Recommended reading materials?

Chris_H · May 16, 2012

I am finished reading the Luthier's Handbook, and Guitarmaking, now looking for something else to chew on...

Left-Brain Lutherie looks like a good possibility..

What are your favorites?

gyosh · May 16, 2012

Looking forward to seeing the response you get to this. I hope the answer isn't "everything you can get your hands on."

BR Ukuleles · May 16, 2012

The Responsive Guitar and Making The Responsive Guitar by Ervin Somogyi are great reading. Just browsing through the pictures is quite informative too. Lots of ideas on jigs and procedures.

Rick Turner · May 16, 2012

This is the current list I hand out to my students. I need to expand it, but here it is:

Magazines, Suppliers, and Websites of Interest to Instrument Builders

Guitar Talk The Acoustic Guitar Magazine Forum http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi

Fretboard Journal blog
http://fretboardjournal.com/blog/

Frets.com www.frets.com

The Mandolin Café Yes, endless chatter about mandolins
www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi

The Acoustic Guitar Forum Started as an unofficial Taylor Guitars forum
www.acousticguitarforum.com

MIMF The Musical Instrument Maker’s Forum
www.mimf.com

The Official Luthiers’ Forum a pretentious title, decent lutherie advice
www.luthiersforum.com/forum/default.asp

The Museum of Making Music I volunteer with the museum helping with special exhibits
www.museumofmakingmusic.org

Luthiers’ Mercantile one of the major suppliers to hobbiests and the trade
www.lmii.com

Stewart MacDonald Guitar Shop Supply, expensive but good
www.stewmac.com

Allie Lutherie, lots of wood for instruments.
www.alliedlutherie.com

AllParts, my main instrument hardware supplier
www.allparts.com

Flea Market Music a good uke forum
http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/bulletin/default.asp

Ukulele Underground…another uke forum
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4

Australia/New Zealand Luthier’s forum pretty much what it says…a good one
http://www.anzlf.com/

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · May 16, 2012

I'd go to the GAL web site and buy all the "Red Books" you could afford.

Chris_H · May 16, 2012

Thanks for the replies. I will pick up those books, L B L too. I had seen a few of the links you mentioned Rick, found answers to some questions on the Official Luthier' forum. The flea market site ( I believe) has a for sale uke section that was highly educational, never seen so many uke pics in one place, lots of detail shots. Thanks for the links.

I like to carry a book with me to lunch and read, the 2 books I have, I am done with for a while.. oh yea, and the art of inlay, and some other pretty basic guitar book with lots of pics..

Any other faves, please share...

thistle3585 · May 16, 2012

My favorite three are Melvyn Hiscocks "Building an electric guitar" and the two books by Graham McDonald. The great thing about these three books are that they start with designing an instrument all the way through finishing. Plus, they give examples of several different ways to do the same task. There are also sections on building and using jigs.

maclay · May 16, 2012

Yeah Allen, the Ervin Somogyi books are cool, but very expensive.
I'm still waiting for Rick Turner to come out with a book.....Rick where's your book?

Pete Howlett · May 16, 2012

Tool catalogues and a recipe book for your slow cooker - essential reading for anyone. Luthier books? Pick any one, it's bound to lead you astray as any other

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · May 16, 2012

Pete Howlett said:
Tool catalogues and a recipe book for your slow cooker - essential reading for anyone. Luthier books? Pick any one, it's bound to lead you astray as any other

You know Pete, I think you're right. There isn't much that I do that's in any book.

Rick Turner · May 16, 2012

McMaster-Carr catalog...if they'll send you one. 3,500 pages and counting...
They're also on-line.

Rick Turner · May 16, 2012

And my book...I'm still trying to figure out how to reconcile the sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll with lutherie and old age.

BR Ukuleles · May 17, 2012

maclay said:
Yeah Allen, the Ervin Somogyi books are cool, but very expensive.
I'm still waiting for Rick Turner to come out with a book.....Rick where's your book?

That book by Rick would be a great read indeed.

Also add to the list Contemporary Acoustic Guitar Design and Build by Trevor Gore and Gerard Gilet. Two very experienced Australian Luthiers.

Also an expensive 2 book set, but I look at it this way. I've got an absolute fortune in wood sitting on shelves. The same goes for machinery in the shed. Hand tools scattered here and there. And then there is the stock of tuners, strings etc. The price of these books is just a fraction of what one instrument sells for. Just a part of doing business.

Trevor has been given a space on the ANZLF for people wanting to ask questions. He's very free with his knowledge and advice. A must have on the library shelf in my opinion.

gspears · May 17, 2012

Chuck, what is the GAL website? Can you give the web address or the name? I am assuming GAL is an abbreviation. I'm sure it's probrably obvious. LOL.

Thanks, Greg

BaldEagle5556 · May 17, 2012

I read some uke specific building books as well:
- Ukulele Design and Construction by D. Henry Wickham
- Hana Lima 'Ia 'Ukulele Construction Manual available online at
http://www.hanalimastore.com/servlet/Detail?no=62
- Make Your Own Ukulele: The Essential Guide to Building, Tuning, and Learning to Play the Uke by Bill Plant

Tom

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · May 17, 2012

gspears said:
Chuck, what is the GAL website? Can you give the web address or the name? I am assuming GAL is an abbreviation. I'm sure it's probrably obvious. LOL.

Thanks, Greg

Sorry. "Guild of American Luhiers". The Red Books are collections of articles.
http://www.luth.org/

Chris_H · Jul 1, 2012

Just finished Left Brain Lutherie, as much as I wanted to follow. Kinda heady. I am sure I got something out of it, but mainly in the form of just 'dusting off' different angles of looking at things.. If anyone is interested, I will pass it on at half of it's cost. Anyone have copies of the GAL Red Books they want to get rid of/ sell ? or the Somogyi books? I know.. nothing like 'doing' to learn, but I like to read too.. Cheers! PM if you have those books lying around collecting dust...

agilitydog · Jul 2, 2012

Chris, I'll bet you regret selling David's book some day. About the fifth or sixth time through most of the cogent questions raised on in this forum begin to "resonate". One thing I do understand is that the Front cover of David's Book is thoughtfully "coupled" with the back cover by the meticulously carved braces and structure of thought that form his approach to each aspect of the instrument creation he describes. As different as Rick Turner, Al Carruth, and David Hurd can appear I'd pay a bundle to sit in on that symposium. I think Chuck Moore recently mentioned sitting in on one of David's workshops on the Big Island. It would be interesting to hear the book "translated" by Chuck for Audible

. I'll send you a PM for the book tomorrow; I've worn mine out.

By the way, David suggested I read Arthur Benade's book, Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics. Used for $6.50. Great! I do have the Gore/Gilet volumes and I think R.M. Mottola's laudatory review in one of the recent GAL journals was right on the money.

Chris_H · Jul 2, 2012

agilitydog, thank you for the heads up. give me a few days before you PM me, I will consider keeping it again. I do see that there may come a point where I want to measure plates and deflection to better understand what is going on, and, interfacing a sound card, cardioid mic, and some sort of frequency analysis software to a computer, is well within my reach, as some folks do this with turntable plinths.

And on the Red books, yes, If you have them, I would like them.

Cheers..

agilitydog · Jul 2, 2012

Don't have any Red Books I want to sell. Anyone know where I came get more old issues of the CatGut Society Journal? As for web reading: This is a great site: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/guitar/guitarintro.html and a small Texas site : http://www.odycc.com/blog/2011/12/07/the-craft-of-guitar-lutherie-strength-in-numbers/

Recommended reading materials?

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