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Title: Making an Archtop Guitar by Robert Benedetto ISBN: 1-57424-000-5 Publisher: Centerstream Publications Pub. Date: February, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.42 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Use this book as the first step
Comment: While I would recommend this book, even to a motivated novice, I would caution those who are hoping that everything will be completely spelled out, and you'll be warned of all the things that could go wrong. This isn't an "Idiot's Guide to Building an Archtop." Benedetto is a bit vague in some rather crucial areas. That said, it is the best book on the subject. Admittedly, if he were to try to anticipate every wrong turn a reader might make, the book would not read as well. Part of me appreciates his lack of condescension. The other part of me, though, felt unprepared to move forward in a few spots.
I make my living as a woodworker, so I didn't really have any problems with the carving, joinery or finishing parts, but I imagine that a novice woodworker might run into some trouble. Since this was my first guitar, the more lutherie oriented parts gave me a bit more pause. I don't think I would have gotten the quality of result that I did without the outside sources to which I referred. The sections on fretwork and set up are, for example, barely adequate. The basic information is there, but there is a dearth of any hints, and I discovered that fretwork and set up are areas in which one needs hints.
Again, I recommend the book, but with the caveat that you'll want to read more elsewhere.
Rating: 5
Summary: "Hands Over the Secrets" -- Amazing...
Comment:
To me, this represents an important work. It is an artist's attempt to save and record the heritage of crafting finely-made archtop guitars. If you've ever seen a Benedetto guitar, you know the level of craftsmanship that Bob's family has always had in their guitars. Here, in a detailed "how-to," he imparts what no doubt in his mind represents the bread-and-butter of what goes into a Benedetto.
This is the equivalent of a guitarist publishing a video and giving away all his "licks!"
In my experience, the only kind of person who would do what Bob Benedetto does here is someone who truly believes that the secret lies not in the "how to" but in the "how many." Most people will never build as many guitars as Bob Benedetto has built, and those who don't can only come close to his level of expertise. But with this book and Bob's expert and detailed advice, a talented woodworker can get darned close.
6 Stars! Oh... oh well, 5 then!
Enjoy!
Rating: 5
Summary: A construction overview by a master Luthier
Comment: I was and continue to be enthralled by this book. I have found no other book on this topic that is superior to or even equal to this book.
Being written by a master luthier there are any number of things that the writer does not explore in much depth; presumably because those things are so second nature to the author that he does not realize that readers might want to read about them. So the book is not enough to be only-source that a would-be builder would need. Many of these omisions are in the books favor; the book remains a managable size and does not need to broken out in to several volumes. However I would have liked a bit more commentary about why one should do things in the sequence that he outlines. Some of the questions I was left with are listed here.
*. Why are the recurves carved after the body is assembled?
*. When and how does one determine the angle of the neck set?
*. How much plate tuning will typically be done before and after assembling the body?
*. How does one build curve into a truss rod so that neck relief can be influenced by truss rod tension?
Much of this information is available from other sources but is not detailed in this book. The balance between brevity and detailing is subjective; for myself he got the balance pretty close.
I particularly like the books formatting and font selection. The font types and sizes are easy on the eyes and lend them selves to being reviewed without having to get too close. I greatly appreciate that I can look over sections of the book while the book is resting on the work bench. Too many of the books on instrument making are published in a format that is simply too small. With this book I can see details in the photographs and understand what is being illustrated.
I particularly appreciated the authors making a point of explaining that (and why) fancier looking woods can be accoustically inferior to the less exotic looking woods and stating that some wood choices are driven by visual asthetics instead of by accoustical superiority. He illustrates this point with a guitar that he built out of slab-cut pine and maple. With this instrument the author makes it clear that a makers intimate familiarity with any and every piece of wood makes far more difference than what it looks like.
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