Guitar David R. Young
-Guitar Making Cumpiano and Natelson
-LMI Handbook For Stringed Instrument Builders
-Complete Guitar Repair Kamimoto
-Luthier Handbook Siminoff
-Classic Guitar Making Overholtzer
-The Technique Of Violin Making Wake
-The Steel String Guitar Brosnac
-Making Musical Instruments Sloane
-The Electris Guitar Brosnac
-The Making Of Stringed Instruments Buchanen
-Harpsicord Design And Construction Kern
-The Acoustic Guitar Vol.1 Teeter
-The Acoustic Guitar Vol.2 Teeter
-Classic Guitar Making Bogdanovich
-Making an Archtop Benedetto
-Step By Step Guitar Construction Willis
-A guitar Makers Manual Williams
-Steel String Guitar Construction Sloane
-Guitar Finishing Step By Step Stew Mac
-Guitar Player Repair Guide Erlewine
-Lutherie Tools Resource Book #1 GAL
-Lutherie Woods And Steel String Guitars Resource Book #2 GAL
-Complete Banjo Repair Sandberg
-Constructing A Bluegrass Mandolin Siminoff
-Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar Kinkead
-The Big Red Book of American Lutherie GAL
-Vol. 1
-Vol. 2
-Vol. 3
-Vol. 4
-Vol. 5
-The Responsive Guitar Somogyi
-Making The Responsive Guitar Somogyi
DVD's
-Voicing A Steel Srting Guitar Everett
-Adjusting A steel String Guitar Everett
-Free Plate Tuning Carruth
-Tone Panel Hoover Sexauer Somogyi
-Voicing The Guitar Somogyi
Wood Related
-Understanding Wood Hoadley
-Identifying Wood Hoadley
-Know Your Wood Constanine
-The Fine Art Of Cabitnet Making Krenov
-The Impractical Cabinetmaker Krenov
-A cabinetmakers Notebook Krenov
-How To Make Wooden Planes Perch And Lee
History And Referance
-Acoustic Guitar The Illustrated Encyclopedia
-Martin Guitars Longworth
-American Guitars A illustrated History Wheeler
-Martin Guitars Washburn And Johnston
Mechanical and Measuring
-Machinery's Handbook 22nd Edition
-Machinery's Handbook 17th Edition
-The Use of Handbook Tables And Formulas
-The Machinists Handbook
-Fundamentals of Diminsional Metrology
-Measuring And Gaging In The Machine Shop
There are a few more around that I can't put my finger on,but for now this is the best I can come up with. Please forgive the spelling,almost sure I have some mistakes.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!