The Acoustic Vision Takes Shape

I'm not quite sure when I decided to build an acoustic guitar. I don't really play my Takamine very often, it just sits around gathering dust. I've been having a ton of fun building and playing the Teles for the last few years. I assumed making an acoustic guitar required tools and experiece that were beyond me and my skill level. I told people that know I am a builder that I build electrics because acoustics are way to difficult.

I was in MIMF (Musical Instrument Makers Forum) one day, I don't know what I was looking for, and happened to stumble on a referenence to a Kit Guitar Builders forum. I checked out the site, hmmm... kit building. I bought and read a book, Complete Guide to Building Kit Guitars by Bill Cory. Really well written a great beginners guide to get you started. Lots of advise and wisdom from his build experiences and great reference material. I hope he doesn't mind me posting this:

I did a lot of other reading, looked at a couple more sites, talked to a local builder who offers a kit assembly course and decided to take the plunge. But then I got to thinking... a kit? Shouldn't I be building from scratch. After all there are no electronics, no pickups to wind, its just wood. I'm a decent wood worker. I've built a playhouse. I've built a doll house. But then I got to thinking about bending the sides and cutting and shaping the braces and installing perfling. No way could I do that without serious help. So a kit it was. But which kit?

One thing I like about John's book is the advise he gives first time builders - learn from his mistakes so to speak. He reviews the most popular kit manufacturers and makes recommendations for which one to buy based on your particular circumstance. After reviewing the options I ended going with a "success kit" from Kenneth Michael Guitars. One of the things I liked about Ken's option was the extras - molds, tools, jigs, too numerous to mention - that came with it. I knew this build was going to require getting a lot of specialty tools and this seemed like a very sensible way to get started.

We emailed back and forth a couple of times, finalized the package and visited my friends at Paypal to make it official. The finshed guitar will have a spruce top, rosewood sides and back, ebony finger board. It's going to be beautiful. But enough conversation, lets start building.