Making Mistakes as a Guitar Builder: A Critical Look at my Worst Guitar
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2024
- In this episode of DIY Guitar Making, I take a critical look at the worst guitar I ever built. I point out flaws and discuss strategies for improving and avoiding some of the common mistakes that luthiers make.
Mistakes include gappy joinery, inconsistent binding and purfling thickness, poor design, bad miters and sloppy finish among other things. I even installed the end wedge upside down!
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When traveling this winter I visited a luthier’s shop in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. In conversation I mentioned my efforts to build ukuleles in my basement and need to get on with it ( so far I have only made tooling) so I can start learning from my “mistakes”. The wise proprietor said to look at them as “additional challenges” and opportunities for improvement, not mistakes. As you gain experience you create fewer “additional challenges”. I like that philosophy.
Unless you're a master luthier, that was a pretty good effort.
It is nice to see how more refined your subsequent guitars are. Awesome work.
Extremely informative!! One of the best ways to leap forward is to reverse-engineer failures in order to prevent them in the future. Good stuff!
A superb piece of self-critique! Thank you so much. Your honesty is itself flawless!
I really admire and appreciate your candor in going over all these issues out there for the whole world to see. As others have written, many of the things you're pointing out will not be immediately obvious but when you explain the issues, I can understand why you're expressing your dissatisfaction. Most will not seem too serious frankly as the final product still looks pretty sweet. It's very instructive to those of us who may aspire to begin to acquire the skills and experience needed in this amazing, beautiful craft. Thanks for sharing and inspiring. I appreciate the advice too about the perils of biting off more than you can chew - words of wisdom there, for sure.
You learn so much from little things, I really appreciate you doing this video. Hope to build one someday.
Brilliant video , I’m just starting my first guitar so all your videos are very informative for me, and I will be signing up for your tru oil course shortly too. 🎼👍👍
Hi, Eric! Many Thx for this video. In March 2020 I builded my first guitar, together with a prof. Luthier, called Felix Reuter from Cologne. He helped me much, but nevertheless I made some mistakes. I made a Lakewood-copy with Cutaway, and it was pretty difficulty, to install the bindings, because the cutaway wasn't really in the right angle.
So... many thanx for your Videos! Its really a great help...
Thanks for posting this video. It’s actually an encouraging video for those of us just starting to build guitars. I think most of us are our own worst critics and that’s what drives us to aim for perfection. I recently finished my third acoustic guitar and your videos have been a great resource. I’m curious which of your builds was your first sale?
I stayed up all night last night beating myself up after messing up a neck joint on a build that I have invested quite abit of time into. Part poor execution and part lack of a solid plan. I finally managed to get some shut eye after I convinced myself that its a learning opportunity.
And this morning I got up, all fired up about continuing the build as an experimental one and keeping on the craft with a handy notebook documenting alla the previous mishaps, shortcuts to avoid and no nos!!
One has to start somewhere!! :-)
Thanks for sharing Eric!!
Eric, First, I applaud your openness and vulnerability in doing the autopsy on your early effort. That i how we all learn. I will be contrarian to those who will say it looks great and you are being too hard on yourself. Learning is all about making mistakes and embracing those mistakes as readily as we do our success.
Another helpful video. I'm on #7 & #8 and I'm still critical of my work. Thanks.
Dude, I watched this and felt much better about my luthie-screw-ups ( and there are plenty, but I’m making progress). When they let us (from the UK) back into the US post COVID, I hope to come and see in Penn and do a course. Stay safe and well. All the best
Great reflection! Wouldve been awesome to hear how it sounds though...
I build a small number of guitars mainly as a hobby. Cutting the binding channel nicely is the biggest challenge especially if your sides aren’t perfectly square as you mention. I do prefer wood binding over plastic it just seems easier to get a nicer job although plastic protects the edges better. Good information! 👍👍👍
Even with all the mistakes, it's still a beautiful creation that most people would never attempt at all. The fact that you can admit your mistakes and learn from them, is what's important. Thanks for sharing all this info. with us. I think you may have saved me from a headache. I'm building an electric with a natural finish with somewhat open grain. I'll definitely polish it with paste wax to keep from getting the color of a compound stuck in the grain. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it!👍😎🎸🎶
Great tips! I’m a luthier myself. I invented this guitar fretboard with notches cut between the fretwire to allow FretCorner Bends on All Strings. It’s hard to do those FretCorners and accuracy. Any tips for rounding FretCrowns let me know
great video,
i'm still on my first with many plans for the future
I'm nearly at the finish line but i've been looking at what gaps need filling and unfortunately theres a couple on the tops coloured purfling (all bindings and purflings are wood)
i'm planning on doing either a oil based (danish) or waterborne finish colortone (stew mac) or CrystaLac Brite Tone (lmii) so is there a way i can fill those gaps without ruining the purfling?
I've thought of epoxy just for those gaps so it's creates a flat surface and the rest will just be super glue and sawdust
nice job dude!!
This is really good to see. I'm currently on guitar #000004 myself (one can dream about needing all those digits one day, right? :) ). It's nice to see where someone a lot further along than me started out.
Thanks for the great video! I've watched this video again and again. I can't say how valuable this information is. But I have to say that your early guitar is really fun! I hope you had fun creating it and playing it. We can watch a million videos about building guitars. We can only really learn when we actually make stuff. We have to make several crappy guitars before we can make good ones. So go out and make as many crappy guitars as you can! It's fun. I actually love my own crappy guitars! Enjoy the process, learn from the process. The journey is precious.
I'm working on guitar #1 right now. I feel both inspired and attacked 🤣 Now to watch that "14 mistakes" video!
Eric, great vidieo I just got finished tarring apart my 1st ukulele I built last year, As you I was proud of it but my first uke was a shit show way worse than your guitar. Im building 2 ukes at tge same time one for each of my sons. I learned so much & I always think before I do anything now & I triple check my refrences before I do any work, but I still dread doing the finish too me That is the hardest part, Im going too try true oil this time I have never used it before except on a gun refinish. Thanks again Your a Master..
Great vid. What do use for pore filler?
Yes you threw everything and the kitchen sink at it but you managed to finish it and you must have learnt so much ! I am I’m afraid despite your telling me not to :) throwing everything at my first solo build but I am expecting mistakes and am doing it so I can learn as much as possible from this build. Fortunately I have your vids to help me while you didn’t! Very informative vid, thanks.
thank you Eric . you know if we do not do we dont make mistakes right . thank you for the heads up on yours
You should be proud of your work on the guitar, and that you learned from it. I have tried to build an OM, and it’s just not easy to do properly. You put in caring hard work and you should be proud of putting the effort to become better!
Great subject no way to get better than look back on your mistakes. Ervin Somogyi loves talking about his early years as a builder thinking he was doing things right, until his work was compared to established builders of the era.
As Luthiers the more experience we get,the better we get we are always gonna see faults in our early works ,things that non Luthiers would not even notice,I did and still do the same things,it's who we are,great video
I finished my second guitar in last December and it contains most of the mistakes you've mentioned. It's a normal nylon guitar. Yet, it does not shine nicely like yours. Good sounding though.
Thanks a lot for all your teachings
Of course, we learn more from our failures than our successes. Or at least we should...
Aside from the awkward rosette, that is a very attractive guitar. Apparently, it plays and sounds pretty good as well, because you have played it a lot. Very informative video. Thank you.
I refinished pianos in my business for 47 years I done 100 grand pianos some advice good lacquer it's almost impossible to come by due to Environmental regulations but there is one lacker I would recommend Sherwin-Williams cab acrylic lacquer you can put 8 coats on a oak board hit it with a claw hammer and not damage the Finish only dent the wood expensive but worth every dime
LOL! the ole black sharpie fix.. I screenprint tshirts for a living...more then once a sharpie black or otherwise has been used to cover a small glitch. Over all not a bad looking guitar. If it plays well I would class it as 'unique'. I could tell stories of my errors in the short biz. Cheers
Thanks.
i look back on my older guitars that way.. im still prod of them but theyre not my best work for sure
Have to respect man for reflective and honest attitude. Still though, none of the "faults" are incredibly big issue for an instrument. Mostly cosmetic and psychologic (does superbly finished guitar sound better just based on the level of detail?). I see nothing that definently compromises tone or playability and these are the 90% factors for me to weigh when I pay for an instrument. If it plays great (I have no reason believe otherwise) I would pay for it. Besides, these cosmetic issues make it unique and personalized.
i've built several electrics - my first ones were pretty crummy too. i would say my current ones are marginal... im keen on moving into acoustics, and im about 90% jigged up to start practicing with ukuleles. i figure once im halfway sorted out with uke skill, i'll have the jigs to get into full size dreads, then cuts.
i say this only as admission that your "ole #4" here is still far in excess of what i could accomplish... but that rosette is a straight up goatse...
subbed, and sorry for agreeing with you.
"Failure is an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently" - Henry Ford.
Well, as others pointed out your 4rth guitar is hardly a failure, but you wouldn't be doing this for a living (which I presume you do?) if you were not constantly pushing yourself. Now you are making beautiful guitars - in 10 years you will be building even more beautiful guitars :) Thanks for the lesson!
BTW: How many guitars did you do before becoming a pro?
It remimda me when i put together a cigar box ukulele even though all the pieces were pre made i still managed to screw it up 😂
I'm on the early end of being a builder and I think you're being a little hard on yourself. We all have to start somewhere, and its comforting to see other builders' earlier work and what they learned from it. I'm always trying to learn from builders. Right now, fretting is my biggest hurdle, I've been practicing on cheap fretboards here and there to get better.
No on is harder on a craftsman than the craftsman himself. I'm about to start only my third guitar, but (based on my own lessons learned and the info gleaned from you and other makers) if my fourth looks half this good I'll be satisfied
Overall I think that guitar is pretty good for a first attempt. Considering you tried putting all new techniques together to build the guitar, I mean you'd have to be a pro to execute those techniques. So by doing that I bet you learned so much from jumping in and giving it a go. The Knowledge you are passing on to guitar builders or first time guitar builders is invaluable. Thanks for constructively critiquing your work. Don't be too hard on yourself. You're only human after all. I will be building my second guitar soon. My first was a total bust and i don't even have it anymore. I didn't know about bracing or anything much. But now I have the internet and there's way more resources to look at than back in the mid 90's. I'm going to use Black walnut for the back and sides and I think it's either yellow cedar or redwood for the top.
All useful info but you are being really hard on yourself Eric. That’s a very nice looking guitar.
He has set the bar too high. he will never find the joy that he felt when he made his first few guitars. He now spends countless hours seeking perfection. He's like an evangelical Christian, living in the belief that all things are imperfect, therefore unworthy of love. Someone needs to give him an unwanted puppy.
@@timhallas4275 Or the quest for perfection is the product of love and dedication?
@@BSMikkel The quest for perfection often gets in the way of perfection. A guitar is all about the sound it makes and how well it can be played. When we make our knives from gold, we lose sight of their real purpose.
@@timhallas4275 I don't understand why this video or being critical of your own imperfections has any reference to an Evangelical Christian or whether you can or can't love? Do you have issues with or against such a person?
@@duncanhill4326 You don't see a connection between being critical of your imperfections and the Christian religion? Maybe you haven't looked.
Thank you for posting this “confessional!” I’m only on my second build but feel like I’ve painted myself into a corner with many things. I feel I became overconfident because I had a lot of help with my first. I know #2 is not going to be pretty but I’m committed to finishing it just for the learning experience. I plan on doing another and your advice here is inspiring me to keep things on the more conservative side and focus on the fundamentals.
Thanks for you brutal self criticism of your work. As someone in their early sixties can I assure you as someone in the construction industry, your best lessons are from your mistakes especially when it costs you time and money. Just found your channel and Subscribed. All the best from the UK.
I would honestly buy that in a heartbeat... sure there might be things "wrong with it" but the "scares" if you will make it beautiful
Finishing is a whole different skill set. When I completed my first build, I had to research how to do the finish and then spent another $100+ to complete the finish. This whole guitar building thing is mind blowing, but I love it!
Thanks for pointing out your "lessons learned" form your 4th build! I would be exceptionally proud to make a "shit show" like this for my 4th instrument build! I doubt Antonio Stradivari's 4th instrument build was much better.
This is why I've always thought that Bob Benedetto's book on arch top guitars is the most dangerous guitar building book. Everything is there. Nothing's left out. Everything looks easy because it's detailed in the instructions and the pictures are of guitars made by experts. Then you start thinking about the little things that you have to do just right, and you start to realize how easy it will be to mess up. Still, it's a attractive book that's probably seduced a lot of people into making a guitar that otherwise wouldn't have tried.
Very nice self critique. You've won me and I'd guess, a lot of other people too.
I'd buy a guitar from this dude in a heartbeat
If you want to try a bunch of new things you might as well do them on one guitar!! Make all the mistakes on the 'experiment' guitar. You will always make mistakes, they might as well be on one guitar instead of spreading them out over 4 different ones.
I wish my woodworking was that crappy.
Rick Solari 😂👍
I knew a guy like you. He spent 1 year perfecting the most spectacular guitar ever made, and when I said how much will you sell it for, he said, "It's easily worth $45,000..... I'll probably get $1,500 for it. This puts guitar building into perspective, doesn't it?
Ok, the looks matter, but does-it play and sounds good ? That is what counts really at the end, right ?
Eric thanks for sharing your mistakes. But you know what, a mistake is only a mistake if you don't learn anything from it, otherwise it helps to improve yourself.
While I understand the point of this video and your critique seems fair, we are our own worse critic, particularly in artistic endeavors. Interestingly it isn’t just the acquired skill of repeatedly building something that makes the gradual improvements in the finished product, the major motivation for improvement is the personal dissatisfaction with our previous work. That’s what drives the true craftsman to do better.
To be honest, it's a great guitar compared to what I could make. Where is your Luthier shop?
Bernville, Pennsylvania
The only important thing is does it sound good is good and comfortable to play
But it may sound half way decent and play nicely. In that case that would trump the flaws imho.
I like it
the sound hole is quite big... :/
Eric, you are being way too hard on yourself, as other responses have stated. Your current build on your website is exemplary in workmanship and sound. The headstock design and bridge look way cool, and from what I could see through the sound hole, the interior bracing caught my eye as well. I really had a difficult time watching your video all the way through. It was painful to hear one negative comment being followed by another. You could present the same material in your video as a critique of common errors and follow each “mistake” with images from a current build you have completed. It is obvious you have mastered and progressed beyond all of your initial shortcomings.
Sometimes a failure is not an error, but a new invention.
This video made me realize that although I want to build instruments, I do not want to be a luthier . It seems like the majority of things a luthier does are just about superficial appearance. Music is about sound and if it sounds good it is good. I am lucky to live in an age where I can buy a really nice guitar, made with hands and machines, for under $500. I can appreciate a Luthier when I need a repair, but Do I need a custom made $3000 guitar? Well, I do not, but some people who really appreciate the craft do and I admire the luthier that can give someone that one of a kind, work of perfect art that makes them happy. I suppose I am to course to really get it.
If you want to make a living as a luthier [ pronounced 'loo-tee-er' ], you will have to make and sell pretty expensive guitars to keep food on the table, etc.
If you make acoustic instruments for yourself and a select group of of other people, then simple is probably better. Eye candy is all wonderful, but it doesn't make the guitar sound or play any better. If you're a hobbyist, then do whatever you enjoy.
@@perihelion7798 learning to pronounce Luthier correctly is a step in the right direction, Thanks. I like repairing guitars and other thing. Maybe I should open a things I like to repair shop.
@@clintonthe4th245 Just keep doing what you like to do. I've been repairing guitars for 35 years now, as a hobby. I figured I'd never be able to pay my mortgage with it, so I got a regular 8-5 job to pay the bills.
Best of luck to you.
the thing that stands out the WORST, obnoxiously is that binding. especially on the neck. i do not understand why people try to do 100 unneccessary things at once especially when they cannot solve 5 neccessary issues. confort, playability and sound are the priorites, and then how it looks. the extra touch ups, or things, which i hate and think are kitsch, like solid rosette or solid binding, the finish and some weird things like beveled edges and complex headstock shapes, should really be avoided, especially on guitar, what... 4??
some good points made in the video, but i would have dissected the issue a bit differently. my priorities might be others.
What a piece of crap. You should send it to me and get it our of your system.
I would be proud to create an instrument as "bad" as the one you are not proud of. We always get better from lessons learned and watching more UA-cam videos!
Humblebrag: The Video.
Cool video, I think that most of the mistakes are inexperienced woodworking issues, in my opinion if you had someone looking over your shoulder, those mistakes would never have accrued.
The only big design mistake I see is this weird shelve (LOL) you have where the body meets the neck (cutaway),
Only a good guitarist that is using that area a lot would be able to point that out a head of time.
There is one more design mistake that I see, and I see great guitar companies and luthiers do this to this day:
That is the string from the nut should be in a perfectly straight line to the machine heads first, than you can have design the headstock in any shape you choose, when the string doesn't go in a straight line it always and mean always give you tuning issues, amazingly I see this on incredibly expensive guitars.
wauw beautyfull
"Shit Show" is the name of my Butthole Surfers cover band.
No worry, Ill take her :D
Looks fine to me. I will send you my info and you can send the guitar to me.
there should NEVER be wood between the fretboard and the top. NEVER
Learn from it and start over....
I was hoping we would at least hear your disasterpiece.
anyway it is a beautiful guitar
I can keep that guitar for me
Roasting yourself must be painful :)))))
you are wromg about that headstock. the headstock should never have 'cheeks'. thoer ruin general design principles...
do'es the guitar play well?,,,do'es the guitar sound good? well in that case its a good guitar,,,,,so when can you send it to me? lol
Well, at least its hand made, eh?
You seem to have forgotten that a guitar is a tool, that musicians use to make music. When it becomes a work of art in it's own rite, it ceases to be musical. It's like marrying the most beautiful girl in the world, and ultimately finding that neither of you are fulfilling any real purpose. The best guitars are the worn-ugly ones that sound like someone's soul has found it's voice in the world.