How did you get into Guitarmaking?

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christian
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How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by christian » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:46 am

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"Originally Posted on:"Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:33 pm""

Kia Ora Everyone,

Maybe this topic has been posted before,
But i thought it would be interesting to hear some background stories on how we all chose or stumbled into guitar making, because lets be honest its not the likely field we got pushed into on careers day at school hahaha.

let me kick it off.

wanted desperately to get into Arts School
fell tragically short, but got a kinda of an apprenticeship with a top sculptor
started sculpting with wood really enjoyed it, decided to get my trade cert in Furniture making spent a year feeding a thicknesser and camped out on the sanding table. but eventually was lucky enough to spray,machine and jig make my little heart out.
I was always playing guitar and one day a book on Luthierie caught my eye at the library."thought hmmm how hard could it be"
as i found out at 21yrs old very hard, but incredibly satisfying.
that was that i was hooked.
I continued to make high end furniture and build guitars in my spare time.
was fortunate to meet Ben Harper who gave me huge encouragement to pursue it further. I studied design and since then the Guitar passion has quietly taken over.

look forward to hearing other stories from you all.

Cheers,

Christian.
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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Nick » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:47 am

I was always taught by my dad that "If somebody else has made one then there's no reason you can't" It was with that background that when I started learning (badly) guitar at 16 I looked at the instrument & thought "hmmm, might have a go at making one of them". Armed with zero knowledge but a ton of enthusiasm I made an even cheaper copy of the cheap acoustic guitar I learnt on :lol:. This was pre-internet days and as far as I know, the library had no books on it either so it was just a blind copy. Had no idea about guitar construction so it was a 3 ply body, no bracing :shock:, the neck was screwed on & the frets were hammered flat Aluminium wire glued onto the front of the Rimu neck in the same positions as my cheap guitar! It played quite well actually, sound wise but the neck pulled after a while :lol: I then discovered a copy of Ralph Denyer's 'Guitar handbook' (which is a bloody good book by the way for a good general 'all things guitar' type knowledge) which had the magic 17.8 fret formula in it & mentioned that the neck had a bit of metal running down it with a screw thread & nut on it called a truss rod. The world was my Oyster! and I started making electric bodies and necks, doing repairs & resprays e.t.c so it's just gone from there really. No 'formal' training, books & the internet & cock ups have been my teachers. I haven't got any plans to go "Pro" as I like my day job too much (& it pays well!), I'd just like enough work to be always making these damn things in my spare time.
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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by rocket » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:47 am

Ever since i could pick up a hammer i've been making stuff with wood.
Been a chippy since i left school in 1970, can't play a note of music. A couple of years ago i made enquiries about having a violin restored, that my grandfather had made. Through that process and meeting different people muso's and luthiers i was encouraged to have a go at a violin, which i did and it turned out ok. While sourcing tools and the like for the violin project i stumbled across Benedetto's book,it interested me because of the similarities between the violin and the archtop guitar, mainly the carved front and back. So, ihad a go at the archtop as well and then like so many others the bug bit, and now i can't think about anything else but building guitars. A few years down the track i'll retire from chippying, and hopefully by then this hobby i love so much will be at least, paying for itself. While we're about it i'd like to say thanks to you lot who make this forum what it is, friendly, helpfuland informative,,,,,,,,,,Shut up Rod.... Cheers
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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Puff » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:47 am

Hey Rod. Maybe Coals to Newcastle again but this - Муратов Сергей Витальевич. The Art Of The Violin Design - oogle that and it should work. Is interesting for design purposes. By that- do it yourself v dogma. Not light but interesting. Cheers

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by kiwigeo » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:47 am

1. Was always the guy in the guitar shop peering into the sound hole of the instruments and checking out how it was built rather than annoying the shop owner by loudly thrashing away and driving off the customers.
2. Took up classical guitar for a few years. Played bass at same time.
3. Did a guitar making course with Paddy Burgin and Dave Freeman in NZ in 2005.
4. Happened to be building a new garage in 2005 so added a fully climate controlled custom built workshop.
5. Have received positive feedback from muso friends who actually like my guitars so the obsession has fed on itself.
Martin

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by rocket » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:47 am

What did you say Puff???
Like I said before the crash, " Hit the bloody thing, it won't hit ya back

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by xray » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:47 am

I was similar to Nick, where i got bored one day and had a go at making a guitar from inferior products. I still remeber bending sides with an oxy and heat pipe and no moulds and getting a bobbin sander to sand out the bumps an wrinkles. Needless to say i sanded through it. I then had a break for a while, making wise, and started learning to play from a very talented muso who i worked closely with and he recieved a takamine guitar worth about 3500 for an engagement present and i was amazed at how much easier a well setup guitar was to play. The moral to my story was that i needed to make one that was done properly and looked good and will not give up until im happy with the end result.
Its been an expensive way to have a good guitar!!!!!!

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Allen » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:48 am

I watched a couple of mate build a guitar on their kitchen table about 30 years ago. Thought at the time that they must be mad because you could just go out and buy one.

Decades later I was looking for something really challenging to do that wouldn't bore the shit out of me once I figured out how it all went. Turns out I hit the mother load of things to keep you guessing and trying to improve.

And after working with steel all day long in the day job, it's really gratifying to come home and work with the wood. It keeps me happy and sane.
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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by bunker » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:48 am

Good evening all. I was the same as Allen and looking for something to occupy me and give me a challenge. I had played and sang semi professionally for 30 or so years and loved guitars I was initially looking at a kit, got the C&N and Jim Williams books and thought bugger it I'll have a go at the real thing. After much hunting around I found Aussie Tonewoods and emailed Tim as to whether he could supply me all the makings which he duly did and with the wonderful Cumpiano book as my main reference point along with whatever I could find on the net I managed to build something that worked and have now been well and truly hooked.

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Hesh1956 » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:48 am

For me since my 20's I had talked about and had a personal dream to build acoustic guitars after I retired. Mind you I had no clue, not that I do now either... how to build anything.

Then in 2004 I found out that there were acoustic guitar "kits" and even better some of them, not all...., came with directions... Very Happy

So never having really made anything before except reservations... I took the plunge and purchased a Stew-Mac kit for a dreadn*ught guitar. When the box arrived I also learned that the instruction manual, which is excellent by the way, had a list of tools to purchase that could add thousands to the cost of the endeavor.

Not knowing if I was going to take to guitar building I decided to only purchase what I needed for the step that I was on and for each step carefully consider if I had to purchase what Stew-Mac said. I soon learned that there are MANY ways to build a guitar and that the story of the rich guy on the deep sea fishing charter with all that brand new equipment but no stomach for being at sea need not apply to gutiar building... Very Happy

My first was butt ugly with half the pores unfilled. The fret ends were wickedly sharp and the bridge had been glued on too close to the neck. But hey I made this thing and for the most part it looked and sounded like a guitar. With every passing day too I reduced the number of buzzes and weird noises and soon it played, if you put a bag over your head, and sounded pretty good.

I was hooked!!!

So I took the bag off my head and and ordered a Martin kit. There was a huge difference at least back then in the documentation of the two kits with Martin kits coming with a cryptic pamphlet that was useless and Stew-Mac kits being super well documented including a video tape as well as an instruction booklet. Stew-Mac even provided you with a finishing schedule that I still use for the most part to this day.

Anyway the Martin kit with the Stew-Mac instructions went together better than I had first hoped and most importantly I was having a great deal of fun!!

Number 3 was from scratch and turned out pretty good but I still needed to learn to pore fill....

This was how I started using a second bathroom as a work shop, my bath tub has a compressor in it, my shower was wood storage, and my toilet had a go-bar deck over it.... Very Happy

It was a hobby and I was having fun. I built about 5 guitars in my first year and then I discovered that there were Internet forums for guitar building.

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by ozziebluesman » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:48 am

Music has played a big role in my life since a very young age. Took piano lessons from the age of ten for many years which has been a great grounding for me in music. At 20 I played semi pro in a band for ten years and at the same time worked a day job in a Music Store. I started playing guitar also during that period and carrying out small instrument repairs. That was it, hooked! Moved to Townsville worked here in a music store for 15 years and was doing all the musical instrument repairs and setups. The owner of the store was a wise old guy and very clever with musical instrument repairs. He taught me many skills. The past 20 years I have always thought I could build a musical instrument but never took the plunge. I have an eye for detail and plenty of patience s about five years ago I started with building a solid body lap steel guitar for a friend. I've been poor ever since but man do I have a nice wood stash and great lutherie tools now. Also four and 3/4 acoustic guitars experience now. Lifes good!

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Pete Brown » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:49 am

In 1985, my brother, who was about to visit to UK, persuaded me to meet him there on my annual break from life in the Kimberleys. The travel agent I tried to buy a ticket to London from had other ideas however and convinced me to buy a round-the-world ticket instead.

I missed seeing my brother in London as it turned out, but my time in London wasn't wasted; I was a regular visitor to the music shops in Denmark St and Tin Pan Alley while I was there. I was in love with arch-tops at the time and the Gibson Super 400s I saw there still stick in my mind.

In Canada I continued to seek out the guitar shops and found some real gems. Toronto has some fine resident luthiers and I was fortunate enough to see first-hand the work of Linda Manzer and others. Richard's Rare Guitars in Vancouver was a regular draw card while I explored the city and surrounds and I very nearly returned home with a vintage Gibson L4 arch-top. My meagre traveller's budget put paid to that idea however.

With the assistance of one of the guitar shops in Vancouver I managed to find my way to Jean Larivee's factory in North Vancouver. I'm sure he was a busy guy even then, but he went out of his way to help and allowed me to sort through an enormous pile of Sitka tops situated in the front of his shop. In the short time I was there I got the impression that his focus was paper work rather than wood work - I vividly recall the piles of paper covering his office desk as the employees got on with the business of actually building guitars!

I left there with five Sitka tops which I continued to lug around with me until I returned home. How I managed to turn one of them into a functioning guitar while living in the tropical north eludes me, but it lit the fires which burn to this day. It's a great hobby.

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Chalks » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:49 am

Wow. Very cool place to laze around.
I think I have basically done this. But mine is a mixture of Hesh's and Alen. In a library with the kids in Perth years back. Saw a book and thought, "bugger it, why not?". It took years and years of saving dollars here and there, losing it to bills, starting again as you do. Stumbled on Stewmac. Bought a kit. Great first go! Thought why not start from the start. Read loads over and over. Stole as many ideas as I could from books, put together a design. Bang! They turned out bloody great. Found this and a forum in the US. Listen a lot to smarter guys. Decided to have a go at a couple of archtops.
Where does it end. I don't play and now I have all these great instruments. I am hoping the kids or their kids will enjoy them. Wife is tiring of saw dust in the house.
Bloody hell it beats the crap out of working steel. Damn site prettier sound too.

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Dave Olds » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:49 am

I guess my story is similar to many above. I have loved guitars since I was a young fella, and have played ( badly ) for the last 40 odd years. While I had always loved the thought of making my own guitar it was something that I thought was just way too hard. Guitars are things you buy - not make !!

However, a couple of years ago, an uncle of mine made a passing comment during conversation about finding something you are passionate about and "just doing it" which got me thinking - if others can do it then why not me.

Being the sort of person who learns by watching, rather than reading, I looked out for a luthiery course - and lucked out by choosing a course with Sergei De Jonge in Canada. Sergei was one of Larrivees early apprentices, and is not only a fantastic luthier, but a great teacher as well. ( If anyone is looking for a luthiery course - I would have no hesitation in recommending this one )

So - I did the course, and like you all, fell in love with it to that point that it has completely taken over my spare time. I am in the IT industry ( software designer ) so after using the brain all day, it is so nice to come home and do something that uses the hands as well as the brain. I am still a newby, just working on my 5th guitar, and being a perfectionist, I still have an awful lot to learn. Just as well, as I believe I will be doing this for some time yet !!

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by sebastiaan56 » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:49 am

Well I was a raw 24yo when I landed in Canada to visit my girlfriend and various rellies in Toronto. One of my rellies handed me a guitar which was just wonderful to play. I was used to cheapo laminated jobbies but this was a joy to play. Nice low action, full sound, no buzzes. I spent the afternoon jamming happily to myself. My cousin than came in complaining that he couldnt fill his luthier course places. He offered me a place but my girlfriend had to return to Edmonton and my genitalia did my thinking for me back then....

Fast forward 25 years. a divorce, remarriage, kids everywhere. My ancient Moeck recorders were still getting a major workout so I thought Id try and make one myself. Many frustrating hours later I decided that making instruments was the go but the investment for recorders was out of budget. So took the red pill and I got a guitar kit for a lark.

My cousin still builds and is now regarded as a seminal builder in the current acoustic revolution. And yes, I wish I did the course now.... My cousin is Serge! Its a very small world.
make mine fifths........

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Kim » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:49 am

As a kid I had always fixed things, even if I had to break them myself to reveal their limitations and innards. Most times these repairs worked out fine (or were quickly wrapped in newspaper and hidden at the bottom of the rubbish bin so my old man did not find out.)

Another project source came from having two older brothers, one 6 years senior, the other 3. Natural pecking order demanded that when ever something new came into our house the oldest would seize upon it immediately and then take what ever it was through it's paces not letting anyone else near it until he was bored with it or it was broken. Then the next bro would inherit the object and do very much the same or give it to me to fix first and then seize it again meaning by the time it got to me, it was usually flogged out.

Anyhow as I grew, people started bringing me stuff to fix, all kinds of stuff following the path of my interests, bikes, gliders, skateboards, scooters, motorcycles, cars and computers, etc, etc and guitars. I learned the basics of guitar repairs and was happy enough doing that for a good while but then started playing around inside cheapies to try and get them to sound better. I had some good successes and began to develop some of my own ideas eventually deciding it would be much simpler to start from scratch rather than continue the investigation with my big mit stuffed inside a soundhole, ... :roll:
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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Kim » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:49 am

sebastiaan56 wrote:
My cousin is Serge! Its a very small world.

Now there's a revelation, maybe you should call him up Sebastiaan and ask if he still has a place going. :roll:

Cheers

Kim

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Puff » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:50 am

Rod your comment about archtops and violins bought to mind a good read that gives insights into how the rennaisance greats designed their instruments that remain pretty much the benchmarks that have been 'copied' ever since. It's a scholarly tome but by going just a tad lateral you have the guts of how to design any archtop, plate curvature and all, from mandolin to double bass.
The author is Sergei Muratov which I guess is all the Russian in the prefix and the title is "The Art Of Violin Design". Google the title and it should come up.
Sorry if my original was a bit cryptic.

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by seeaxe » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:50 am

What a great thread – here’s my contribution

I got my first guitar when I was 15 and (because I convinced myself it was easier and I suspect because I thought it looked cool) learnt left handed. This is eventually what got me into making guitars.

I started my first build at the tender age of 16 on a Saturday morning. By midday I had the two pieces of dreadnought-shaped 12mm ply securely nailed to the 6, almost symmetrically placed pieces of 2 by 1 Russian softwood around the perimeter. That’s about as far as I got with that one as I ran out of ideas (and everyone around was pissing themselves laughing).

Much later (after emigrating to NZ and buying a house) I found myself with a few woodwork tools and a spare bedroom and set out to build a guitar, as I couldn’t afford the guitar of my dreams, a Yamaha.

Foolish me, I thought it would be cheaper.

In this build I got as far making part of a neck but got stuck on how to build and bend the sides, glues and all sorts of other things. About this time, 4 kids turned up from somewhere and it was all parked. However, I had managed to buy myself a decent bandsaw, Irving Sloane’s book on steel string construction and a few other odd tools. One of the kids smashed a ukulele and I had a go at fixing that, I still have it, so that is still No 1!

Fast forward even more years (about 40 in fact) and I am now in the happy position of being able to buy pretty much any guitar I like – even a Yamaha. But guess what – if you are a lefty, all the guitar shops will stock are the bog standard ones with no class and less bling. Hence I returned to the holy grail of building one myself, for myself. I am still trying.

What have I learnt from this?

1. Not many chicks are impressed by left handed guitarists. The only one I found that was clearly had poor judgment, because she married me.

2. It would probably have been cheaper to actually buy Yamaha Inc itself, tell the 2000 strong workforce to build me the greatest guitar ever, in left hand please, then sell the company again afterwards instead of the endless orders from Stewmac, LMII, Australian Luthier Supplies, tools from the local Carbatec store, and god knows how many bits of MDF and 19mm ply for jigs and moulds from Bunnings. But probably not as much fun.

3. It is almost certainly luthiers and wannabees like me that are saving the world from global recession by spending completely ridiculous amounts of money on tiny bits of wood, tools and, if you don’t live in the USA, postage.

4. I reckon you know you are hooked when you enjoy sharpening something as much as you enjoy using it afterwards.

Cheers!!
Richard

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Allen » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:50 am

How many of you have a completely shaven forearm from testing out the edge on your plane irons and chisels? Mine looks like I was at the Vet. and they were prepping me for surgery. :lol:
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Kim
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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Kim » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:51 am

Guilty as charged :lol:

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Peter T » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:51 am

Allen wrote:
How many of you have a completely shaven forearm from testing out the edge on your plane irons and chisels? Mine looks like I was at the Vet. and they were prepping me for surgery. :lol:

Mine looks liked plucked chicken skin.

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by kiwigeo » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:51 am

My arm stops at the elbow.....my chisels are a bit sharper than most people's.

Japanese water stones make blade sharper as Japanese wife's stare when honourable husband comes home drunk from pub.
Martin

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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by DarwinStrings » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:52 am

Cool, now I feel like I am a part of a small cult that practises a ritual of shaving their forearms. I reckon if I honed all my blades on the same day I would end up looking like your average metro-sexual though.

I will keep this short. Top of the school in industrial arts and a teacher who was very enthusiastic about my enthusiasm. I started architecture after school but packed it in cause I didn't like being indoors and went for carpentry/joinery instead. I picked up a guitar at a friends house at 20 years old mainly because a woman that shared the house with him was willing to coach me through "horse with no name" and more importantly "stairway to heaven" because it needed more attentive coaching. I kept bashing at the thing alone once the coach had found a new student. It wasn't long after I started playing that I started tinkering with old broken ones but I never stayed still long enough to make one even though I thought of it often.

I guess it was inevitable that I put my love of making things with wood together with my love of the guitar although I did build a mandolin first (1992) even though I had never played one, I used Cumpiano/natelson's book to make the mandolin and lengthened the scale to suit my hand better.

Jim
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Re: How did you get into Guitarmaking?

Post by Kim » Mon Nov 01, 2010 6:52 am

Some great stories coming out of this thread, good post Christian 8)

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