Every guitarist dreams of owning a handmade instrument, but for most, the cost is likely to be prohibitive. The alternative — building your own fine guitar — isn't as difficult as you might imagine, given some skill, patience and the expert guidance of a master luthier.
In Jonathan Kinkead's Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans, every step of construction is fully covered, from the choice, selection and preparation of woods, to the consideration of size, bracing and tonal qualities. Each step of the building sequence is clearly photographed in color, with variations to the standard design shown to enable you to personalize your instrument as you make it.
Briston, England-based Kinkead has been building guitars for nearly 30 years. His craft is born out of experience and intuition rather than a strict following of technical detail. The resulting beauty of form and distinctive tone have earned him his reputation as one of the world's most respected independent luthiers.
The book is available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $29.99.
“Maybe Aerosmith will do something in the future, but it’s a big ‘if’ – the last thing I want to be doing is to try and push Steven in that direction”: Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton gives update on frontman Steven Tyler’s health
“This epic is Page’s crowning achievement in guitar orchestration”: Led Zeppelin's 50 greatest songs
