The acoustic guitar guide : everything you need to know to buy and maintain a new or used guitar

this Book Will Help All Guitar Players Make Better Friends With Their Present Guitar Or Decide On Features To Look For In A New One. They Will Learn About The Differences In Guitar Woods (and How They Sound), Simple Guitar Maintenance, How To Choose An Instrument For Their Style Of Playing, What To Expect From A Music Dealer, And The Mystique Of Collectible Guitars. This New Edition Includes More Details On Amplifying Acoustic Guitars, And A Guide To Guitar Companies' Web Sites. american Music Teacher larry Sandberg Has A Deep Knowledge And Appreciation Of The Subject...his Writing Style Is Clear And Entertaining...there Is No Pretense Of Authoritarianism, Just Years Of Experience And Developed Judgment. CONTENTS......Page 6 Back Cover ......Page 290 Foreword......Page 14 Acknowledgments......Page 16 Introduction......Page 18 PART I: All About the Guitar......Page 22 Ancient Origins......Page 24 The Dark and Light Ages......Page 25 The Development of the Modern Classical Guitar......Page 26 C. F. Martin and the American Guitar......Page 28 The Early Years of the Steel-String Guitar......Page 30 Bigger Guitars for the 1930s......Page 31 The Folk Boom and Beyond......Page 33 The Nostalgic Baby Boomer Market......Page 35 New Sounds for a New Generation......Page 37 Guitars in a World of Scarce Resources......Page 38 The Twelve-String Guitar......Page 40 The Flamenco Guitar......Page 42 Bass Guitars......Page 43 How Archtops Work......Page 44 Electric Archtops......Page 46 Is an Archtop the Guitar for You?......Page 47 Solidbody and Semi-Hollowbody Electrics......Page 48 Hawaiian and Other Lap-Style Guitars......Page 49 Resophonic Guitars......Page 50 The Maccaferri (“Django”) Guitar......Page 53 Seven Strings, Ten Strings, and More......Page 54 Multineck Guitars......Page 56 Air Guitars......Page 57 Tone......Page 58 Volume......Page 60 Presence......Page 61 Balance......Page 62 Sustain......Page 63 Cutting Power......Page 64 Wraparound and Projection......Page 65 Facts and Impressions......Page 66 The Mystique and Value of Solid Wood......Page 68 Buyer Beware......Page 69 Laminate Construction......Page 70 Laminate Tops......Page 71 Laminate Fingerboards......Page 72 Seasoning......Page 73 Slab Cutting......Page 75 Quartersawed Wood......Page 76 Bookmatched Tops and Backs......Page 78 Sets......Page 79 Wood Naming Conventions......Page 80 Spruce......Page 81 Spruce Mystique......Page 82 Selecting Spruce for a Top......Page 83 Cedar and Redwood......Page 84 Rosewood......Page 85 Mahogany......Page 87 Maple......Page 88 Koa......Page 89 Ebony......Page 90 Finish......Page 91 Nitrocellulose and Acrylic Lacquers......Page 92 Glues......Page 93 Action Loosely Defined......Page 96 Setup and Style......Page 97 Neck Materials and Construction......Page 99 Neck Shape and Contour......Page 101 Relief......Page 102 The Truss Rod......Page 103 Truss Rods and Relief......Page 105 Truss Rod Adjustment......Page 106 Diagnosis......Page 107 Neck Joints......Page 108 Neck Set......Page 109 Resetting the Neck......Page 110 Fingerboard Materials......Page 111 Twelve- and Fourteen-Fret Necks......Page 112 Fingerboard Width......Page 113 Replacing and Repairing Fingerboards......Page 114 Fret Design......Page 115 Refretting......Page 116 Materials......Page 117 Nut Height and Grooves......Page 118 Long and Short Scales......Page 120 Fanned Frets for Mixed Scales......Page 121 Headstock or Peghead......Page 122 Tuning Machines......Page 123 Here’s What You Need to Know About Tuners......Page 124 The Soul of the Guitar......Page 126 Laminate and Solid Wood Tops......Page 127 The Sound Hole......Page 128 The Pickguard......Page 129 Top Bracing......Page 130 X-Bracing......Page 131 Voiced and Scalloped X-Bracing......Page 133 Kasha and Other Bracing Systems......Page 134 Function and Structure......Page 135 Bridge Woods......Page 136 Bridge Shapes......Page 137 Function, Structure, and Materials......Page 139 Compensation......Page 140 Keeping Your Temper......Page 142 Back and Sides......Page 143 Back Bracing and Side Reinforcement......Page 144 Table: Approximate Standard Guitar Sizes......Page 145 Shape......Page 147 Cutaway Guitars......Page 148 Putting the Guitar Together......Page 149 Making a Good Marriage with Your Guitar......Page 152 Guitars Differ Differently......Page 153 Cutaways......Page 154 Left-Handed Guitars......Page 155 Ornamentation......Page 156 Headstock and Neck Inlay......Page 157 Binding, Purfling, and Rosettes......Page 159 Finish......Page 160 Bluegrass and Old-Time Music......Page 161 Contemporary Fingerpicking......Page 162 Suiting Your Suitcase: Travel Guitars......Page 163 Under $300......Page 164 $750 to $1,000......Page 166 Over $2,000......Page 167 String Basics......Page 168 From Catgut to Stainless Steel......Page 169 Picking Your Strings......Page 170 Coated Strings......Page 171 Compound (“Silk and Steel”) Strings......Page 172 Flatwound Strings......Page 173 Nylon Strings......Page 174 Gauging String Gauge......Page 175 Compound Strings......Page 176 Measuring String Gauge......Page 177 Table: Typical String Sets......Page 178 Making Up Your Own String Set......Page 179 String Brands......Page 180 Bad Vibes, Heavy Metal Fatigue, and Other Tough Breaks in the Life of a String......Page 181 When to Replace Strings......Page 182 Amplified Versus Natural Sound......Page 184 Introduction to Transduction......Page 185 Pickups, Preamps, and Impedance......Page 186 Internal Mini-Microphones......Page 188 Magnetic Pickups......Page 189 Why Plug In?......Page 190 The Great Signal Chain of Being......Page 191 Amplifiers and Sound Systems......Page 192 On-Stage Sound Systems......Page 193 Acoustic Guitar Amps......Page 194 Microphones and Other Inputs......Page 195 Equalization......Page 196 Notch Filters and Parametric Equalizers......Page 197 Sound Processing Devices......Page 198 Looking for Mr. Goodfret......Page 200 Owning More Than One Guitar......Page 201 The Nature of a Collectors’ Market......Page 202 The Nature of Collectors......Page 203 Vintage Guitars as Investments......Page 204 Why Some People Think Old and Vintage Guitars Are Better......Page 205 Why Some People Think New Guitars Are Better Anyway......Page 206 Modern Luthiery: The New Golden Age?......Page 207 Longevity......Page 208 Becoming an Expert......Page 209 Great Names of the Past......Page 210 Junk Chic......Page 211 Finding a Good Dealer......Page 212 Negotiating Approval or Warranty Terms......Page 213 Sales and Marketing Techniques......Page 214 Discounts......Page 215 Structure......Page 216 Playing Qualities......Page 217 What If You Can’t Play Yet?......Page 218 Around the House......Page 220 Changes in Climate......Page 221 January Is the Cruelest Month......Page 222 Good Guitars Finish Last......Page 223 Spit ’n’ Polish......Page 224 Cases......Page 225 Routine Crack Repair......Page 227 Bridge and Fingerboard Cracks......Page 228 The Trauma Unit......Page 229 PART II: Market Survey......Page 232 How to Use This Section......Page 234 Table: Approximate Standard Guitar Sizes......Page 235 Caveat Emptor......Page 236 Collings Guitars......Page 238 Background......Page 239 Old Gibsons for Gibson Lovers......Page 242 Guild Guitars......Page 243 Larrivée (Jean Larrivée Guitars Ltd.)......Page 244 LaSiDo (Godin, Seagull, and Simon & Patrick)......Page 245 Lowden......Page 246 C. F. Martin and the Martin Bracing System......Page 247 The Mystique of Pre-War Martins......Page 250 Table: Martin’s Largest-Sized Guitars Since 1854......Page 251 Martin Since 1950......Page 253 Other Martin Products......Page 257 Name That Number: Martin’s Size and Style Designations......Page 258 Table: Martin Guitar Size Prefixes......Page 259 Table: Martin Guitar Style Suffixes......Page 260 Martin Serial Numbers......Page 261 Ovation and Adamas......Page 262 Santa Cruz Guitar Company......Page 263 Tacoma Guitars......Page 264 Taylor Guitars......Page 265 Regal......Page 266 14 Custom Luthiers......Page 268 Finding Luthiers......Page 269 15 Selected Importers, Distributors, and Manufacturers of Student, Mid-Line, and Laminate-Body Instruments......Page 272 Glossary......Page 274 Resources......Page 286 Magazines......Page 288 Guitar Shows......Page 289 Annotation. "The advice and information in this book will help you make better friends with your present guitar or help you decide on features to look for in a new one. In these pages you'll learn about the differences in guitar woods (and how they sound), simple guitar maintenance, how to choose an instrument for your style of playing, what to expect from a music dealer, the mystique of collectible guitars, and much more. You'll also learn to sort out a very complicated market - and why many think we're now living in a golden age of guitar making. This new edition includes updated information, a vastly expanded section on amplifying acoustic guitars, and a guide to guitar companies' Web addresses. Also covered is the history of the guitar, frank buying advice, and a survey of major (and many minor) manufacturers and their models. For the serious collector or the absolute beginner, The Acoustic Guitar Guide is an indispensable tool."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved A book to help guitar players make better friends with their present guitar or decide on features to look for in a new one. Provides information about the differences in guitar woods (and how they sound), simple guitar maintenance, how to choose an instrument for one's style of playing, what to expect from a music dealer, and the mystique of collectible guitars. This new edition includes more details on amplifying acoustic guitars, and a guide to guitar companies' Web sites