Customer Reviews

Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology: A Complete Reference for the Design & Construction of the Steel-String Folk Guitar & the Classical Guitar (Guitar Reference)

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In the research stage of my luthier career I bought quite a few books. Without a doubt my favorites would be this book and Robert Benedetto's "Building an Archtop Guitar". What makes this book so outstanding is that it actually breaks the process down into unique steps. Most books will tell you to "Plane the top plate to the correct thickness". This book tells you how to do it, not just what to do. This is also the only book on guitar building where the author anticipates the areas where the beginning luthier might have problems. There are several areas where you're told to do such and such a step (which may not be obvious) in order to avoid such -and-such a problem. There's also several times when the author tells you how to escape from common mistakes. I own a lot of guitar building books but this is the one that sits in the top of my tool chest.

All woodworkers are perfectionists, but those who make musical instruments live in a special place in hell. For them, each step, no matter how small can have a huge, and unexpected effect on the final result. Even if they follow the same plans and use the same materials, two guitarmakers can have significantly different results.

Developing the techniques that will give the craftsman both consistency and control over the final result can often take a lifetime of experimentation. This excellent book, by Cumpiano and Natelson, helps to bridge the gap between novice and journeyman. It will enable most aspiring luthiers to produce something special.

The writers focus on the practicalities of guitarmaking - the tools and techniques used. The arrangement is functional and step-wise, the explanations clear, with a sufficiency of illustrations and photographs. Little attention is paid to the more exotic equipment that appears in professional workshops. This is a book for the hand-craftsman, not someone intent on starting a business.

I confess that I did not by the book with the intent of making a guitar. Instead, I was on the verge of having one made for me, and I wanted to understand the process enough to talk intelligently with the makers (in my case, the luthier, the tuning machine maker, and the inlayer). As such, this book bridged an important gap.

What is missing from the book is any detailed discussion about material choice and the effect of certain design decisions (materials, bracing, etc.). Since these are the things that can make the difference between an OK instrument and a work of the luthier's art, I would have liked to see much more information. For that, unfortunately, one must seek elsewhere. But for everything else, this volume will do.

This book is worthy of placing on your coffee table as well as on the workbench! It will carefully guide you through the entire, daunting process of building a guitar. I am half-way through building my first and so far, so good.

I have found that, for myself, some of the cautions and warnings in carrying out some of the operations in the book were a little overstated - but better safe than sorry. However, there is an IMMENSE amount of detail presented in each procedure and it MUST be read and re-read very carefully (especially the section on neck construction). Also, pay attention to size of the material ordered from places like LMI (Luthiers Mercantile Incorporated). The neck blank comes thicker than needed and you need to thin it down. I found myself thinking information was left out of several sections, but discovered that I had overlooked it in my haste.

Several parts used in the process are hard to find, such as the truss-rod nut. You need to be resourceful in locating things (at times, it feels like I'm on a scavenger hunt driving around town for stuff).

Finally, I recommend also purchasing Irving Sloane's book on steel-string construction. It will help you clarify some aspects of building by approaching things from a slightly different angle. It is not as detailed, but it gives a slightly better overview of the process than the subject book. It shows how to make some tools - fun!

Good luck!

I had the good fortune to build my first guitar as a student in William Cumpiano's shop. I am using the book to guide me through my second guitar project. The book is an ideal mixture of theory, history, and detailed, step-by-step instruction. Be sure to check William Cumpiano's web site for an improved method of attaching the neck he developed since the book was written.

Yes, they call them "Luthiers," and this is one of the books that will get you started in learning the trade. But, you need not have building guitars for a living as your goal to enjoy and value this book.

Anyone who has a broken or damaged instrument, should know when it is time to take it to a Luthier for the needed repair, or when it is something he might tackle himself. In the latter case, it would be well to have this book, and one written by Hideo Kamimoto, called Complete Guitar Repair. Of the two books, this one is by far the most complete, as you might expect. Kamimoto's book is more specifically aimed at repairs, as the title suggests.

Any guitar player, after he or she learns the scales and how to place their hands and fingers on the instrument and to tune it, will sooner or later develop a respect and curiosity for their instrument. They will want to know what makes one instrument sound better than another, or why the action is harder on the fingers on one, and relatively soft and quick on another.

What is the difference in strings, what wood gives the best resonance in a sound board, why the differences in sizes and shapes?

Gradually, as your interest widens, you will come to this kind of book. This is one of the best. From it, you will learn all of the above, and more. If you are willing to invest years, and acquire the tools and the skills, perhaps you will eventually build your own guitar. But, whether you do or not, this is a valuable book for any guitar aficionado.

Joseph Pierre

I am a guitarmaker based in Canada. I bought this book after my first attempt at making a guitar, and I wish I'd known about before I ever started building! Not only is it encyclopedic in content, but it is very interesting and readable. Even if you never plan to construct an instrument, this book will quickly turn you into a guitar expert. It is a great read, cover-to-cover, with lots of historical information that helped me more fully understand why certain things are done certain ways. I must admit, however, that the neck attachment method described in the book is quite complex, and may prove to be somewhat intimidating for the amateur woodworker. Check Mr. Cumpiano's website for a much easier method of neck attachment, as well as for other updates and clarification of any obscure points in the book. My only complaint about this book is that it refuses to lay open and flat on my workbench!

The instructions in this book are well-thought out and very precise. I built the steel string neck in two days. It came out great. The step-by-step instructions left nothing to the imagination. Every step is explained in detail. The authors even go so far as to anticipate your trouble areas and go to extra lengths to pinpoint them and give remedy. I am in the process of building the rest of the guitar, and judging from my experience with the book so far, I am sure I will have no problems. I am certainly glad these two artists decided to share their knowledge trough this book.

I live in Ukraine, a country not known for its prosperity. When I ordered this book back in 1999 (from other online source, actually), the order cost me about my whole month salary, together with shipping expenses. When I received it, I obviously tended to be rather critical. Frankly, I was disappointed by monochrome photos in the book at first ;) That was before I tried to build my first guitar...

Now, 5 years later after the purchase, I keep looking into this book and find many invaluable subtle things that are very important for success. The material is explained in a very clear manner (English is not my mother tongue, by the way) and I appreciated the fact that the authors show how to get away with basic simple tools to build fine instruments. I'm not a super reviewer, but I really love this book (it isn't the only book on guitar making in my collection, so I could do some comparison).

I agree, this book is a Bible on guitar making.

Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology is a valuable reference for luthiers, and I think the current renaissance in guitarmaking by amateurs and professionals owes much to its publication. The book's stance is clearly "old school," and it shows how to make the entire guitar by hand, from scratch, right down to the bracing and the kerfed liner. While I myself have little to no intention of hand-sawing my own kerfed lining any time soon, I am nonetheless gratified to have on hand a reference work that would assist me in doing so if I wanted to.

Some of the methods described in this book do seem outdated. To an extent that is because the craft has continued to blossom since the publication of Cumpiano's book. And yet if I could have only a single book on the subject it would be this one. (It is sort of like the lutherie equivalent of THE JOY OF COOKING.) One true weakness of the book that other reviewers have pointed out is the side-by-side coverage of steel string and classic guitar construction. I think these two subjects would be better addressed in separate volumes, ideally with discussion on the multiple ways to perform tasks such as joining the neck to the body or bending the sides.

Cumpiano and Natelson have written a great book for beginners. In this book are all of the details necessary for constructing your own classical or steel-stringed guitar. The appendix is an indespensable resource with lists of potential suppliers, wood types, and dimensions for every piece. They describe the process with a minimum of technology used. If you do not have a bending iron, for example, they describe what one is and how to construct it. I am using this book as THE guide for the construction of my first classical guitar, and have not found it lacking in any respect. -BLF