This is the 5 Best Resources for New Guitar Makers. In this post you will learn five excellent resources that are really helpful for new guitar makers. Enjoy.
If You Like My Posts, You'll Love My Books
Updated 2023
Best Resources for New Guitar Makers
As a beginning guitar maker, it can be difficult to find all of the resources that you need in order to be successful. After all, just starting out you really don’t know where you need to go to get all of the right information.
Starting out on the right foot makes a really big difference. If you can start with some good resources right away, it could mean far less wasted time and a much better guitar build right from the start.
Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!
These are my five best resources that you can use as a new guitar maker to get your hobby started off right. They all serve you in different ways, and together they can help you learn about guitar making much faster.
See Also: 50 Things I Wish I Knew When I started Making Guitars
Guitar Making Books
The very first resource that I always recommend to new instrument makers is books. There are so many fantastic books on acoustic guitar making, and each one of them can teach you several new things.
The very first book that you read is going to be a total revelation to you. Every single thing is going to be new, and an explosion of information and knowledge. The second book that you read will be a little less intense, and they will lose intensity as you go.
It’s not that the second, third, and fourth book and so on are not as good, they are just revisiting a lot of information that you already know. The gems in these books are a little bit more difficult to find, but every book will have at least a couple things that weren’t taught in the others.
This is where buying several books and reading all of them is very helpful for you as a beginner. You’ll get to see how a guitar is made from several different perspectives, and that can help you come up with your own method of building.
See Also: Top 5 Acoustic Guitar Making Books
Guitar Making Forums
Arguably one of the best resources for new guitar makers that you can possibly have in the beginning is access to a guitar making forum. These are awesome, because it’s real people sharing real troubles and triumphs with each other.
Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!
There’s also a huge opportunity in reading through the forum archives. This is the past postings where people converse about different aspects of guitar making. You can learn a ton just by reading through these conversations.
Most forum questions start with just that, a question. The answers to these questions are supplied by people who have made guitars in the past. In most cases, when answers agree with each other, they can be considered good answers.
If you really want to get a jump start on your guitar making knowledge, spend a little time every day reading through the archives in your forum and you will learn quite a bit. Then, you can take that knowledge into the shop and apply it.
The Acoustic Guitar Forum is a good starting place.
Guitar Making Suppliers
My third huge resource for new guitar makers is guitar making supply companies. The big two in the industry are Luthier’s Mercantile and Stewart McDonald. Both of these companies have a lot of different tools for guitar makers, and they also sell every part you would ever need.
Getting familiar with these companies is a really good start. After you make a few guitars you’ll end up buying wood from different places and possibly even milling your own. However, in the beginning it’s good to have a resource like this.
If You Like My Posts, You'll Love My Books
It’s also good to have a place to get tools, and know that they are specifically designed and engineered for the guitar making world. The types of tools for making guitars are a little bit different in some cases, and having a reliable place to buy from is helpful.
See Also: 10 Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making an Acoustic Guitar
Meeting Real People
This one is a little bit more difficult than the rest of the ones on the list, but it’s definitely worth your time to see if there is anyone in your area making guitars as well. This can be accomplished in a couple of different ways, and it can give you a real live person to talk to.
The benefits of working with a real person is that you can ask them a question. You can also get together and share ideas and information. This will make both of you better, even if one of you is considerably more skilled than the other.
Helping someone new forces the more experienced luthier to have to explain things, and explaining things is much more difficult than just knowing things. In this way, the more experienced guitar maker grows just as the new guitar maker grows.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask around on social media, and to talk to your friends to have them keep an ear open for anyone they know that makes acoustic guitars. You would be surprised but it’s probably common enough that you have a friend of a friend that might know somebody.
Make sure you vet any strangers that you are going to meet in person of course, but you probably have someone that’s not too far separated that it would be awkward to make contact with them to see about learning together.
See Also: A Beginners Guide to Woodworking
Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!
Patience and Persistence
Finally, the last resource on this list is easily the most important, and you don’t even have to leave your chair to make it happen. Patience, and the willingness to see your guitar build through until the end are two incredible resources.
Patience is easily the very first thing that you should try to cultivate as a new builder, and just understand that this is going to take a while. Agree that it’s OK right up front, and don’t feel apprehensive about pushing the build forward.
The more patient you are, the better your guitar will turn out. You’ll cut less corners, take less chances, and rush through fewer steps. All in all, your guitar will be much better, and you will be a much better guitar maker.
See Also: 25 Simple Ways to Customize Your Guitar Without Changing the Tone
People Also Ask
How do I get into making guitars? It’s easy to get into making guitars, and there are a lot of great resources available on the internat from books, to articles, and videos all about making guitars. Start online, and you will find a lot of videos and articles on makign guitars to get you started.
What materials do you need to make a guitar? The materials needed to make guitars are primarily wood, with a few metal components for acoutic guitars, and some electronics for electric guitars. None of the things you need are expensive for beginners, and you can start right away easily.
What education is needed to be a luthier? You don;t need any kind of formal education to be a luthier, however if you do have the opportunity to enroll in a guitar making school, they can help you learn a lot faster than going on your own.
Your Action Assignment
Now that you know these five excellent resources for new acoustic guitar makers, it’s time to get out into your shop and take action. If you’ve been thinking about making a guitar, now is the time to go out there and get started.
Making a guitar is a tremendous project, but if you’re looking for a way to help yourself learn and grow as a woodworker, this is one of the best ways. You’ll have to learn a lot of different things, but thankfully you now know several different resources to help.
If you have any questions about any of my guitar making resources, Contact Me and I’ll be glad to answer them. Happy building.
Post Author-
- More than 20 Years Woodworking Experience
- 7 Woodworking Books Available on Amazon
- Over 1 Million Words Published About Woodworking
- Bachelor of Arts Degree from Arizona State University
I receive Commissions for Purchases Made Through the Links in This Post.
Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!
You Can Find My Books on Amazon!
