Making Master Guitars

by Roy Courtnall

Making Master Guitars is a craftsman's handbook about the exciting and challenging pursuit of making classical guitars-a craft that the author reveals to be surprisingly accessible by following his instructions. The book is unique in that it includes nine separate detailed plans of instruments constructed by internationally famous guitar-makers. The author has had the rare opportunity of examining these instruments in detail, and has made many replicas of each one. It is presented in three "The Master Makers and Their Guitars," "Workshop, Tools, and Materials," and "Guitar Construction-The Spanish Method."

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 1993

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book!!!

The first section covers the history of the most celebrated classical guitar makers while comparing and contrasting their construction and design ideas. The second and third sections are an unparalleled treatise that breaks down in exacting detail the construction process while guiding the reader through the potential pitfalls that might be encountered. There is discussion of wood selection, jig building, tools and more.

I have recently finished reading Robert Benedetto's book on building archtop guitars, while it is a good book, this one by Roy Courtnall is unrivaled, and only serves to highlight where the other guitar construction books fall down.

While it does only cover classical guitar construction, there is plenty to take away for any style of guitar. If you are interested in guitar construction this book should be on your shelf. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[Thomas Van reeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het beste boek dat ik gelezen heb over het bouwen van gitaren. Het boek bevat een introductie met plannen van verschillende bouwers van klassieke gitaren met aangegeven wat de verschillen liggen. Nadien wordt het volledige bouwproces uitgelegd in duidelijke stappen en met een duidelijke vermelding van wat nodig is voor elke stap. Nog 2 opmerkingen: de foto's staan niet altijd in de gebruikte volgorde, maar dat paste misschien niet in de lay-out. En gebruik van kleurenfoto's zou alles nog duidelijker maken, maar het zou natuurlijk een effect hebben op de prijs.