Customer Reviews

Making Master Guitars

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great book that has measured drawings of many master guitars. Unlike steel string guitars, where a few models dominate, and look different, say Gibson vs. dreadnaught martin, classical guitars look externally quite similar, while varying a lot internally, and otherwise. Many of the great artists of the steel string guitar play factory models, for a variety of reasons. Top classical guitarists largely play models that originated in small shops with one or a few craftsmen. For these reasons anyone who wants to make a study of building classical guitars will find this eclectic group of guitars very important.

However, one should consider:

The building instructions are 1) European in orientation, few jigs, open assembly and so forth, actually the best place for any guitarmaker to start, but not how most here do; 2) Weak in places, because the writer is not an expert guitar builder himself, though overall very helpful, and a useful reference.

The flip side of a great book on classic designs is that it isn't a good book on current designs. Guitar making theory has advanced somewhat (though one doubts the new instruments are better, they are nonetheless preferred by many anyway). Tone vs. durability or volume for instance. There has been a huge amount of new detail added to modern classicals, for instance work on intonation, volume, wolf notes, fingerboard playability, longevity, and so forth. this stuff isn't here, but on the other hand, it's plastered over the internet.

If you have seen the violin book, this one isn't the same. The violin book was partnered with a greatish builder. Deals a lot with modern practice (though being violins, that isn't that different anyway), and the violin book doesn't have lots of useful measured drawings (any in fact), because you can get patterns of the ouline parts for strads etc...

With whatever reservations, this is the greatest book on the classical guitar, and very reasonably priced, it used to sell for 100.

This is the clearest, and most well-explained text I have found on guitar making. Everything is explained in great detail, and is therefore easy to follow. Courtnalls new book, THE ART OF VIOLIN MAKING, is similarly exellent on violin making, and has a foreword by Yehudi Menuhin.

Having read all the other books on guitar making, I was amazed to find this one, Making mAster Guitars, so clear, detailed, yet logical and easy to follow. For the first time I felt able to tackle making my own guitar, and the results were pleasing. It would have been nice to have some colour pictures of the historial rosettes, etc., but even so, I advise any aspiring guitar makers to get this one.

I want to try making a violin next, and I will certainly be buying The Art of Violin Making, by the same author.

Although I do not build guitars myself, I am highly interested in its construction techniques. I have been an amateur guitarist for over 25 years now and planning to buy a handcrafted instrument build by one of the contemporary maestroes. In order to be well prepared I wanted to learn more on the history of guitar building, famous instruments and detailed info on how to build a guitar myself. Hauser, Romanillos, various instruments described in great detail with complete instructions on how to build these instruments yourself. The instructions are accurate, elaborate and extremely thorough and even aimed at people who have no expiernce in woodwork at all. This book has it all, even adresses where to obtain wood,tools etc. Highly recommendable!

I purchased this book after buying Bogdanovich "Classical Guitar Making" and Cumpiano "Guitar Making, Tradition and Technology". I recently looked through this book at the atelier of a guitar maker and decided I needed to get it.

In addition to chapters on guitar construction, Courtnall offers complete plans and measurements for a number of famous maker guitars, some insight into the makers' lives and descriptions of their various methods of construction.

Of the two books from my first round of 'how to build a guitar' book purchases, I decided that "Guitar Making, Tradition and Technology" is the one that's most useful to me. Cumpiano's methods are complimentary to those described in "Making Master Guitars" where the guitar is built on a solera. Courtnall isn't quite as basic in his construction lessons as Cumpiano, so I think for beginning woodworkers the two are excellent companions. For an advanced woodworker, Courtnall's book could be the only one a person might need.

I didn't buy this book with the others in the first purchasing round because it was somewhat more expensive, but I wish I had purchased it and perhaps skipped the other two.

In my view this would be one of the important texts for an aspiring builder of classical guitars. The forward portion of the book focusses on the most famous builders. With the rough designs presented it becomes simple to compare how each builder "puts it all together." Which of course, is both beguiling and instructive: beguiling due to the diversity and variance in approaches (for example, the solera, a fundamental tool in building, differs in style between Bagonovich, Cumpiano and this Courtnall text; however it is instructional because those techniques chosen seem logical and coherent. A practiced luthier may take the book and build these guitars, a beginner might look more toward a clearer appraoch to one single insturment. Either way, if you love the classical guitar you will want to have and appreciate this text. I think now is the time for someone like Courtnall to include the more admired of today's contemporary guitars as he leaves off with the 1966 Ramirez (50 years have passed). It would be interesting to see how things have/are changing in the guitar makers studio as well -- how newer technologies influence the builder and the quality or tenor of the instrument (e.g., latticed bracing, replacements for Brazilian Rosewood, tuners, todays builders, today's tools -- I just received my LMI catalog -- tell me whether it is worth spending $700.00 on a side bender when a $15.00 pipe and torch accomplishes the same thing -- the answers to these types of questions would be interesting for a novice builder like myself). I highly recommend the book, however, it's the best I have seen on the history of the great guitars.

Dr. George Watson

This is a very good book with details to help you actually build a guitar. Outside of the cover, the book is void of colored pictures which would really add to the experience. Most of us never get the chance to see these instruments. Nevertheless, I do recommend this book.

Really nice, I found a soft copy of this and liked it so much I just had to acquire the book which I thoroughly enjoy!

just a great book!
one part is about the great makers of the 20th century the other part about the construction