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flatpicker9972 |
As a Luthier of many years now I have been seeing an alarming trend in the guitar building industry. I have been seeing guitars that have been built since the late 1990s coming into the shop with tops that are very thin. This is causing a wealth of problems with structure and humidity.
WHY: I feel this trend stems from the mid to late 90s when the old pre-war Martin guitars started drawing a lot of attention, and bringing some very big prices, I watched prices and demand sore over the next decade putting a lot of pressure on builders to try to reproduce the pre-war sound from a new instrument. To do this the tops of guitars stared getting thinner and thinner to try to produce a bigger seasoned sound. I have seen tops under .98 of an inch come into the shop for repairs ranging from premature neck sets to tops sinking so sever that not much could be done for the guitar other than a new sound-board. Guitar tops range from .110 to .125 of an inch. This has created a wealth of problems with both structure, and reaction to climate in a greater way. If this microwave trend of have to have it now continues the guitars of the past will truly be collectors items, because they will be the only only ones built well enough to endure.
We must realize the making of a good guitar starts with the materials and the luthier. The making of a great guitar is patience and years and years of playing.
Jerry Shadrick of Jerry Shadrick Guitars.
www.shadrickguitars.com
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