Momentary Lapse of Reason?

(Click to Enlarge)
You can see my abusive strumming pattern
where the top has been worn down.

My old Guild Drednought is still tank tough but has seen better days. It's been put to the test over the years... camping, hunting, and fishing in the Colorado Rockies, the cold, heat and humidity of Iowa, and now thriving in Michigan.

When I first purchased it back in the late 80's early '90's (I forget now) it was considered a nice guitar and cost me more money than I should've spent at the time. Even though I had owned a lot of great electric guitars over the years, this was my first real acoustic guitar.

The Guild plays well and sounds nice - decent sustain, the tone and volume are acceptable, it's balanced a little bass heavy (which I liked at the time of purchase), etc.  That being said, there are still drawbacks to this guitar compared to the nicer and more expensive solid wood guitars.

The differences between my Guild (spruce [?] top, laminated back and sides) and the solid wood guitars are substantial. In comparison to solid wood guitars, laminated guitars can sound somewhat dead with little sustain. Laminated guitars are more durable and less sensitive to humidity and temperature changes so they can take a beating (as this Guild has). Solid wood guitars will require much more care and attention but they will sing much sweeter for you.

I've wanted to build my own guitar for many years but have been somewhat intimidated by the artistic skills of the luthier. Anyone can slap together a cigar box guitar and bang on the strings, but it takes another skillset entirely to build a finely crafted, hardwood, acoustic guitar which can sing with the best of them. It also takes patience. Anyone that knows me personally, knows that I'm about to be tested on all fronts. I have never been called a patient person, I've been known to be stubborn at times, and my luthier skills do not exist - as of yet.


My first step on this journey started with the purchase of this book:

GUITARMAKING: Tradition and Technology
A Complete Reference for the Design & Construction of the Steel-String Folk Guitar & the Classical Guitar
by William R. Cumpiano and Jonathan D. Natelson

This book covers almost everything I'll need from A to Z. When I first opened the book I knew that I was going to be hooked. Inside the front cover was a great quote that I fell in love with:

"VIVA FUI IN SILVIS
SUM DURA OCCISA
SECURI DUM VIXI TACUI
MORTUA DOLCE CANO"
- Quote from an Elizabethan Lute

Translated:
"I was alive in the wood (forest)
I was cut by the cruel axe
In life I was silent
In death I sweetly sing"

Here's to hoping the finished product comes to life and sings more sweet than sour.