Acoustic guitarsespecially those with archtopsalso offer a lot of challenges. The definitive work on the design and construction of an acoustic archtop guitar, this updated second edition features 288 pages of content, including 24 color pages and 4 tearouts. Archtop guitar build your own kit american archtop guitars. Archtop guitar build carving the inside of the plates when i read the benedetto book a decade ago the one thing that struck me as really cool was using a drill press to drill index holes to insure a uniform thickness on a curved plate. Welcome to the robert obrien online archtop guitar building course. A on these pages you will find information that will assist people on both ends on the. Top guitar making tools wish list 2019 the art of lutherie. I just ordered the benedetto book and hoping to build my first archtop this year. Even then, hofner took a page from gibson and loaded its catalogues with a combination of puffery and vagueness which leads one to believe that their prime motive was to drive future guitar history buffs to distraction. Making an archtop guitar is beautifully laid out, with supporting photographs and technical illustrations, plus. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new. I can make really lovely rectangular objects, but once things get wavy, round and curvy, i. Your blog has been the most helpful and complete documentation i have found so far. The top was ponderosa pine and the backsides was made out of several pieces of maple taken from a shipping pallet.
Building an archtop guitar gibson l5 from bob benedettos book. This book is a must have concerning this particular type of guitar construction. Great book on the building of a laminated archtop guitar. It has a lot of techniques used for building flat tops as well. Sloane, whose second book guitar repair 1973 focused on steel string guitar repair procedures, was surely on this track. The problem was that the old traditional flattops what we call parlor guitars today were not very loud. Below you will find archtop guitar dealers with a great deal of experience in the custom archtop market.
Martin kochs building electric guitars is very welldone and is the only book that covers semihollow body guitars such as the es 335. The official luthiers forum is one of the best out there. Delivery to all countries is still 48 business days, for items in stock. This kit includes all the parts you need to build your own highend archtop guitar. Every musician has the dream of crafting their own instrument. Id also reccommend getting the benedetto archtop plans from stew mac and his book.
If you just want to make some functional knockoff of an existing guitar, you might want to buy a different book. I had built the first one as my 30th anniversary project and now, years later, they are very much part of my building program. I finished bending the cutaway and touched up the remainder of the. I probably wouldnt have built one but a client talked me into it about 6 years ago and i got the book and dvds and it turned out great. Handmade electric guitar body build ziricoteblack limba. If you have experience building flat tops your first archtop will be a good guitar following his instructions. Laplante shares the joy of guitar making in this book. Schnell guitars are hand crafted from top quality, sustainable woods using violin construction methods. Archtop guitar build carving the inside of the plates. Solomon fashioned this special walnut into a bookmatched back. I will always remember the cool autumn the day i found it in a book store, and read it cover to cover in one sitting. I am tooling up to build an archtop guitar based upon the design from bob benedettos book making an archtop guitar.
This intensely figured log was also the source of the back and sides of ken. Building an archtop guitar gibson l5 from bob benedettos. An essential item for the instrument builder, the luthiers handbook explores the secrets and science behind making goodsounding acoustic stringed instruments. Acoustic archtop guitar bracing bob benedetto the art of. The creation of the natura elite archtop guitar by tom bills. Mar 03, 2012 hey bob, i just found your blog while researching archtop construction.
The definitive work on the design and construction of an acoustic archtop guitar, this updated second edition features 288 pages of content. Pit bull guitars build and customise your own electric. This is covered in benedettos book, and allows the headstock binding to end at. Making master guitars the art of lutherie was able to build my first archtop guitar with the help of bob benedettos book another must have leave a reply cancel reply your email address will not be published.
Schnell guitars custom hollowbody archtop electric guitars. Thank you for taking the time to document the process and share it with the world. Im inspired by gibsons l5, but i havent completely decided on what pickup. Pit bull guitars es3 electric guitar kit diy guitar kits, g type guitar.
Making an archtop guitar the luthier of this guitar followed his book and the result is this guitar bob benedetto guitars, sava. The plan is to build an archtop guitar and a guitarshaped octave mandolin gom side by side. Sep 14, 2015 this roundhole archtop takes its name from the concept of phior the golden ratio, 1. There is a lot of great information out there on building archtop guitars these days. The martin guitar company comes into this discussion because it was the premier steel string guitar producer of that time and would have been everyones main point of reference for making that kind of guitar. Benedettos book and the les paul plans i used way back specify a neck angle of. See what industry greats have said about this book. A good quality guitar kit will have all holes predrilled. Acoustic archtop guitar bracing bob benedetto the art of lutherie. Here are some tips that folks attempting to use this book to build a first instrument may find useful. Specific top thickness in the guitar ervin somogyi.
Friends of the archtop guitar public group facebook. Some years ago i had purchased a fullsize dangelico archtop. If you are serious about building one or more archtops then you should also buy the set of benedettos dvds on archtop construction. The problem was that the old traditional flattops what we call parlor guitars today were not very. You should be able to construct a pretty decent laminated hollow body guitar if you adhere to the instructions contained in this manual. A stepbystep look at how an archtop guitar is crafted. The friends of the archtop guitar fotag is a group of professional and amateur builders, players, collectors, hobbyists and enthusiasts dedicated to the preservation and innovation of the art of. Includes everything from the first video but has all the steps ive taken since uploading that one. We put the kits together ourselves, so there is a 2 to 3 week turn around time from the day you order until the day we ship. I know of no other work offering comprehensive step by step coverage of the making of an acoustic jazz. Pit bull guitars gst1 electric guitar kit american ash body chrome hardware diy guitar kits, f type guitar kit. Making an archtop guitar by robert benedetto goodreads. But if youre buying this thinking you are going to be able to build an archtop guitar think again. I know of no other work offering comprehensive step by step coverage of the making of an acoustic jazz guitar.
Here i will provide all information as it pertains to the modeling of an archtop acoustic guitar. Archtop build journal musical instrument makers forum. This is the definitive set on carvedtop guitarmaking. A tribute page to the archtop guitars and the music they inspire. Solomon has tended to build the phidelity with the traditional maple back and sides, but this particular example is made from walnut. Completely in line with the companies slogan the highest quality and most modest price go together when its a danelectro it has become a lowpriced, compact but very complete book. Handcarved top and back of course, about 17 inches wide. Archtop guitar buyerss guide, from riverboat musictm as jazz developed in the early 20th century, evolving jazz orchestras wanted to move from banjo to guitar. How to build a carvedtop mandolin with don macrostie. My next guitarish endeavor is a fullsize archtop jazz box. An archtop guitar is a hollow steelstringed acoustic or semiacoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, and rockabilly players typically, an archtop guitar has.
In this book you will join tom on his journey of creating a fine handcrafted archtop guitar. Octave mandolin builders are more rare, and there is no entrenched design standard like there is for mandolins and jazz guitars. Then over christmas i saw and heard a really nice acoustic archtop jazz guitar. In january of 2015 making masonite guitars was published. Were checking out the making of a luxurious custom archtop, from the raw. Now you can learn from a true master, bob benedetto, renowned jazz guitar craftsman.
Do you want to find out how you can play the guitar. All workshops are held in nazareth, pennsylvania at the nazareth guitar institute. If you are interest in building an archtop guitar then this is an interesting and colourful addition to the must have book by the master of archtop guitar building bob benedetto. By master luthier robert benedetto, renowned jazz guitar craftsman. I first read this book many years ago and was struck by several of the cool ways that he goes about solving the many interesting problems presented during the building process. These guitars are the product of a unique and evolutionary approach to guitar design.
Building an electric archtop guitar can be a pretty intimidating project but, it becomes much less so if youre guided, stepbystep, through the building process. Feb 23, 2016 honestly, i have no idea how to carve wood. Here is a listing of hofner hollowbody archtop guitar models. I started way back when with benedettos book on archtop guitar building to build my first guitar. Side bending, binding, neck construction, inlaying, fretting, finishing and setup are detailed. But the 1990s witnessed a resurgence of the archtops popularity with players, collectors, and luthiers, many of whom were inspired by luthier robert benedettos landmark book, making an archtop guitar. We are also impressed with build your own acoustic guitar by jonathan kinkead. It could be a great way to get your feet wet before tackling a diy guitar. Bob talks about that guitar in his video series on how to build an archtop guitar. Making an archtop guitar this is the book that changed my life.
Mostly using handtools and guided by the book making an archtop guitar. Archtop acoustic guitars evolved out of construction techniques employed on mandolins and other stringed instruments in the early 20th century. This dvd edition includes focusing on bridges and tailpieces, bobs 80minute examination of archtop guitar bridge and tailpiece design, and its effect on playability and sound. His book, and a series of videos, was the inspiration to not only build this instrument, but to also. The definitive work on the design and construction of an acoustic archtop guitar, this updated second edition features 288 pages of content, including 24. This guitar was constructed with methods used by a very well known luthier, bob benedetto, of benedetto guitars. In 2012 i build an archtop jazz guitar for my daugther miriam. The neck starts off as a raw hunk of mahogany mama. Each dealer has a proven record of excellence in the sale of custom archtop guitars.
Archtop guitar building class american archtop guitars. Subscribe to a luthiers forum for excellent information. This will change their orientation to quartersawn and makes an exceptionally strong neck. The definitive work on the design and construction of an acoustic archtop guitar by one of the most talented luthiers of the twentieth century. How to build a gibson les paul style guitar in 10 mins.
Jul 31, 2011 here is my first archtop build, i have been doing solid bodies for the past 10 years or so. His book, and a series of videos, was the inspiration to not only build this instrument, but to. Fine custom archtop guitars hand built by luthier oskar graf. Virtual guitar lounge for lovers of the archtop guitars. Vintage guitars info collecting hofner vintage guitars. This took about 6 months i used bobs book as a reference, its a must have, and plans for a gibson l5. Only a sixstring archtop guitar with a 17 x 3 body will be offered. The back issues of the guild of american luthiers journal, american lutherie, and their hardcover book series also have a wealth of information on archtop guitar building. Books at stewartmacdonald your source for guitar parts, tools, and supplies. A lot of users get stymied when attempting to implement the arched plates.
For example, the martin build your own guitar kit includes all the components and instructions needed to build a high quality acoustic guitar. Here is my first archtop build, i have been doing solid bodies for the past 10 years or so. The idea for a book soon followed, and i started writing. When you come to the class, well provide you with supplies and tools, as well as personally supervise your building. Acoustic archtop guitar bracing bob benedetto the art. Making an archtop guitar second edition hal leonard online.
Making an archtop guitar by robert benedetto alibris. Archtop guitar buyerss guide, from riverboat musictm. Book building an electric archtop guitar for those who may want to build an electric archtop or are simply curious to see how my archtops. Typically i manage to build only a couple of custom archtops per season and those are mainly ordered, but i hope to have at least one archtop guitar available in my inventory of instruments. In this course robert invites brazilian luthier, joao cassias of cassias guitars, to show how to design, build, finish and setup an archtop guitar. As things tend to do when im making a guitar, something happened. A with the right guidance and a little time, this dream is achievable. You can use three of the flatsawn curly maple neck blanks or three of the plain maple neck blanks glued facetoface. Im basing the design on bob benedettos beautiful archtops, and using his book and plans.
This dvd edition includes focusing on bridges and tailpieces, bobs 80minute examination of archtop guitar bridge. Start by marking making an archtop guitar as want to read. A stepbystep look at how an archtop guitar is crafted reverb. If you are interested in archtop guitars, try bob benedettos making an archtop guitar.
It was almost magical as i slid the book off the shelf and looked at it there in my hands for the first time. The pros and cons of building your own guitar the hub. Mar 06, 2020 the acoustic archtops stature began to diminish in the 1950s, as guitarists in increasing numbers turned to electric instruments. With the desire in place from playing the ibanez archtop guitar, i began research on the web, looking at build postings, videos and looking into suppliers. As the name would suggest guitar kits are preorganized assemblies which contain everything you need to build your own custommade guitar, including all hardware, electrical parts, and instructions. Please call, text, or email leighton to discuss build ideas. Hollow body kits pit bull guitars build your own guitar. A guide for electric, acoustic and bass guitar in this guitar toneswoods guide youll learn how different woods influence the sound of your acoustic guitar, electric guitar or bass. Ill always be thankful that bob shared that with all of us. How to build a gibson les paul style guitar in 10 mins artur mihalas. A some people need little more than a reference book. Here is an illustrated stepbystep guide to building an electric archtop guitar. Even if you never build an archtop, its a great read.
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