SA Luthiers (acoustic) - Masters dissertation by Rodi Bower

V8

So I was just browsing around and stumbled across this immense 296pg document. I havn't read through it entirely - the interview with Marc Maingaard is worth a read though. Fascinating story and perspective into wood, sound and what it takes to produce such a masterpiece.

http://dspace.nmmu.ac.za:8080/jspui/bitstream/10948/779/1/Rudi%20Bower.pdf

daveo1977

Thank you for posting the link to this document V8. It prompted me to find out more about Marc Maingard, and I found this great talk on YouTube:

Wow, those guitars are beautiful, and I get that with a classical guitar you want note separation, that you want a guitar with a unique voice - as opposed to one that has volume, but where the notes just ring together.

I was also curious about the tap tone test that luthiers use, and found some cool videos by an American Luthier called Andy Culpepper. Here he is playing one of his own flamenco guitars:

Man, if I didn't suck at wood shop, I'd be making guitars!

I must admit I was a little out of my depth reading the philosophical parts, but there's something cool I took away from it. When you become experienced, like the luthiers presented in the thesis are, it's not like you've arrived. You have in fact gained an openness to (and willingness to have) new experiences. I like that idea.

Mind expanded.

V8

Ahh, I wondered if anyone found this as fascinating as I did...always a pleasure to peek inside the mind of a master (whatever the mastery is).

Nice find on the interview, gonna be sitting through it tonite - I find Marc's views fascinating. Never met him (probably never will), but I have seen a few his of guitars, played on two ever so briefly- very briefly, the price tag psyched me out completely!

daveo1977 wrote: Mind expanded.

+1, well put!

The story he shared about choosing a Sigma guitar was bloody interesting, I always wondered what 'magic' was at work when one mass produced guitar would just sing and the others would seem dead.

I'd dig to line up 50 'identical' guitars and ask him to run through them and just listen to his opinion and what/hear his technique of testing the sound/tops. That would be incredibly educational.