Electric Guitar and Bass Design: The guitar or bass of your dreams, from the first draft to the complete plan

Not so much a "how-to do" guide as it is a "why to do" book. You won't find any step-by-step instructions or how-to chapters. This book is about design. And as a result, it discusses topics such as ergonomics and playability as well as electronic configurations, wood choices, and scale lengths. The section on pickup wiring and impedences is easily worth the price of the book. As are the somewhat controversial opinions expressed in a few places. (ex: the argument that the body wood has the least possible effect on the overall tone. Which brings into question the whole assertion about the need to use expensive or exotic 'tonewoods' when constructing a high quality bass.)If you simply want to build a high quality bass for your own use, this is probably not the book for you. Martin Koch's 'Building Electric Guitars: How to Make Solid-Body, Hollow-Body and Semi-Acoustic Electric Guitars and Bass Guitars' - which is also available from Amazon - is a much better choice.However, if your goal is to craft something totally unique, or design your own line of professional instruments, this book is probably one of the best places to start. If for no other reason than it encourages you to start thinking about design and materials for yourself instead of simply accepting marketing opinions masquerading as established facts.It's also extremely useful if you have no intention of ever building your own instruments. Knowledge is power. As is a reputation for genuinely knowing what you're talking about. Armed with the information found in this book, you can become a much more knowledgeable buyer - whether you're buying an instrument "off the rack" - or commissioning a custom built 'one-off' from a boutique builder.Excellent book. Buy it, read it, and give some serious thought to the topics discussed in its pages. You don't need to accept everything in the book as gospel truth (which I certainly don't) to benefit enormously from it. As long as this book gets you to start thinking about things, and questioning received wisdom (something the authors themselves encourage you to do - including the opinions expressed in their own book) it will have accomplished its goal.Highly recommended.

If you are not a luthier and have any interest at all in learning about the inner workings of a guitar, this is a must read. Very easy and fast read. I finished it in a couple of days. What makes this book so valuable it that it breaks down why a guitar does what it does in a very simplistic manner. By teaching you how guitars are designed you will find yourself learning and appreciating the information in other books a great deal more. I also have Melvyn Hiscock's "Make Your Own Guitar" and Dan Erlewine's "Guitar Finishing Step by Step". Hiscock's book is an outstanding tool for putting it all together, but it a bit outdated in some aspects. Erlewine's book is the bible of guitar finishing. Enough said. However, this book gives you a high level, yet surprisingly technical breakdown of why it all matters. Understanding guitar design is invaluable if you want to pursue anything else with the other books. I think these three books combined should be read prior to buying your first body blank or tool. The knowledge you will acquire will help you plan better and make smart well-thought out purchases the first time. Electric Guitar and Bass Design should definitely be read first because Lospennato points out some very technical aspects of guitar making that I would not have considered with the other books. Building your first guitar should be like learning to play a guitar for the first time. You don't want to spend $500 on a new guitar only to find that it is not the guitar for you or that you don't like playing. For under $30, this book will give you so much valuable information you will know if making a guitar is really for you and you will be able to anticipate what your main obstacles will be.Again, this is a very good read and you will not be disappointed. Even if you do not want to build a guitar and just want to learn how to take care of the guitar you currently own, this is a very useful reference. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Me ha gustado mucho este libro, es un complemento genial al otro libro del autor más orientado a la fabricación. Este está orientado básicamente al diseño antes de ponerse manos a la obra, y es una guía y referencia fantástica a los diferentes aspectos del diseño de guitarras y bajos eléctricos, abarcando desde las guitarras más clásicas (Strato, Les Paul, etc.) a las más radicales. Al ser una primera edición tiene algunos pequeños errores de maquetación sin demasiada importancia.

Exelente libro

An excellent reference on not just building basses (in my case) but areas such the philosophy of guitar design, how to develop a design, areas to consider and so on. Its not an instruction guide - it gives you tools to build and develop your own style. Not an exhaustive volume, but a lot of hard-to-find information and useful links.

As noted SEVERAL times in the book, this is a DESIGN vs. a BUILD book. It's a well-organized, step-by-step walk through the design process, listing relevant design questions, options and pros/cons of choices which will influence the eventual build of the instrument. Lots of online references, recommended reading for custom builders.

Un libro che copre i molteplici aspetti della progettazione di uno strumento.Ovviamente ogni aspetto andrebbe approfondito autonomamente, ma i concetti sono chiari.