ACOUSTIC THE GUITAR GUIDE A C O U S T I C THE G U I T A R G U I D E EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BUY AND MAINTAIN A NEW OR USED GUITAR Revised and Updated Larry Sandberg .cappellal FOREWORD BY ARTIE TRAUM Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sandberg, Larry The acoustic guitar guide: everything you need to know to buy and maintain a new or used guitar / by Larry Sandberg-2nd ed., rev. and updated. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) ISBN 1-55652-418-8 1. Guitar. 2. Guitar-Maintenance and repair. I. Title. MLlOI5.G9 S3 2000 787.87'19-dc21 00-031788 Cover photo: Guitar and bass guitar by Harry Fleishman Photo by John Youngblut, courtesy Harry Fleishman Cover and interior design: Lindgren/Fuller Design Line art by Fred Hickler, based on computer drawings by Larry Sandberg ©2000 by Larry Sandberg Foreword ©2000 by Artie Traum All righ ts reserved Second edition Published by A Cappella Books An imprint of Chicago Review Press, Incorporated 814 North Franklin Street Chicago, Illinois 60610 ISBN 1-55652-418-8 Printed in the United States of America 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Foreword . .... Xlll Acknowledgments xv .Introduction . . . XVll All About the Guitar PART I: o The Guitar Through History Ancient Origins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Dark and Light Ages ... ... ... .. . 4 The Development of the Modern Classical Guitar. 5 C. F. Martin and the American Guitar . . . 7 The Early Years of the Steel-String Guitar. 9 Bigger Guitars for the 1930s . 10 The 1940s and 1950s . . . . . . . . . 12 The Folk Boom and Beyond. . ... 12 The Nostalgic Baby Boomer Market 14 New Sounds for a New Generation. 16 Guitars in a World of Scarce Resources 17 ., It Takes All Kinds Folk Guitar: The Steel-Strung Solidbody Flattop . 19 The Twelve-String Guitar 19 The Classical Guitar 21 The Flamenco Guitar . 21 Baritone Guitars . 22 Bass Guitars ..... . 22 Archtop Guitars ... . 23 HowArchtops /lVtJrk . . ... . .. . . . ... . .. . . .. . 23 The Great Archtop Guitars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 ElectricAnhtops ........ . . 25 The Contemporary Anhtop ..... .. . 26 .Is an A rchtop the Guitarf or You.p . . . . . 26 Solidbody and Semi-Hollowbody Electrics 27 Hawaiian and Other Lap-Style Guitars. 28 The Pedal Steel Guitar . . . . . . . 29 Resophonic Guitars . . . . . . . . . 29 The Maccaferri ("Django") Guitar 32 Synth Guitar . . . . . . . . . . ... 33 Harp Guitars and Other Oddities 33 Seven Ten Strings, and More . 33 String~ The Harp Guitar. 35 Multineck Guitars 35 Air Guitars . . . . . . 36 e Guitar Sound Tone ........... . 37 Tone, Timbre, and Pitch 39 Volume .... . 39 Presence ... . 40 Dynamic Range 41 Separation 41 Balance ... . 41 Sustain ... . 42 Cutting Power 43 Voice ..... . 44 Wraparound and Projection 44 You ... ... .. ... . 45 Ambience ....... . 45 Facts and Impressions 45 o Wood, Finish, and Glues Plywood and Solid Wood . . . . . . . . . 47 Most Guitars Are Plywood . . ... . . 47 The Mystique and value 0/S olzd Wood . 47 Laminates 48 Buyer Beware . . . . . . 48 Laminate Construction 49 Stability and Durability 50 Detecting Plywood . . . 50 Laminate Tops . . . . . 50 Laminate Backs and Sides . 51 Laminate Fingerboards . . . 51 Laminate Necks and Headstocks 52 Materials and Tone . . . . . . . 52 Seasoning and Milling Solid Wood 52 Seasoning .. 52 Milling Lumber .. . 54 Prime Cuts . .. . 54 Grain andF igure. 54 Slab Cutting . . . 54 Quartersawed /lVtJod 55 Bookmatched Tops and Backs 57 Sets .. 58 Blanks . .. .... .. . . 59 Tonewoods . .. .... .. . . 59 /lVtJod Naming Conventions 59 Table: The Major Guitar Woods 60 Spruce . .............. . 60 Spruce Mystique. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Selecting Spruce for a Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Cedar and Redwood . 63 Rosewood . ..... . 64 Rosewood Substitutes . 66 Mahogany 66 Maple. 67 Koa .. 68 Walnut 69 Ebony. 69 Other Woods 70 Finish ..... . 70 Stain and Filler Preparation . 71 Mtrocellulose and Acrylic Lacquers. 71 Sunburst Finishes ... ... . . 72 French Polish and Spot Finishes . 72 Glues ................ . 72 e How Your Guitar Works I: Where the Action Is Action and Setup . . . . . 75 Action Strzdly Difined . 75 Action Loosely Difined . 75 Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 The Mechanics ofS etup 76 Setup and Style . . . . . 76 The Neck . . . . . . . . . . 78 Neck Materz"als and Construction 78 Neck Shape and Contour. 80 Relief· ........ . 81 The Truss Rod . . . . . 82 Truss Rods and Relief . 84 Truss Rod Adjustment . 85 Warped Necks .. 86 WmpandBow 86 Diagnosis . . . 86 The Cure . . . 87 Joining the Neck to the Body 87 Neck Joints . . . . 87 Neck Set . ..... . 88 Resetting the Neck . 89 Fingerboard and Frets 90 Fingerboard Materials 90 Position Inla" and Binding 91 Marker~ Twelve- and Fourteen-Fret Necks. 91 Fingerboard Wzdth . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Fingerboard Shape and Contour. . . . 93 Replacing and Repairing Fingerboards 93 Frets ..... . 94 Fret Design . . 94 Reftetting . . . 95 Fret Placement 96 The Nut ..... . 96 Function ........ . 96 Materials . ....... . 96 Nut Height and Grooves . 97 Scale ............. . 99 Long and Short Scales . . . . 99 Fanned Frets for Mixed Scales 100 Headstock and Tuners . 101 Headstock or Peghead 101 Handstop or Volute. . 102 Tuning Machines .. 102 s Here What You Need to Know About Tuners 103 o How Your Guitar Works II: Body Language The Top or Soundboard . 105 The Soul oft he Guitar . . . . . 105 "Playing In " a 70p . . . . . . . 106 Laminate and Soltd JiJiOod Tops 106 Top Materials and Building. . 107 The Sound Hole . . . . . . . . 107 Sound Hole Shape and Size 108 The Pickguard 108 Bracing ....... . . 109 Top Bracing. . . . . 109 Transverse Bracing. 110 Fan-Bracing ... . 110 X-Bracing . .... . 110 Voiced and Scalloped X-Bracing . 112 Kasha and Other Bracing Systems 113 Damaged Braces . . . . 114 The Bridge ........ . 114 Function and Structure 114 The Bridge Plate 115 Bridge JiJiOods . 115 Bndge Shapes . 116 Bndge Pins . . 118 The Saddle .... 118 Function, and Maten'als . 118 Structur~ Adjustable Saddles . 119 Compensation 119 Keeping Your Temper 121 Back and Sides . . . . . 122 Back Bracing and Side Reinforcement 123 Linings, and Blocks . . . . 124 Binding~ Size and Shape .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Table: Approximate Standard Guitar Sizes ....... . 124 Shape ........................ . . 126 Cutaway Guitars . . . . . 127 Putting the Guitar Together .... . . . .... .. .. . 128 • Suiting Yourself Making a Good Marriage with Your Guitar 131 The Ideal Guitar Does Not Exist 132 Guitars Differ Differently .. ... . 132 Suiting Your Body . . . . . . . ... . 133 Size and Shape Make a Difference . 133 Cutaways ..... 133 Lf!ft-Handed Guitars . 134 Guitars for Kids 135 Suiting Your Eye . . . . . 135 Ornamentation . . . . 135 Headstock and Neck Inlay 136 Binding, Purfling, and Rosette 138 Finish . ............. . 139 Suiting Your Style . . . . . . . .. . 140 General Playing and Casual Styles 140 Bluegrass and Old-Time Music 140 Blues ............ . 141 Contemporary Fingerpicking. . 141 AcousticJazz ......... . 142 Suiting Your Suitcase: Travel Guitars . 142 Suiting Your Pocketbook . 143 Under $300 .. 143 $300 to $450. . 145 $450 to $750 . . 145 $750 to $1) 000. 145 $1) 000 to $~ 000 146 146 Over$~OOO eStrings String Basics . . . . . . . . . . . 147 From Catgut to Stainless Steel 148 Picking Your Strings .... 149 What Are Strings Made Of? 150 Bronze-WOund Strings 150 Coated Strings . . . . . . 150 M'ckel-WOund Strings . . 151 Compound ("Silk and Steel") Strings 151 Flatwound and Groundwound Strings 152 Winding and Squeaking 152 Flatwound Strings .. 152 Groundwound Strings 153 Nylon Strings . . . . . . 153 String Gauge and Tension . 154 Gauging String Gauge. . 154 Ultralight and Supertight 155 Extra-Light Gauge 155 Compound Strings 155 Light Gauge . . 156 Medium Gauge . . 156 Heavy Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Measuring String Gauge . . . ... 156 Typical String Gauge and Tension 157 Table: Typical String Sets .. 157 Making Up Your Own String Set 158 Strings and Setup . . . . . . . . . 159 String Brands .......... . 159 Bad Vibes, Heavy Metal Fatigue, and Other Tough Breaks in the Life of a String 160 When to Replace Strings . . . .... . .. . 161 o Pickups and Amplification Amplified Versus Natural Sound 163 Transducers .......... . 164 Introduction to Transduction . 164 Contact Pickups . . . . . . . . 165 Pickups, Preamps, and Impedance 165 Internal Mini-Microphones 167 Magnetic Pickups ....... . 168 Why Plug In.p. . . . . . . . . . . 169 The Great Signal Chain of Being 170 Aftermarket or Factory Installation? 171 Electro-Acoustic Guitars . . . . 171 Amplifiers and Sound Systems 171 Electn'c Guitar A mplijiers 172 On-Stage Sound Systems . . . 172 Acoustic Guitar Amps .... 173 Acoustic Guitar Amp Power and Volume 174 Microphones and Other Inputs . . . . . 174 Equalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Not[h Filters and Parametn'c Equalizers 176 Reverb . ........ . 177 Sound Processing Devices . . . . . . . . . 177 CD Used, Vintage, and Modern Guitars Looking for Mr. Goodfret . . . . 179 Owning More Than One Guitar . . 180 Vintage Guitars ........... . 181 The Nature of a Collectors' Market 181 The Nature of Collectors . . . . . . 182 Vintage Guitars as Investments . . 183 Why Some People Think Old and Vintage Guitars Are Better 184 Why Some People Think New Guitars Are Better Anyway 185 Modern Luthiery: The New Golden Age? ... . 186 Longevity ...................... . 187 Table: Pros and Cons of Buying a Used Guitar 188 Fine Guitars ...... .. 188 Becoming an Expert . . 188 Great Names of the Past 189 Junk Chic . ...... . 190