Except for a wood shop coat rack in junior high, I had never built anything from wood. I never even dreamed I could build a real guitar! But then, I ran across an ad in a catalog, I ordered a kit and learned a new skill, and I was hooked! That was sixteen years ago, and I've built twenty guitars since then. I enjoyed building them and I still enjoy playing them!

Along the way, since I am a writer, I created this manual, now the only book recommended by the Guitar Maker's Connection at the CF Martin & Sons factory in Nazareth, PA.

In these doldrum days when we get little encouragement in our jobs or the economy, a fulfilling task like building a good guitar can be a real benefit to our personal happiness.

But, can you build a guitar? Absolutely, yes!

• The kit includes all the parts, in semi-rough wood, ready to be worked into a kit.
• It is a real woodworking task, not a "snap-together" kit, but doable!
• The tools you'll need can be found locally.
• This is a perfect project for two people, like a dad and son or daughter.

If a leading luthier put into a box all the unfinished parts he or she incorporates into a fine guitar, it would look like a "guitar kit" such as these. 

I've corresponded with hundreds of kit builders. I have never heard a single builder say they did not like how their guitar played and sounded, and how good it felt that they had built it themselves.

In this book, you'll discover: 

• Why some big-brand guitars fall short, and how to make yours better
• How to insure that your guitar's action will be fast and smooth... like butter, as players say
• The builder's secret techniques for a guitar with ringing highs, solid mid-range and strong bass
• Hear a rich resonance not found in most factory guitars
• To hear the guitar built in the book, use the "Look Inside" and go to the link on the title page. Use earbuds!

Also see instructions on the Title Page to get the complete FREE PDF of this book with your purchase receipt.

I sent two copies of this manual to Christian F. Martin III, at the Martin factory. It was apparently approved, because the Guitar Makers Connection at the Martin factory recommends this book as the manual to use to build a Martin guitar kit. The book also covers all "Martin-style" kits, whose procedures are different from those of other kits. When you receive your kit from Martin, you will see the booklet that is included, and you will understand why this manual was needed. I am proud to offer it.

If you are a guitar player, the next step is to build an acoustic guitar you can be happy with, that can play and sound better than mid-range big name guitar brands. Just as I am proud of this book, you will be proud of your own guitar.

Author Biography

I've done big corporate systems analysis, been a dish washer, worked grunt construction jobs, sold real estate, worked 7-Eleven graveyard, and more. I've written for national magazines and been a writer all my life, but the thing that has given me the most pleasure is building guitars and playing them. It is incredibly satisfying to play an instrument that you built yourself! You should hear the Brazilian Rosewood/Coastal Redwood kit I just finished. It is sublime ... yours can be, too!