My Favorite Tonewoods
15 min
A listing of some of my favorite woods used in the construction of my own guitars, along with photos, descriptions and statistics.
Substantive articles filled with insights and experiences, authored by acoustic guitar maker Christopher Cozad.
15 min
A listing of some of my favorite woods used in the construction of my own guitars, along with photos, descriptions and statistics.
46 min
Highlights of my building the first steel string acoustic guitar to be reliant on the TurboTail fixture. I call it the "Turbo-D".
25 min
Neck block shift and soundboard shear that results from the longstanding tradition of building guitar bodies that are simply too flexible, why it happens, what to do when it happens, and how to prevent it from happening.
25 min
This is how I make my own custom acoustic guitar body molds, the wooden forms that determine the shape of the guitar body and hold it in place throughout construction.
16 min
A comprehensive look at the critical components that, along with the bent sides, comprise the body shell of the acoustic guitar, namely, the neck block, the tail block, and the linings (or kerfing).
15 min
Tuning a steel guitar string requires a small machine, a mechanical device that can generate the force necessary to bring the string to pitch, as well as maintain it.
15 min
This hollow carbon fiber truss rod alternative has been specifically designed to stabilize instrument necks with its unique profile. The D-Tube Neck Beam™ significantly increases bending and torsional stiffness and weighs less than the wood it replaces.
12 min
Is there really a raised hump in my fretboard directly above the neck-to-body joint (12th fret, 14th fret, etc), or is it an optical illusion? And what does any of this have to do with a swayback horse?
28 min
An in-depth look at the history of the truss rod and all of the related topics, including neck bow, string tension, action, relief, setups and more.
29 min
An externally-mounted fixture that counters the pull of the strings. How does it work? I conducted tests and recorded the measurements to find out for myself.
20 min
What is a neck reset? Is a neck reset really necessary? Why would I want one? How do I determine if my guitar actually needs a neck reset?
32 min
When performed in proper sequence and completed accurately, these steps will result in a perfectly playable acoustic guitar.
9 min
A deep dive into the topic of Guild neck resets, using my own 1976 F-212 XL as an example. Dedicated to Guild owners everywhere ...
6 min
Spending a week with master luthier Kent Carlos Everett was a career-altering event, as it took my guitar building to a whole new level.
6 min
During Christmastime of 2012 I was able to spend some invaluable time with master luthier John Greven in his shop, at his home in my hometown of Portland, Oregon.
5 min
Thanks to a Let’s Talk Guild meet-up in Nashville, Tennessee in April 2013, I was privileged to spend an unforgettable Saturday with George Gruhn.
10 min
If an item is made by hand, is it worth more? If electricity is involved (power tools, lighting, etc.) can an item be described as having been handcrafted? Is there any difference between one person making a product and a team of people making that same product? Does one approach produce a better guitar than the other?
7 min
The right wood, worked the right way by the right person becomes more than simply the sum of the parts.
1 min
The V4 pickup from James May Engineering, like the V3, is a passive, bridgeplate-mounted, soundboard transducer (SBT) pickup with on-board feedback suppression. Some new features have been added.
5 min
The Amulet M-VT Phantom is a phantom-powered, bridgeplate-mounted, multi-transducer, low impedance (low noise), feedback resistant pickup.
5 min
Lightweight, high-quality, phantom-powered mic on an adjustable gooseneck with an innovative clip-on adapter that can easily move from guitar to guitar.
7 min
An affordable, phantom-powered, high-quality condenser mic that may be mounted in the soundhole or affixed internally (to the back or the neck block using 3M Dual Lock). Available in two versions: External (with a 16 ft/5 m cable) or Integrated (pre-soldered to an endpin jack).
6 min
This soundhole-mounted magnetic pickup and its matching preamp represents the ultimate in the uncompromising search for an amplified acoustic guitar sound capable of high sound pressure levels.
7 min
What do you get when you combine an active magnetic soundhole pickup, already "voiced" after a condenser mic, with a condenser mic and an onboard preamp? A surprisingly effective, non-destructive, acoustic-sounding amplification solution, that's what!
3 min
The Soloist from Barbera Transducer Systems is a passive saddle transducer, that is to say, the saddle is the pickup! Feedback is near non-existent ...
9 min
This pickup from James May Engineering is a passive, bridgeplate-mounted, soundboard transducer (SBT) pickup with on-board feedback suppression.
10 min
I replaced an LR Baggs Onboard Element with an LR Baggs Anthem Stage Pro. The existing opening left in the guitar from the Element was too large. What could I do?
12 min
This article documents my build of a 2 ft x 4 ft x 3-1/2 inch deep Pegboard wall-mounted rack, using Red Oak for the hand-cut dovetailed frame. Born of necessity, this rack is my daily "go-to" location for various tools.
14 min
How I re-fretted my 1999 RainSong WS1000 carbon fiber guitar. Includes how to remove the old jumbo frets, re-radius the carbon fiber fretboard, and install new, thinner frets.
1 hr 20 min
A fully-documented rebuild of a classic 12-string including a new soundboard, tasteful inlay, a special finish and more. This is a long article, but there are lots of photos.
6 min
A catastrophic neck block shift and soundboard shear on both sides of the fingerboard extension qualifies this guitar for a complete makeover ...
7 min
It started with a broken truss rod. Then there was the loose neck joint. Then the back plate seam separation. Then the bellying behind the bridge ...
15 min
What should have been a simple bridge repair ended up being a complete remake of a Mahogany archback dreadnaught Guild 12-string ... and it sounded better than ever!
14 min
This unplayable, dirty-brown Guild 12-string had a tinted lacquer finish which I chose to remove using a card scraper. I reset the neck and ended up with a lovely blonde Maple 12-string.
54 min
LONG article - I documented my re-building of this Guild. All that remains of the original are the Mahogany back and sides. I added wood binding, a soundport, an arm bevel, new bridge, new fretboard, and more.
7 min
My favorite 12 string needed a neck reset, new binding, frets, tuners and pickup. Oh, and a new soundboard, too. And and a complete refinish. Learn why ...