This is 5 Things Nobody Tells You About Guitar Making. In this post, you’ll learn five things that nobody ever really tells you until you finally get into making acoustic guitars. Enjoy.
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Updated 2023
Things Nobody Tells You About Guitar Making
Like any hobby, there are aspects of the craft that you don’t really find out about until you actually get into the building process. These are the things that nobody tells you about, and you just have to learn on your own.
That changes today. In this post, I’m going to reveal five things that nobody really told me when I decided to get into acoustic guitar making, but that I learned along the way.
Knowing these things up front can make a big difference in your development, and they can even help you make the decision to make a guitar or not. I hope you make several guitars, and I also hope that these five things really help you make the right decision.
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See Also: 50 Things I Wish I Knew When I started Making Guitars
Guitar Making is Easier than it Looks
Probably the most surprising thing that nobody told me about guitar making before I started what is that it’s actually a lot easier than it looks. Sometimes it’s made out to be a lot more difficult, but once you’re actually doing the work, it’s fairly easy.
Guitar makers tend to be a little on the secretive side sometimes. They also sometimes tend to make things appear a lot more difficult than they actually are. In reality, making a guitar is just like making any other woodworking project.
That’s the part that really surprises people. Yes, a guitar has to do a lot more things than a nightstand, but in the end they are both woodworking projects.
Both have certain sizes, dimensions, wood species that work really well, and expected properties. If you can follow directions really well, you can follow directions and make an acoustic guitar just like you could make a nightstand.
See Also: You Can Make an Acoustic Guitar
You Don’t Need Special Training to Make a Guitar
Another thing that is surprising to a lot of new guitar makers is that you don’t need any type of special training or education in order to build a great sounding guitar. This is a shock to most people, but it’s absolutely true.
There are many excellent guitar making schools around the world, but you absolutely don’t have to attend one of them if you don’t want to. They don’t know anything that you can’t figure out elsewhere, and they don’t hold the keys to some secret sauce for guitar making.
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Some of the schools are excellent, and they can give you a nice jump start in your acoustic guitar making adventure. However, going to one of the schools and learning from a master guitar maker is definitely not a requirement.
See Also: The Secret to Getting the Most from a Guitar Making Forum
Great Guitars Can be Made from Books
My third surprise for you is that you can actually make a great guitar from a book, and without any outside assistance. If you are already comfortable with following instructions in a written form, a book may be all that you need.
Making a guitar from the book is definitely not as easy as having someone show you, but that’s the same for any type of project. I recommend that you buy several bucks, because they can give you a total picture of what it really takes to make an acoustic guitar.
From there, you can pick and choose the things that you like, and finally decide on making a guitar from one of the sets of instructions. Seeing how several people build will widen your view, and it will help make the process a lot easier.
Many excellent guitars have been made following the instructions in books. It’s a fantastic starting point, and it can give you the foundation you need to build several instruments to get the experience you need to take it even further.
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Your foundation gives you the skills you need to put in the reps. The reps are what give you the experience you need to learn from doing the work and advance the craft on your own.
See Also: Acoustic Guitar Making For Beginners
Guitar Making Takes a Lot of Jigs
Another thing that nobody told me before I made my first acoustic guitar was that I would have to build practically a small village full of jigs in order to do it. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just that you should be ready for lots of stopping in between steps.
One of my personal development areas that I have to work on constantly is being patient. If that sounds like you, then I recommend you build all of the jigs that you’ll need to make your guitar before you actually start making the guitar.
It was actually quite an exercise for me to be able to stop production on my guitar to build the jig that I needed in order to do the next step. It’s just so tempting to power through and try to freehand something that really should be done in a jig instead.
If you don’t see yourself being able to slow down, and make the right decision, then just make the jigs you need up front. Then, when you find that you need one of them to take the next step, just pull it out and use it.
See Also: 5 Important Jigs to Build Before Making an Acoustic Guitar
It Takes Longer to Make a Guitar than Most Projects
Finally, I was surprised to find out how long it actually takes to make an acoustic guitar from start to finish. It’s not really about the time that you’re spending building, it’s actually more about the time you’re spending waiting.
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That’s right, you’re actually going to spend a lot more time waiting around on your acoustic guitar than you are building your acoustic guitar. The waiting comes from the fact that you have to glue so many things together, and that just takes time.
There are also things that need to be glued to other things before they can finally be glued to a third thing. This means you can’t just jam them all together at the same time, you have to do the layers, which adds more time.
If you had a way of instantly drying your glue, I would be confident to say that you could build an entire guitar in one day. You might even be able to build more of them than that in one day once you get good at the process.
It’s the drying time and the waiting time that adds the majority of the hours and days to your acoustic guitar making project. However, just be patient, and you can be rewarded with a very good looking guitar in the end.
See Also: Nothing Will Ever Sound as Sweet
People Also Ask
Is it hard to make an acoustic guitar? It is not hard to make an acoustic guitar, especially if you have patience, know that you will need time to learn, and give the build the effort that it needs to be successful. It;s not easy by any stretch, but it can be done by anyone with the patience and persistence.
Does guitarmaking take a lot of tools? It does not take a lot of tools to make a guitar, at least up front. You can borrow from friends, ask the store to do some milling for you for a fee, and make a lot of your own tools to save money.
Can I make a guitar from a book? Yes, you can absolutely make a guitar from a book. That is where a lot of guitar makers start, and where i started myself. Do;t listen to anyone that says you can’t make a guitar unless you’ve gone through some expensive school, or learned from an old master. You can make a guitar from a book.
Your Action Assignment
Now that you know these things that nobody really opens with when it comes to talking about acoustic guitar making, it’s time to get out into the shop and take action.
If you have been on the fence about making a guitar for a while, hopefully some of these things have helped you get closer to making the best decision for you. I definitely hope you try guitar making because I think you’ll find it easier than it looks.
If you have any questions about these things, or want to know more, Contact Me and I’ll be glad to help. Happy building.
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