Full size plans and drawings for making a 1960 hofner archtop jazz guitarr. An archtop guitar is a hollow steelstringed acoustic or semiacoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, and rockabilly players typically, an archtop guitar has. How to fit archtop guitar braces luthier school, guitar. Building an archtop guitar link to completed build in. Guitars were defined as having a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard. Eventually i got down to cases though, and tapered the fretboard on the. Fitting the braces or tone bars for an archtop guitar is a critical skill to master for any luthier. Jay lichty, lichty gutars i bought the instructional video series for building an archtop guitar. The word luthier is originally french and comes from the french word for lute. All archtops have tailpieces, to which strings are usually easily and efficiently attached. I have been working and making progress, but not keeping up with documentation here. Just click the buy now button you really wont regret it. I desired to utilize my understanding to improve the guitar making process and design. A stepbystep look at how an archtop guitar is crafted.
Follow stephen marchione and his crew as he guides you through the process of constructing his world famous archtop guitars. Feb 08, 2019 archtop guitar is a retrolooking guitar originally from the 20th century. I love both the feel and the sound which straddles the line between an archtop and flattop. King, larry carlton, and others designed to provide a middle ground between the les paul and gibsons archtop models, which back in the day had issues with feeding back at high volumes. Sep 17, 2014 by the way, the kit guitar was from htpp. The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that usually has six strings. So basically, wed be silly not to stock an archtop hollow body guitar kit, as they play a major part in guitar history. Paul bigsbys innovation of the tremolo arm for archtop and electric guitars is still in use today.
Catalogue published to accompany the exhibition a luthiers legacy. We put the kits together ourselves, so there is a 2 to 3 week turn around time from the day you order until the day we ship. The time and expense of gathering this info on ones own pales by comparison. If you build any of these instruments i would love to hear from you about it. All workshops are held in nazareth, pennsylvania at the nazareth guitar institute. Stringed musical instruments and plans liutaio mottola. Many players find the 16inch body size more comfortable to play than the 17 or 18inch. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the strings vibration, amplified by the.
Hi dan, thank you for your interesting insights into bridge choice. Benedetto walks the reader through all aspects of construction through to marketing your finished work. Sign up for free download today get archtop guitar plans free. Includes everything from the first video but has all the steps ive taken since uploading that one. Carving the top ricks archtop building an archtop guitar. Meet michael greenfield, a musician who began tuning, repairing, restoring, and making guitars in the 70s and since then has become a seasoned luthier of bespoke guitars.
Gosewyn spyker a guitar from 1760 the trossingen lyre a new set of plans the other dual tone. As the guitar began to evolve, its became quite popular in the blues scene and then moved on to country and rock genres. The american luthier orville gibson specialized in mandolins, and is credited with creating the archtop guitar. Archtop guitars an archtop guitar is typically a hollow body acoustic or electric guitar which uses steel strings and has an arched top which creates unique resonance.
Facing steps and coping stratocaster guitar, fender guitars, sight word. Here is probably the most labour intensive part of building an archtop guitar. Carve the plates, make the bridge and tailpiece, bind the headstock. I also used his plans bought from stewmac to come up with contours for the top and back. Aug 17, 2011 there are a few notable things in this photo. With accelerated development of jazz in early 20th century, evolving bands. Tom bills has been hand crafting one of a kind custom guitars for the top players and collectors around the world since 1998. We have a tremendous collection of oneofakind instruments from the best builders in the world, and have one of the most premier enthusiasts of modern archtop guitars on our staff. Learn how to make a carved top and back archtop jazz guitar with brazilian luthier joao cassias. Unlike shreddage 2, and using custommodified electronics, the neck and bridge pickups of the guitar were recorded simultaneously.
Beautiful ideas electric guitar building plans free 3 pdf blueprints on modern. I have a copy of the book by bob benedetto as well. It highlights some of the problems associated with factory guitars like these and some possible solutions. During the three months, i improved my understanding of making a. See what industry greats have said about this book. To make an appointment and find out what can be done to improve your instrument, please contact john by phone or email. I will be posting a new chapter every week or so from now through the end of the year to allow you to more easily read and enjoy it online and to see some of the many photos and other media that we were not able to include in the printed version. Its all there in high definition video with easy to follow instructions. A luthier builds and repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The important 20thcentury american luthiers john dangelico and jimmy daquisto made archtop guitars. The hollow body archtop is a guitar whose form is much like that of a mandolin or violin family instrument in that the body of the guitar is hollow. A slapup guitar is a kind of culture and not only a product. Includes a list of suppliers to acquire all the tools and materials listed.
The archtop guitar is often credited to orville gibson, whose innovative designs led to the formation of the gibson mandolin guitar mfg. Archtop guitar is a retrolooking guitar originally from the 20th century. Free guitar templates available to download all plans are provided in pdf format, and printable 1. This kit includes all the parts you need to build your own highend archtop guitar. I used bob benedettos suggested carving cradle with a couple of simplifications and it has worked very well. The problem was that the old traditional flattops what we call parlor guitars today were not very loud. The best archtop guitar plans free free download pdf and video. The exclusive luthiersedge video shows an overview focusing on the finer points of my sanding technique used in fitting the braces.
A basic introduction to the acoustic archtop guitar i was playing on my acoustic archtop guitar last night, and it occurred to me that most people dont know too much about them. Sanding is only part of my process for fitting the braces or tone bars to an archtop guitar top, so be sure to read the detailed steps in the tutorial below for. Acoustic archtop guitar bracing bob benedetto the art of. This video demonstrates setup on a modern dangelico excel archtop guitar. Friends of the archtop guitar public group facebook. All aspects of the construction are covered, from the initial design stage to the very final setup. A basic introduction to the acoustic archtop guitar. The friends of the archtop guitar fotag is a group of professional and amateur builders, players, collectors, hobbyists and enthusiasts dedicated to the preservation and innovation of the art of. Even folks who play jazz the genre most commonly associated with these guitars are. I toyed with the idea of making a cupids bow on the end of the fretboard and went so far as to make a pattern to use to rout the shape. So the fretboard will be a mediumdark brown pau ferro, with no. Further information and a full serial number list can be found in robert benedettos book, making an archtop guitar center stream publishinghal leonard, 1994.
We present you with products and services of the highest quality. We celebrate the archtop as the pinnacle of this art. As in the other versions this book enables you to join me on the wonderful journey of hand crafting a custom made archtop guitar for one of my clients. Building an electric archtop guitar details the stepbystep making of an electric archtop guitar. It can be often seen in music genres such as jazz or blues. Since then, the guitar has been an inseparable part of my life. Acoustic archtop guitar bracing bob benedetto the art. See more ideas about guitar, guitar building and guitar design. Archtop guitar buyerss guide, from riverboat musictm as jazz developed in the early 20th century, evolving jazz orchestras wanted to move from banjo to guitar. With its construction and elements of a violin, such as f holes on its resonating box, it stands for the unusual looking type of guitar. Free guitar blueprints guitar building, music guitar, acoustic guitar. For a brief biography of each company please select from the list below. By clicking on a banner, you will go directly to their website. I used liutaio mottolas girasoli parlor jazz guitar cad files to.
Sep 14, 2015 this roundhole archtop takes its name from the concept of phior the golden ratio, 1. Even folks who play jazz the genre most commonly associated with these guitars are often not familiar with the instruments origins and evolution. Note that the pdf plans have rulers printed down the sides and the tiled plans are. Here you will find jazz guitar accessories and services to further enhance the archtop experience. I have access to a temperamental laser cutter so i thought id begin by making plywood templates for the top and back. Making an archtop guitar is beautifully laid out, with supporting photographs and technical illustrations, plus. In portugal, the word viola referred to the guitar, as guitarra meant the portuguese guitar, a variety of cittern. The definitive work on the design and construction of an acoustic archtop guitar by one of the most talented luthiers of the twentieth century. Only a sixstring archtop guitar with a 17 x 3 body will be offered. Jul 18, 2007 follow stephen marchione and his crew as he guides you through the process of constructing his world famous archtop guitars. The guitar is an ancient and noble instrument, whose history can be traced. The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be used already in french for makers of most bowed and plucked stringed instruments such as members of the violin family including. I really liked the idea but in the end it seemed like more of a pain than the trouble was worth.
I have saved all guitar plans i have ever come across. View,000 woodworking plans here search for archtop guitar plans free basically, anyone who is interested in building with wood can learn it successfully with the help of free woodworking plans which are found on. Another good source of acoustic guitar and violin plans is the website of roy. Lately ive been getting some help from an angle grinder with a 40 grit flapdisc attached. His 1898 patent for a mandolin, which was also applicable to guitars according to the specifications, was intended to enhance power and quality of tone. Lloyd loar worked briefly for the gibson guitar corporation making mandolins and guitars. Fine archtops mission fine archtops is devoted to the archtop jazz guitar. From benedetto to eastman, we carry a wide range of archtop jazz guitars acoustic and acousticelectric, including many smalloutput, boutique, singleman builders. Solomon has tended to build the phidelity with the traditional maple back and sides, but this particular example is made from walnut. Custom archtop guitars find archtop guitar luthiers. Bassola isnt an italian word, but it does rhyme with my last name.
If you just want to make some functional knockoff of an existing guitar, you might want to buy a different book. Archtop guitar build your own kit american archtop guitars. Most traditional tailpieces are metal affairs that float over the face of the guitar. The archtop guitar is a pretty straightforward beast when it comes to string installation. When you come to the class, well provide you with supplies and tools, as well as personally supervise your building.
The definitive work on the design and construction of an acoustic archtop guitar, this updated second edition features 288 pages of content, including 24 color pages and 4 tearouts. I recently read that in order to establish a good contact between the top of the guitar and the feet of the bridge, the feet should be carved hollow, so that only the edges or rims of the feet are touching the top. I know of no other work offering comprehensive step by step coverage of the making of an acoustic jazz guitar. The luthier erich solomon makes fewer than 10 archtops per year in his small shop, in epping, new hampshire, for a select group of players including mark goldenberg and steely dans walter becker. Archtop guitar building class american archtop guitars. A masterpiece instrument and a player with killer chops demand an excellent recording setup, which is exactly what we created for archtop.
Tom is also the author of the guitar making bookdvd set the art of lutherie published by mel bay, and has written for and been featured in may publications both in print and online as well as several television and film spots. A guitar is the most popular musical instrument all over the world. Alpine spruce custom design crossover acoustic page 10 the acoustic guitar forum. Seven guitar serial numbers are follwed by the letter a. A luthiers legacy catalogue pdf portland state university. This is a wellproduced, step by step guide that will have you building a great archtop guitar. I used liutaio mottolas girasoli parlor jazz guitar cad files to cut slices of 3mm ply to the shapes of the contours. For this some will use a gouge with mallet, some use a pantograph carving machine, others use a cnc. We bring together the customer and exclusive guitar luthiers who have devoted their lives to the creation of their magnificent custom instruments. My favorite archtop is a mid1930s kay deluxe the moniker they used for a short time between kay kraft and kay k2 which has a round soundhole and is relatively small having a 15 lower bout.
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