Customer Reviews

The Luthier's Handbook: A Guide to Building Great Tone in Acoustic Stringed Instruments

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm kind of puzzled by the exuberance of the previous reviewers. This isn't a bad book, but it certainly isn't a wealth of information on building instruments with fabulous tone. What I mean is, it's an 89 page booklet. 70 pages are devoted to a very general (read "vague") summary of instrument making.

If you are a novice, this information is completely inadequate. If you already have even a very basic understanding of stringed instrument making, you've read it all before. The section on necks, for instance is barely more than a 1/4 of a page. How much can you say in a 1/4 of a page? Well, frankly, not much more than to describe what a neck does in extremely broad terms. And while none of what he says about necks is wrong, what he says is just sort of obvious. I mean, don't you already know what the neck of a stringed instrument does, generally speaking?

That leaves 19 pages for the discussion on tap tuning. The message in this section is, get yourself a Peterson 5000 strobe tuner (only 5000 bucks) and you're off to the races. Oh, and once you get a perfectly tuned top, you can throw away the strobe tuner and use this top as a model for future tops when you employ Siminoff's "deflection" tuning method.

There are a couple interesting paragraphs here and there, and I'm sure that the guy knows what he is talking about...his reputation would indicate that he does. And for the price, I suppose you can't ask for too much more. Nevertheless, I'm left thinking this booklet is more like an outline for the book that he could have written. Consequently this is similar to those Time-Life books that explain how to build a Chippendale High Boy in 6 pages: It doesn't get you any closer to actually building a stringed instrument, but reading it isn't unpleasant.

The book gives exactly what the preface says. It is a collection of all the things a luthier should know and a little history behind them. It is not a construction manual and should not be criticized for not being what it is not. I actually bought this book for the tap tuning section alone but am delighted with the rest of it.

It's unfortunate the author didn't choose a better title. You'd probably expect THE Luthiers Handbook to be a how-to, but it's nothing like that. Actually it reads more like a college-level textbook. Engineering/techies will probably love it, as will anyone seriously interested in the how & why of fine instrument architecture. There's a lot in here about the tonal properties of various woods, bracings, etc. Even if you never figure out the author's 'tuning' method (or don't have your own home physics lab) you still might find yourself tapping on soundboards and thinking about such things. For the beginning luthier sticking to the tried and true, it's not essential reading however.

The Luthier's Handbook's reputation as "the Bible" for stringed instrument making is well-deserved, particularly for anyone interested in the "why" of design and construction practices. (For those more interested in the step-by-step "how" of building a guitar, I'd recommend William R. Cumpiano's Guitarmaking:Tradition and Technology. They make an excellent set.)

As a point of reference, I have a science and engineering background. My experience to date in this area has been limited to some minor instrument repair and set-up. I have a fair amount of experience in woodworking. I found this book to be very clear and readable. Based on limited experience and knowledge, I think this would also be an extremely valuable resource for anyone who has been building basic instruments who might want to try to vary their designs based on sound first principles.

An author's tone is important to me because it is easier to learn from someone who would be welcome in my home. The author's tone is friendly and helpful but not condescending. The information is very clear and the pace is ideal. As another reviewer said, this is not a "how to" book but rather a "why" book. Why use spruce? Why use hard maple? Why are strings wound? Why are there holes in a violin bridge? Why is the little violin so loud? The only disconcerting element in the conversation is the poor editing. It appears there were multiple drafts and the editor had a one hour deadline to combine. But it's still a five star book.

I have several books that explain how to build guitars, but this one finally explains how to build a great sounding guitar. The detailed information on tap tuning is worth the price of the book alone. While the book started out a little dry, it quickly delved into many details about the little things that can make the difference between building a good sounding guitar and a great sounding guitar. I cannot wait to apply some of the techniques and pay more attention to the little things when I build my guitar. For some this may be more detail than they want to know, but if you truly want to build a guitar and get the best sound out of it then this is the book for you. Thank you Mr. Siminoff for sharing your years of experience, knowledge and the many hours of experimentation.

This book is not an intro to building a guitar. It is, however, a more in depth look into the details of building a great sounding guitar. In my opinion it is more of a reference than a general text. I was delighted with it and would recommend it to anyone who desires to build the best guitar possible.

This book is full of the kind of infromation I was looking for. While I don't think I want to start shaving braces and tone bars to tune a guitar top right now, it definitely has show me the meticulous process and the technical nature of the art. After reading this book, I feel more able to try a kit guitar someday.
This book is definitely worth the buying unless you are already a luthier. I don't care what anyone else has written...this book, for non-luthiers, is great...period!

This is one of the most incredible books I've had the pleasure of reading. This is not a "how to" book but more of a "why and what if" book. The insight the author has into his craft is something I, being a carpenter / builder can only aspire to have. It inspires you to create. Read this book any brace yourself for a life of creating musical instruments that you will never part with

Mr. Siminoff's book addresses the the critical information of how the various components of a stringed musical instrument function. He also explains why certain elements (bracing, truss rods, etc.) are designed in a given arrangement to accent different tonal qualities. Armed with this information, a builder should be able to make informed and more successful decisions on modifications to existing designs, or on new instrument designs. The differences of how fixed and movable bridge systems function was very informative and useful.