Luthier stuff

 

I have been asked a few times to share my insight on the acoustic guitar, so this page is an attempt to dispel some common misconceptions about the instrument and also describe some of my theories on the guitars that I build.

 

1. First of all, I build guitars because I absolutely love the instrument. Officially, I am retired, but I am not the type of person who can sit around and do nothing. I put my lifelong hobby of woodworking together with my lifelong passion for the acoustic guitar, and after receiving some excellent training from one of the world’s masters in the craft I began building guitars on my own. Some of that training shows in the guitars that I build today. I have spent my life studying the actual construction of the guitar and figuring out why they sound like they do.

 

2. There are builders who use tap tones in the woods to get the results that they do in their instruments. I have studied this way of “tuning” a top and I have some problems with the whole theory. First of all and of the most importance is that when you “tune” a top by tapping on it, not connected to the sides and back of the guitar, you are just listening to the ring of the top as though it was a bell. If you take that reasoning and think of the top as a bell, what happens when you set the bell down so that its outer edge is resting on something solid?  AHEM….. The bell no longer rings!

 

Instead of the “tap tuning” method, I describe my theory on guitar building to be very similar to a speaker in a sub-woofer. At the heart of the speaker you have a solid core with some extra strength and mass ad toward the outer edges of the speaker cone it gets progressively thinner and more flexible. By driving the core of the speaker with an electric current, it vibrates the core and moves air to produce sound. In my guitars, you can consider the core of the speaker to be the bridge area. The top of the guitar (in most cases spruce) is then sanded so that it is thinner on its outer edges and the vibrations induced with the strings allow the top of the guitar to move air (creating sound). Perhaps this is why my guitars project so well?

 

3.  One of the other things that most people completely overlook is the type of wood that the neck is made out of. After all, the strings are connected to the guitar on 2 ends, and the neck vibrates also. It only stands to reason that as much care should be taken to choose quality neck woods as there is to choose the right top, back, and side woods. There are several woods that I like to use for necks and each one has its own qualities. Mahogany necks can help give a warm feeling to the sound of the guitar. Maples can brighten up the sound and gives excellent clarity to its tone. Rosewood necks can offer up some of both maple and mahogany combined. Walnut is also close to the sound and feel of rosewood necks. Another wood that is not often used but is equal to a mahogany neck is cherry. After all, cherry is in the same family as mahogany and is considered a North American mahogany. Cherry makes for a really warm sounding guitar when used for back and side sets also!

 

4.  When possible, I like to use woods that are native to North America. Some of this wood, like Ash, is common and most people know what it looks like. It also makes for an incredible acoustic guitar! Sycamore is another overlooked tonewood. The guitars I have made using sycamore have ended up sounding a lot like a mahogany guitar but perhaps just slightly brighter in overall tone.  Osage orange is another tonewood that is often overlooked. Its appearance (bright yellow) is not always favorable, but the tone is as close to Brazilian Rosewood as you can get. I would challenge anybody to do a blindfolded hearing test between two of the same body guitars of Braz and Osage. I doubt that anybody could tell the difference. Walnut, Elm, Hickory, Pecan, Oak….all good tonewoods when used properly. I have also used box elder to build a guitar. This wood is in the maple family, but is outstanding looking because of its bright red streaks.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is that most any wood can become a tonewood when it is crafted in the hands of someone who understands how to use it.  That brings me to another point about myself. I own a portable sawmill and I enjoy sawing logs into lumber. Some of the guitars I have built are from wood that I cut the tree down and then dried the wood and made a guitar out of it. I doubt that you will find many luthiers that can say that! If you go back a page or two and look at my gallery, you will find a guitar made from Sycamore. That is one of the trees that I cut down and made a guitar from the wood.

 

  1. I build all of my guitars using parabolic bracing as opposed to scalloped bracing. Perhaps it is because I don’t fully understand the point of suppressing certain tones with the scallops??? I can’t say for sure. The one thing I am certain of is that I get incredible sustain and projection out of the parabolic bracing schemes I use in all of my guitars. Of course each guitar’s bracing is slightly different than the others, but this is due to the different densities of the woods used, and the flexibility of the top. (every top is different). If I were a factory, I would brace all of my guitars all the same as the others and hope that they all came out sounding good. In fact, this is what most factories do and is the reason that you can play a dozen of the same brand and model of guitars and perhaps one or two of those dozen will be exceptional while the others are just ….ho-hum?? I take the time to bend and flex each top. I have a “feel” for what the wood needs in order to produce the best sound but at the same time to withstand the rigors of being under the stress of the strings for decades without mal forming or producing a “belly” Guitars with a belly are my pet peeve. I do everything in my power to try to make sure that the guitars I build don’t develop that dreaded belly over time. All of the stock I use for bracing is tight grained and exactly quarter sawn. I am meticulous about the small details that you won’t see in the guitar. You will hear the difference it makes though!
  2. I use reverse Kerfed linings in all of my guitars (with the exception of the classical guitars). It makes for a MUCH stronger joint between the back, sides, and top. While this takes extra time to install and costs more than the traditional kerfed linings, I feel it is better so I take the time to make it a standard on all of my guitars.
  3. I love to use wood bindings in my guitars. This is one of the details that the customer can choose when he commissions me to build a guitar. My preference is to have a binding that contrasts beautifully with the top and the back and side woods. Of course, if you choose you can have some of the celluloid bindings as well. I keep them in stock, but rarely use them. For the purflings, I prefer the ones made from wood also. Most of the time, I make the purflings myself but on occasion I will buy from other luthiers who have made an overstock of a certain type. I also sell some of my overstock of purflings to other luthiers on occasion. By doing this, I have a wide range of colors and styles to choose from. You can also choose to have mother of pearl or abalone for purflings. Installing those types is expensive because purchasing the material is expensive and also the labor to hand inlay so many small pieces of the natural materials is VERY time consuming. I DO NOT use “fake” pearl or abalone purflings! (You will find this on some guitars.) While it may not be apparent to the casual user that fake purflings are used, anyone who is educated in the craft can spot it at a distance. I just don’t want my name associated with fake stuff!
  4. All of my guitar backs are cross braced with an x-brace. I feel this adds to the resonance of the guitars, but that is not the real reason I use them. On steel string guitars, the top is a dome. Even though they are called “flat top” guitars, the top is not flat…it is a dome. The back of a guitar is also a dome. You are going to have to put on your thinking cap on this one, but here is the real reason I cross brace the backs:  Over time, the strings pull the neck forward. The back of the guitar feels the pull and tries to straighten out the dome into more of a flat shape. If allowed to do so, when the back flattens out, the neck is allowed to rotate slightly which causes the need to do a “neck reset”. This is quite common in acoustic guitars, especially guitars over 20 years old. What I am striving to do is to eliminate that back from flattening out and eliminate the need to have a luthier do a neck reset. I feel that using taller back bracing in an x-brace style allows me to achieve the goal of keeping the domed shape in the back of the guitar. I am actually saving you money….20 or 30 years from now!
  5. Top woods: My first choice for the top of a guitar is a hybrid between Sitka, Engelmann, and white spruce. This wood is called “Lutz”.  I get the best tones from this wood and it produces the best overall tone of any top wood I have ever used. Engelmann spruce is probably my second choice with Sitka coming in a strong third.  If you want a really warm tone on your guitar, I would suggest western red cedar. If an exceptionally bright tone is what you are looking for, then perhaps a maple topped guitar would suit you better. Mahogany topped guitars record well.  By no means is this meant to be an absolute evaluation to top woods, but in general this has been my findings over the years.
  6. The most important thing that I do when you come to me to discuss building a guitar is that I ask a lot of questions, and I actually listen to what you are telling me. While I might have some suggestions for you to consider, this is by no means a “pushy” type of discussion. By asking questions and putting all of the pieces together about your tastes in music, your playing style, and your desired “sound” that you are looking for, I can then develop a good suggestion for your new guitar. If you already know what woods you would like to use, this speeds up the process considerably. I can help you decide on the other parts of the guitar to achieve the overall goal of the “perfect sound” that you want.
  7. I stand behind my work. If for any reason you have problems with the craftsmanship or materials in the guitar you purchase from me, I will either repair or replace the guitar (at my sole discression) for as long as I am able to work as a luthier. Of course, as with any guitar, you are required to take proper care of the instrument and guard it against high heat and humidity changes beyond the 40 to 60% relative humidity required of any quality wood instrument. Proper care of the fingerboard using 0000 steel wool and either olive oil or mineral oil is needed also in order to insure that the fingerboard remains clean and last a long time. Wiping down he guitar with a lint free soft cloth occasionally is also part of a good care routine. Keeping the proper guage strings on the guitar will insure that the neck doesn’t prematurely warp.
  8. I think I have mentioned it above, but this is important to telling you who I am and what I believe in: First of all I am a Christian and I believe in treating others in the same way that I want to be treated. I want you to be happy with every aspect of the guitar that I build for you. I have been blessed in life and I really don’t have to work for a living. I build guitars to supplement my income but most importantly I build guitars because I truly have a passion for the instrument. I want your instrument to be something that brings you joy for the rest of your days and then something that your grandchildren will enjoy playing also. God has blessed me with the talents of woodworking and music and I would love to bless you with a high quality guitar of your dreams at a reasonable price.