The Acoustic Guitar Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Buy and Maintain a New or Used Guitar

CONTENTS......Page 6
Back Cover\n......Page 290
Foreword......Page 14
Acknowledgments......Page 16
Introduction......Page 18
PART I: All About the Guitar......Page 22
Ancient Origins......Page 24
The Dark and Light Ages......Page 25
The Development of the Modern Classical Guitar......Page 26
C. F. Martin and the American Guitar......Page 28
The Early Years of the Steel-String Guitar......Page 30
Bigger Guitars for the 1930s......Page 31
The Folk Boom and Beyond......Page 33
The Nostalgic Baby Boomer Market......Page 35
New Sounds for a New Generation......Page 37
Guitars in a World of Scarce Resources......Page 38
The Twelve-String Guitar......Page 40
The Flamenco Guitar......Page 42
Bass Guitars......Page 43
How Archtops Work......Page 44
Electric Archtops......Page 46
Is an Archtop the Guitar for You?......Page 47
Solidbody and Semi-Hollowbody Electrics......Page 48
Hawaiian and Other Lap-Style Guitars......Page 49
Resophonic Guitars......Page 50
The Maccaferri (“Django”) Guitar......Page 53
Seven Strings, Ten Strings, and More......Page 54
Multineck Guitars......Page 56
Air Guitars......Page 57
Tone......Page 58
Volume......Page 60
Presence......Page 61
Balance......Page 62
Sustain......Page 63
Cutting Power......Page 64
Wraparound and Projection......Page 65
Facts and Impressions......Page 66
The Mystique and Value of Solid Wood......Page 68
Buyer Beware......Page 69
Laminate Construction......Page 70
Laminate Tops......Page 71
Laminate Fingerboards......Page 72
Seasoning......Page 73
Slab Cutting......Page 75
Quartersawed Wood......Page 76
Bookmatched Tops and Backs......Page 78
Sets......Page 79
Wood Naming Conventions......Page 80
Spruce......Page 81
Spruce Mystique......Page 82
Selecting Spruce for a Top......Page 83
Cedar and Redwood......Page 84
Rosewood......Page 85
Mahogany......Page 87
Maple......Page 88
Koa......Page 89
Ebony......Page 90
Finish......Page 91
Nitrocellulose and Acrylic Lacquers......Page 92
Glues......Page 93
Action Loosely Defined......Page 96
Setup and Style......Page 97
Neck Materials and Construction......Page 99
Neck Shape and Contour......Page 101
Relief......Page 102
The Truss Rod......Page 103
Truss Rods and Relief......Page 105
Truss Rod Adjustment......Page 106
Diagnosis......Page 107
Neck Joints......Page 108
Neck Set......Page 109
Resetting the Neck......Page 110
Fingerboard Materials......Page 111
Twelve- and Fourteen-Fret Necks......Page 112
Fingerboard Width......Page 113
Replacing and Repairing Fingerboards......Page 114
Fret Design......Page 115
Refretting......Page 116
Materials......Page 117
Nut Height and Grooves......Page 118
Long and Short Scales......Page 120
Fanned Frets for Mixed Scales......Page 121
Headstock or Peghead......Page 122
Tuning Machines......Page 123
Here’s What You Need to Know About Tuners......Page 124
The Soul of the Guitar......Page 126
Laminate and Solid Wood Tops......Page 127
The Sound Hole......Page 128
The Pickguard......Page 129
Top Bracing......Page 130
X-Bracing......Page 131
Voiced and Scalloped X-Bracing......Page 133
Kasha and Other Bracing Systems......Page 134
Function and Structure......Page 135
Bridge Woods......Page 136
Bridge Shapes......Page 137
Function, Structure, and Materials......Page 139
Compensation......Page 140
Keeping Your Temper......Page 142
Back and Sides......Page 143
Back Bracing and Side Reinforcement......Page 144
Table: Approximate Standard Guitar Sizes......Page 145
Shape......Page 147
Cutaway Guitars......Page 148
Putting the Guitar Together......Page 149
Making a Good Marriage with Your Guitar......Page 152
Guitars Differ Differently......Page 153
Cutaways......Page 154
Left-Handed Guitars......Page 155
Ornamentation......Page 156
Headstock and Neck Inlay......Page 157
Binding, Purfling, and Rosettes......Page 159
Finish......Page 160
Bluegrass and Old-Time Music......Page 161
Contemporary Fingerpicking......Page 162
Suiting Your Suitcase: Travel Guitars......Page 163
Under $300......Page 164
$750 to $1,000......Page 166
Over $2,000......Page 167
String Basics......Page 168
From Catgut to Stainless Steel......Page 169
Picking Your Strings......Page 170
Coated Strings......Page 171
Compound (“Silk and Steel”) Strings......Page 172
Flatwound Strings......Page 173
Nylon Strings......Page 174
Gauging String Gauge......Page 175
Compound Strings......Page 176
Measuring String Gauge......Page 177
Table: Typical String Sets......Page 178
Making Up Your Own String Set......Page 179
String Brands......Page 180
Bad Vibes, Heavy Metal Fatigue, and Other Tough Breaks in the Life of a String......Page 181
When to Replace Strings......Page 182
Amplified Versus Natural Sound......Page 184
Introduction to Transduction......Page 185
Pickups, Preamps, and Impedance......Page 186
Internal Mini-Microphones......Page 188
Magnetic Pickups......Page 189
Why Plug In?......Page 190
The Great Signal Chain of Being......Page 191
Amplifiers and Sound Systems......Page 192
On-Stage Sound Systems......Page 193
Acoustic Guitar Amps......Page 194
Microphones and Other Inputs......Page 195
Equalization......Page 196
Notch Filters and Parametric Equalizers......Page 197
Sound Processing Devices......Page 198
Looking for Mr. Goodfret......Page 200
Owning More Than One Guitar......Page 201
The Nature of a Collectors’ Market......Page 202
The Nature of Collectors......Page 203
Vintage Guitars as Investments......Page 204
Why Some People Think Old and Vintage Guitars Are Better......Page 205
Why Some People Think New Guitars Are Better Anyway......Page 206
Modern Luthiery: The New Golden Age?......Page 207
Longevity......Page 208
Becoming an Expert......Page 209
Great Names of the Past......Page 210
Junk Chic......Page 211
Finding a Good Dealer......Page 212
Negotiating Approval or Warranty Terms......Page 213
Sales and Marketing Techniques......Page 214
Discounts......Page 215
Structure......Page 216
Playing Qualities......Page 217
What If You Can’t Play Yet?......Page 218
Around the House......Page 220
Changes in Climate......Page 221
January Is the Cruelest Month......Page 222
Good Guitars Finish Last......Page 223
Spit ’n’ Polish......Page 224
Cases......Page 225
Routine Crack Repair......Page 227
Bridge and Fingerboard Cracks......Page 228
The Trauma Unit......Page 229
PART II: Market Survey......Page 232
How to Use This Section......Page 234
Table: Approximate Standard Guitar Sizes......Page 235
Caveat Emptor......Page 236
Collings Guitars......Page 238
Background......Page 239
Old Gibsons for Gibson Lovers......Page 242
Guild Guitars......Page 243
Larrivée (Jean Larrivée Guitars Ltd.)......Page 244
LaSiDo (Godin, Seagull, and Simon & Patrick)......Page 245
Lowden......Page 246
C. F. Martin and the Martin Bracing System......Page 247
The Mystique of Pre-War Martins......Page 250
Table: Martin’s Largest-Sized Guitars Since 1854......Page 251
Martin Since 1950......Page 253
Other Martin Products......Page 257
Name That Number: Martin’s Size and Style Designations......Page 258
Table: Martin Guitar Size Prefixes......Page 259
Table: Martin Guitar Style Suffixes......Page 260
Martin Serial Numbers......Page 261
Ovation and Adamas......Page 262
Santa Cruz Guitar Company......Page 263
Tacoma Guitars......Page 264
Taylor Guitars......Page 265
Regal......Page 266
14 Custom Luthiers......Page 268
Finding Luthiers......Page 269
15 Selected Importers, Distributors, and Manufacturers of Student, Mid-Line, and Laminate-Body Instruments......Page 272
Glossary......Page 274
Resources......Page 286
Magazines......Page 288
Guitar Shows......Page 289