An essential item for the instrument builder, The Luthier's Handbook explores the secrets and science behind making good-sounding acoustic stringed instruments. Renowned author Roger H. Siminoff brings to the table more than four decades of luthiery experience and shares the time-tested philosophies, tips and technology of the craft. As the ideal complement to other books on building instruments, this text describes the structural and acoustical attributes of air chambers; what to listen for when tap-tuning; selecting a good piece of wood; placement of the braces and tone bars and how to tune them; how to select the right strings; what to consider in bridge design concepts; and much more. Includes a free String Gauge Calculator for determining the right set of strings.

The Luthier's Handbook: A Guide to Building Great Tone in Acoustic Stringed Instruments

Arts & Photography

Siminoff, Roger H.

Music

Hal Leonard

The Ultimate Bluegrass Mandolin Construction Manual is the most complete step-by-step treatise ever written on building an acoustical string instrument. Siminoff, a renowned author and luthier, applies over four decades of experience to guide beginners to pros through detailed chapters on wood selection, cutting, carving, shaping, assembly, inlays, fretting, binding and assembly of an F-style mandolin. A special highlight is an in-depth chapter on the art of tap tuning. This fully-illustrated manual boasts more than 250 photos, a full-color section on the staining and finishing processes, numerous detailed illustrations, and a bonus set of 20 full-size blueprints. Spiral bound.

The Ultimate Bluegrass Mandolin Construction Manual

(Reference). This beautifully detailed manual gives clear, step-by-step directions from raw materials to a magnificently finished mandolin through the use of simply-stated texts, photos and templates. Written by one of America's foremost authorities on acoustic instruments. 56 pages, spiral bound, including 19 full-sized blueprints covering each phase of construction. Also features a glossary of terms which enable the reader to more easily follow the instructions.

Contructing a Bluegrass Mandolin: Mandolin Reference

This renowned author walks banjo players through masterful techniques to maximize the performance of their instrument. Step-by-step instructions cover: tone chamber fit, tailpiece angle, bridge selection, neck angle and heel fit, head adjustments, air chamber tap-tuning and resonator adjustments, string gauge selection, head selection, and much more. Each chapter provides a detailed background and analysis of the parts to be adjusted and explores the differences between archtop, flattop, tube-and-plate, and one-piece flange banjos. More than 100 photos, illustrations and charts make this technical guide easy to follow. To round out this already unique text, amplifications tips are provided by legendary banjo player extraordinaire Earl Scruggs, considered the father of bluegrass music. 80 pages, 9″ x 12″

How to Set Up the Best Sounding Banjo

Play Bluegrass on Five-string Banjo

Wise Pubns

This book explains the secret ingredients needed to obtain the very best tonal qualities when building acoustic string instruments. It includes an exploration of the tools and equipment needed, the methods to excite tones in the instrument, how to make the necessary changes, and how to achieve consistency and repeatability. The text focuses on tap tuning as it relates to mandolins, guitars, banjos, violins, ukuleles, dulcimers, pianos, and more. The DVD includes demonstrations of the acoustic phenomena described in the text.

Art of Tap Tuning  How to Build Great Sound into Instruments  Book/DVD (Softcover)

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