I am a professional guitar maker who learned the craft primarily with the wonderful Cumpiano/Natleson text. I own nearly every modern book on the subject.
This book is nicely produced. It makes great use of clear, well lit color photographs. It touches on every subject from wood selection to alternate finish methods with concise and accurate information.
What appeals to me about this book as an experienced luthier is that it offers several "new" (to me) methods to accomplish various tasks. I have found some of these to be quite useful. You see, I live in a rural area and have little contact (at least not regular contact) with other luthiers so my career has been filled with lots of trial and error.
For example, I like to install pearl inlay on my guitar necks and headstocks. It is usually in dark wood (ebony, rosewood). It is very difficult to trace the pattern on this wood in such a way that it is clearly visible when excavating the cavity to accept the pearl. Kinkead showed me a clear and simple (aren't all the tough problems solved by simple solutions?) solution. Mask the area with WHITE masking tape and then trace with a pencil. Cut the pattern out with an x-acto knife and viola! You have a crystal clear pattern that is easy to see when routing the cavity.
There are many similar examples. I find this book to be my new go-to book after the Cumpiano text. As far as how effective it would be for a newbie, I can't say for sure as I haven't built a instrument from beginning to end following this text. However, based on the quality of illustration, information and my familiarity with the subject, I see no reason why a new student could not successfully build an instrument following this text alone.
Congratulations to Mr. Kinkead. There are many books on this subject but few that are worth the price. His method is economical, practical and clearly expressed. I recommend this book highly to those interested in the craft be they experienced or new to lutherie.Get more detail about Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans.
No comments:
Post a Comment