I actually made a guitar a damned good one at that. A this book is regarded by many as the benchmark by which all other instrument building books are judged. Popular luthier books showing 124 of 24 the violin of auschwitz hardcover by. Tradition and technology was a recommended book from some of my forums and online groups. The man primarily responsible for crafting this singular work, written with thenpartner jon natelson, is william cumpiano, but even this outstanding book pales in comparison to his talent as a luthier and teacher. This is my personal library listing of instrument building and general woodworking resources, books, dvds and articles.
Illustrated with photographs by clyde herlitz and line drawings by william r. Our guitarmaking textbook cumpianoguitarmaker william. The book is a detailed description of the two authors techniquesmine and luthier lawyer jon natelsonsat the time of its composition. Cumpiano is known for his book and teaching skill more than anything. I immediately called and yep, 1 space left, i snatched it up. He is a world renown author, a master builder and a passionate teacher. The tool crib 11 free guitar plans, 20 guitar building. Natelsons book guitar making tradition and technology book. Tradition and technologys first edition is dated 1985 and at this writing, it is now well into its fourteenth or fifteenth edition. Im sure some of guitars are very nice, but for such a big name in luthiery, he has never really had a waiting list for his guitars other than the 46 months it would take for a custom order.
Altho a little dated in appearance, with photos that arent a clearsharp as i would like, it has all the copy content that counts. Journal of guitar acoustics this is a page advertising the book compilation of all seven issues of the journal published between 1979 and 1982. This neck joint is an alternative to traditional dovetail or tapered dovetail neck joints for acoustic guitars. Cyndy burton, an experienced luthierteacher and contributing editor to american lutherie recommends the book, guitarmaking. His book, coauthoured with jonathon natelson, guitarmaking, tradition and technology has been called the bible of guitarmaking. Hailed by guitar player magazine as perhaps the finest book on guitars ever. Cumpiano has been a professional handcrafter of concertquality guitars, building instruments in the american, european and latinamerican traditions. Luthier supply andy provides great looking shell inlays for all instruments. Lots of great stuff has come out of the shop including the two guitars built for the book guitarmaking tradition and technology by william cumpiano and john natleston. Hailed by guitar player magazine as perhaps the finest book on guitars ever produced, and by booklist as a rolls royce of construction guidebooks, this. They are busy working on a second edition that hopefully will come out soon. William cumpiano presents a step by step tutorial on how to build either a classical or steel string guitar, from scratch. The trend moved to a new level in 2005 when a good friend commissioned me to learn how to build acoustic guitars. Cumpiano, i turned off the plans and turned on the planer, and guess what.
If youre just getting started as a luthier then dont read any of these resources you will spend entirely too much time book learning instead of learing by doing. And if youre into books, id recommend william cumpiano s. Apr 19, 2005 the man primarily responsible for crafting this singular work, written with thenpartner jon natelson, is william cumpiano, but even this outstanding book pales in comparison to his talent as a luthier and teacher. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the united states patent and trademark office uspto. Help calculating top and back radius for cumpiano build. Over 450 photographs, drawings, and diagrams reveal in exquisite detail the hows, whys, and. What are the basic tools you should buy first when. Tradition and technology guitar reference 9780811806404. Before i got there, i needed to know more about this, and found on the web a highly recommended book and i do recommend this, guitarmaking by william cumpiano considered the bible of guitar building. Sean holloway rated it really liked it sep 04, the book served its fundamental purpose of providing a guide for him to build a guitar that was functional. Before i say anything, your first tool should be a book telling you in detail how to build your guitar. He then spent two weeks in 2003 working in cumpianos shop. Luthier tool company nice looking tools for luthiers made by chris klumper.
A limited number of personalized appointments can be included. Remember what lennon said life is what happens while youre busy making other plans. Nowhere have i found information on building guitars as complete as in this fine publication. I learned to build from first studying the book guitarmaking, tradition and technology by william cumpiano some 20 years ago. Since completing his apprenticeship in 1972, william cumpiano has created hundreds of individuallycrafted guitars and other stringed instruments in the european, north american and latin american traditions. William cumpiano and i met in 1964 at pratt institute in brooklyn, n.
Cumpianos book can be approached as both a comprehensively. Occupation, master guitarmaker, cultural researcher and educator. Starting a library of your own is easy to do these days. William cumpiano and jonathan natelsons book on building an acoustic steel string guitar and classical guitars is by no means dated unless you consider the time it was published. Luthiers friend the luthiers friend is a one stop sanding station designed to meet the. William cumpiano s course was a valuable asset to my guitar building. Tradition and technology a complete reference for the design and construction of the steelstring folk guitar and the classical guitar guitar reference by cumpiano, william r.
Inside the iconic guitar of the legendary queen guita. Cockeysville man performs guitar solo, making handcrafted. Hailed by guitar player magazine as perhaps the finest book on guitars ever produced, and by booklist as a rolls royce of construction guidebooks, this impressive volume is the first book of its kind to describe in depth how both steelstring and classical guitars are actually designed and built. We will be following the first book by william cumpiano and jon natelson, guitarmaking. There are ample black and white photos throughout, though it is the insightful overviews that will grab your attention. William richard cumpiano april 30, 1945 is a world renowned authority on the making of stringed musical instruments who is also renowned for his writing and teaching of the art of luthiery. A guide to building great tone in acoustic stringed instruments. The origin and derivation of guitar scales a prepublication chapter from john natelson and william cumpiano s book on guitar technology. It is based on an online addendum by william cumpiano to his wellknown guitar building book, guitarmaking. There are many books about many kinds of instrument construction and maintenance listed here, mostly in english, but some in russian or german. A this outstanding book provides stepbystep instructions on how to build an acoustic steel string or classical guitar. I have never seen the cumpiano book, but understand it to be a fantastic source. Cumpiano is a master guitarmaker and teacher of instrument building.
Luthier david maccubbin, of cockeysville, has been handmaking steel string acoustic guitars for nearly 15 years. Previously making instruments by commission only, william cumpiano is now offering his instruments in premade form. Association of string instrument artisans asia guild of american luthiers gal. As an beginner with just two sloppy builds under my belt and a luthier. William richard cumpiano born april 30, 1945 is a builder of stringed musical instruments and is known for his writing and teaching of the art of luthiery. Cumpiano has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. Hello im fairly new to this sub so please dont judge my lack of knowledge about this topic. Design and build the worlds coolest ukulele fox chapel publishing graphic.
Little or no woodworking experience is necessary to create your first guitarjust patience and an open mind. Some weeks ago, i had to chose a project for my physics class and since i love playing the guitar i thought it might be cool to build one. Build a quality stringed instrument new england luthiers. Hailed by guitar player magazine as perhaps the finest book on guitars. William cumpiano has been making guitars and teaching others in the art of luthiery for some 30 years.
This book is very logically and i recommend it as an excellent check list book to go with william r. The luthiers handbooks reputation as the bible for stringed instrument making is welldeserved, particularly for anyone interested in the why of design and construction practices. Paul slingerland, owneroperator, luthier slingerland guitars. Cumpiano, 9780811806404, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. I have leafed through it so much that the pages are falling away from the binding. Cyndy burton, an experienced luthier teacher and contributing editor to american lutherie recommends the book, guitarmaking. William richard cumpiano born april 30, 1945 is a builder of stringed musical instruments. Aside from being a highly respected and well known luthier and author. I was lucky enough recently to come across a unique instrument however and would like to share it with you. Cumpiano was instrumental in the development of the first featurelength documentary about the cuatro.
Finding fulltime lutherie a bit of a financial struggle, he began to focus on another passion which was furniture restoration and operated a very. The basic instructional volume is william cumpianos 1988 book, guitarmaking. Tradition and technology by william cumpiano and jonathan natelson as a good stepbystep guide on how to make a classical or steel string guitar. I have taught people of all ages, of all levels of experienceand all have emerged surprised and delighted with the instrument theyve taken home. Harry becker, bachelor of industrial design, 68, and william cumpiano, bachelor of industrial design, 68, have been friends since they first met 44 years ago at pratt in 1964. The dust jacket is a touch sun faded along the spine. Hi everyone, for the most part i just lurk on this forum and dont have much to say. The voice of experience an extended letter from herb david of ann arbor, michigan concerning the appropriateness of the new instrument acoustics technology. Classroom and handson professional training for luthiers of all levels arc guitar al calderone 308 railroad ave winters ca 95694 5307951795. The wellpublished luthier william cumpiano 1999 gives the following insightful account of the relationship between knuckle wrapping and soundboard development. I obtain my tonewood from respected luthier suppliers, or local exotic wood suppliers right here in albuquerque. In the book he gave a pinned joint method but readers had a lot of trouble with it. I had never built one, but soon found william cumpianos magnificent book guitarmaking and set off building acoustics.
Since 1971, bill cumpiano has been building and repairing some of the finest handmade guitars and stringed instruments on the planet. For those more interested in the stepbystep how of building a guitar, id recommend william r. After building a few kit guitars as practice, he then built his first builtfromscratch guitar in 1987 following william cumpianos book guitarmaking tradition and technology. William cumpiano has made fretted stringed instruments of unexcelled quality, by hand, for almost five decades. Luthiers forum tasmanian acoustic tonewood luthiers forum store. I am sure steve deserves a lot more credit for what went into that book.
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