Steel string guitar construction pdf

Six steel string acoustic guitars were built for this study to the same design and material. Construction and repair, david russell young, the bold strummer, ltd. In this, my first instructable, i will attempt to chronicle the construction of a simple lap steel guitar. Acoustic sixstring, twelvestring, and archedtop guitars sloane, irving on.

The strings are usually either steel alloy or bronze. This is an excellent book, if youre considering building a steel string acoustic guitar. Pdf perceptual evaluation of bracewood and soundboard wood. The steelstring acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar that descends from the nylonstrung classical guitar, but is strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder. Drawing an edge on a steel scraper blade is a tricky job that requires practice. Steel string guitar including history of american acoustic. Easily built tools, not available in many other books on guitar construction. Turn the 6th string tuner so the hole in the tuner is at a 45degree. As far as string gauges go, its ok to put a standard set of electric guitar strings on your instrument initially. Hailed by guitar player magazine as perhaps the finest book on guitars ever produced, and by booklist as a rolls royce of construction guidebooks, this impressive volume is the first book of its kind to describe in depth how both steel string and classical guitars are actually designed and built. Plan is a0 sized and uses the latest annotation and drawing techniques. My original source of instruction and inspiration for making flattop steel string acoustic guitars was the wonderful book by irving sloane on the subject 1. For more information on the courses go to guitar making classes. Pdf effect of back wood choice on the perceived quality of steel.

In the first disc, we start you out at a 1 on a 110 scale, starting with hand position, how to hold the guitar. And steel strings are, well, made out of steel, so sore fingers are definitely in your future. When looking at steel or nylon string acoustics, the conversation goes deeper than just the string material. The steel string guitar family tends to have a little more geometric variation than the nylon guitars. Building my acoustic guitar chicago luthiers workshop.

Sloane lived in new york and had access to the dangelico and daquisto shop, or at least to photos of john and jimmy at work. Can be trimmed to fit the width of a 6 or 8 string lap steel or a 10 string lap or pedal steel guitar. These acoustic guitars are commonly played with either a pick or fingers finger picking. He married the steel string guitar with a body constructed more like a cello, where the bridge exerts no torque on the top, only pressure straight down. The following illustrates the approach i use to build acoustic steel string guitars. Downloading the book steel string guitar construction. Yamaha uses a setneck construction where the neck is glued onto the body of. Sets are usually referenced either by the gauge of the first string e. Pedal steel guitar how to change strings and routine.

Mar 30, 2021 nylon string guitars are in many cases more affordable due to their lightweight construction. My guitar building book shelf acoustic guitars making master guitars. Steel strings, on the other hand, are under a higher amount of tension and therefore need a greater amount of force to fret notes properly. Same day shipping, free technical support, 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Regardless of string brand or gauge, this lesson shows how to replace a string on. The parlor guitar is the smallest steelstring guitar apart from travel and mini. When building a guitar with a spanish neck, neck and headblock are carved from one piece of wood. With over 25 hours of guitar building instruction on video in each course it is like having your own luthier mentor standing right beside you during the entire guitar building process, teaching you the guitar construction ideas and procedures one step at a time. With lists of simple hand tools,this lovely book is informative to novice or experienced builder. This creates a string with less tension than traditional. And considering the benefits in terms of stability with regard to humidity and string stresses, i think its well worthwhile. Steel string guitar problems a steel string guitar tuned to concert pitch endures a tension of 180 pounds 800 n on the top of the guitar from the strings4. In traditional music instrument making, the selection of. It is also important to note that string gauges on an electric guitar will have smaller gauges when compared to the string gauge on an acoustic guitar.

Material composition the materials from which a guitar is constructed have very direct consequences on its acoustic qualities. Arched workboards for steel string guitar construction jonathan. Nov 24, 2015 the class is an 8 day intensive course in guitar making with a maximum of only 2 students to a class. Ipomoea is italian for morning glory, a nod to the hand painted morning glory motif on the instruments headstock. An octave mandola under construction, 2009, by doug, who was on the bristol course and continues to make. Hi, i am greg and doing my first steel string build.

The steel string guitar, young no longer available. We are starting the series with the launch of our 6 string steel guitar. Simple lap steel guitar i call this lap steel guitar simple because it is basically just a blank with strings attached. In the first disc, we start you out at a 1 on a 110 scale, starting with hand position, how to hold the guitar, and basic finger exercises. First we will insert the strings at the bridge end. Steel string 1214 string a 1214 string b nashville strum a nashville strum b click the black screen combo box in the upper part of realguitar window to load the guitar patch. The string end should protrude approximately 18th of an inch from the tuner hole. The stronger framework of the steel string guitar allows larger, louder guitar construction. A modern small bodied steel string flattop guitar with and offset soundhole and pinless bridge.

Jun 01, 1990 an illustrated black and white overview of how a steel string guitar is built, including a section on the archtop guitar. Slightly more advanced project than, for example, the danelectro style instrument, but still fairly straight forward. Soundboard bracing building an acoustic steel string guitar. The archtop material is the main reason to read this book. In addition we also created 18 morphed patches which blends the. Building an acoustic steel string guitar updated version here. It is his first guitar and has mahogany back and sides, sapele neck and spruce top. A highquality luthier built folkstyle steel string guitar was selected for the test. At the end of the 19th century orville gibson was building archtop guitars with oval sound holes.

Either the strings are in individual packets or the ballend is color coded. A typical performance would be a solo singer accompanying himself or herself on the guitar. The steel string guitar was to the fore in the american folk music revival in the 1950s and 1960s. Most string manufacturers will have some way of determining which string is which.

Acoustic guitar body styles and dimensions the 9 most common. Ill add sections as i reach those points in building this seasons instruments. Jun 29, 2018 now that the guitar is string less we want to put on the new strings. Jun 02, 2009 download full size 36 x 48 ipomoea acoustic guitar plan. The video above is the full montage of the guitar building i. However, that doesnt mean that the instrument lacks anything a lap steel guitar needs, and it can be played just as well as any other lap steel instrument. Most models have the neck join the body at the 14th fret, to increase the fingerboards effective length. Labor market data shows a clear need for competent new professional makers, designers, repair staff, and sales professionals to fill staffing positions. If you are looking for a down loadable fret board this would be a. Sometimes called a western guitar, the steel string acoustic guitar is distinct from a classical guitar in that it is strung with steel strings. How to string a steelstring acoustic guitar for dummies.

Everything for building and repairing stringed instruments. Weve made learning steel string classical guitar easy and entertaining, even for beginners in this 3disc set, youll get more than four and a half hours of highdefinition video lesson content. The action height of fretless instruments may also be adjusted to suit the string gauge or material, as well as the intended playing style. Fine woodworking, certificate of specialization construction, repair, sales and instrument tuning as the primary focus of the business. Loosen the bass strings 6th low e, 5tha, and 4th d by turning the tuners clockwise. The following illustrates the approach i use to build acoustic steelstring guitars. First i take the low e strings from the pack of strings.

The guitar has a fully removable bolton neck and a florentine cutaway. The soundhole is designed so that the body acts as a helmholtz resonator, tuned roughly to a2 55. Knowing how to restring your acoustic guitar is a vital maintenance skill. The steel string backpacker travel guitar is lightweight, durable, easy to play and tune and is shaped to fit into the smallest places. My online guitar construction courses focus on every step in the process of making a concert quality classical or steel string guitar.

Free guitar plan download by jaguitars john anthony guitars. Actually, each guitar patch differs in string thickness, order, and tune combination. One innovation is a metal bar called a truss rod, which is incorporated into the neck to strengthen it and provide adjustable countertension to the stress of the strings. Steel string guitars place considerably more tension on the guitar itself which in turn influences how the guitar is constructed thinner soundboard and more flexible bracing and how easily it is played, hence being a good starting point for beginner.

Pdf some of the most prized woods used for the backs and sides of acoustic guitars are. The steel core of the string is a wrapped with silk fibers covered with another wrap of silverplated wire. It is significantly more complex than a glued neck, but the sonic benefits are worth the effort. Six string guitar, four string guitar, five string banjo, four string banjo, short scale six. Score or cut each of the string grooves with a thin edge cut file.

Luthier tools, guitar parts, and supplies for instrument builders, repair shops, hobbyists, and players worldwide. Before steel string guitars there was no need for truss rods because nylon strings dont put. This book instructs the reader on building acoustic sixs. Table of contents introduction technical reference for fretted instrument string tensions 4 guitar and bass fingerboard legends 5 string tensions acoustic or electric guitar 6 pedal steel guitar 7 acoustic guitar 7 classical guitar 8 folk guitar 10 electric bass guitar 10. Product title guitar strings 6 replacement steel string with guita. For a steel guitar player building your own can be a very rewarding experience, and you certainly learn your instrument along the way.

Many fine players of the electric 6 string lap steel use open e almost exclusively, so it would seem to be an ideal first tuning. This string is great for steel string acoustic professionals who want a lighter touch and a more subdued tone without having to purchase a nylon string guitar. Steel string backpacker guitar backpacker series martin. Rather than having only six strings, the 12 string guitar has six courses made up of two strings each, like a mandolin or lute. The spanish heel neck joint is considered the most highly developed neck joint in guitar construction. Building the neck building an acoustic steel string guitar. This instrument is based on the more up to date version of the classic lapsteel. The highest two courses are tuned in unison, while the others are tuned in octaves. Arched workboards for steel string guitar construction. This model includes sustainable wood certified parts. In the beginning of the revival, most of the interest was in discovering and. If you are looking for a down loadable fret board this would be a great deal for you. These can include bronze, phosphor bronze, aluminum bronze, brass, polymercoated, and silk and steel. I am combining the xbracing approach with fine lattice bracing.

This allows the top to vibrate more freely, and thus produce more volume. The history of the acoustic guitar sam ash spotlight. Ideally you would be using a solid 1 12 plank for this project but since the costs can be. Bluestem strings beginners guide to lap steel construction. Jun 09, 2020 all in all, string gauges commonly range anywhere from. In this video, i show how to change the strings on a pedal steel guitar as well as some routine maintenance techniques t. Three high quality steel string acoustic guitars, all ooo models with. Arthur robb, art robb, luthier, lutes, guitars, repairs. How to re string floydrose guitar video dailymotion. The twelve string guitar usually has steel strings, and it is widely used in folk music, blues, and rock and roll.

Building the neck wasnt the first thing that i did, i actually cut out a full sized paper template of the body and then built a guitar work board as recommended by natelson and cumpiano, but i decided to group that stuff in with the next section so ill talk about building the neck first. The classic style guitar has a smaller, more curved body, and the mahogany neck is wider making it more suitable for playing without a pick fingerstyle playing. In the beginning of the revival, most of the interest was in discovering and recreating the traditional music of america. Steel string guitar construction by irving sloane goodreads. The guitars were constructed in parallel, as similar to each other as possible, with the. Plans to build this danelectro style steel guitar john. The steelstring acoustic guitar evolved from the gut string classical guitar, and because steel strings have higher tension, heavier construction is required overall. The xbracing system has been shown to be an efficient technique for preventing the top of the guitar from warping under this force. Over 450 photographs, drawings, and diagrams reveal in exquisite detail the hows, whys, and. Its intended to be a sort of pictorial journey through the construction of a guitar.

L, 0, 00, sizes are mostly abandoned in favor of larger 000, om, dreadnought, and jumbo sizes. The neck is joined to the body at the 12th fret instead of the 14th like most steel string acoustics. In may of 2015 chris left and jimright built their own om size acoustic steel string guitars with no prior experience, in just 8 days. Sets are usually referenced either by the gauge of the first string. In january, 2018, i purchased a new set of guitar strings from the. In february 2016 tim wrote to say that he has finished his parlour guitar. Steel strings for 6 string guitar usually come in the sets of matched strings.