A few years ago I had the privilege to meet luthier Leo Lospennato in Berlin and to read his first book - Electric Guitar & Electric Bass Design, a book full of teachings and information about instruments design and conception that seem to never have been gathered before in such a pleasant way.
Leo - who in the meantime created and directed luthiers' magazine Sustain - is back with a new book as necessary as the first one - Electric Guitar & Bass Making & Marketing - and a must have for every guitar maker - either newbie or pro, because there is always something you can learn or improve!
It starts with very basic things such as how to screw - not as easy as one might think - or open a Facebook account to promote your work, up to very esoteric things such as 3-layer binding, everything very concrete with detailed explanations, schemes and pictures, based on Leo's experience as a luthier, with the input of occasional collaborators. You will also learn how to make a half pencil - very useful for some marking -, get some good advices about how to organise your workshop or what not to do yourself (like pickups winding or advanced finishes) so you can stay focused on the guitar making...
Not only this book meticulously describes every step needed to build a guitar (though you'll need the first book for the conception phase and have some guitar knowledge to know what it's all about - it doesn't start from zero) but it's also an interesting journey into a technician's brain, and I actually recommended it to people out of the field as a good insight into the world of making stuff... With my academic and artistic background, I had to re-learn everything about pragmatic process and I really needed something like this (now I have to go and fix some mistakes I made in finishes polishing and reorganise my tools). And because Leo is passionate and witty, the book is just a good read!
It starts with very basic things such as how to screw - not as easy as one might think - or open a Facebook account to promote your work, up to very esoteric things such as 3-layer binding, everything very concrete with detailed explanations, schemes and pictures, based on Leo's experience as a luthier, with the input of occasional collaborators. You will also learn how to make a half pencil - very useful for some marking -, get some good advices about how to organise your workshop or what not to do yourself (like pickups winding or advanced finishes) so you can stay focused on the guitar making...
Not only this book meticulously describes every step needed to build a guitar (though you'll need the first book for the conception phase and have some guitar knowledge to know what it's all about - it doesn't start from zero) but it's also an interesting journey into a technician's brain, and I actually recommended it to people out of the field as a good insight into the world of making stuff... With my academic and artistic background, I had to re-learn everything about pragmatic process and I really needed something like this (now I have to go and fix some mistakes I made in finishes polishing and reorganise my tools). And because Leo is passionate and witty, the book is just a good read!
Looks like a good one. My dad spent 2 years building me a copy of a 1959 Gibson Les Paul in his free time. The thing is insane - solid mahogany, heavy as hell. Has the sustain of a piano, I'm terrified to play it haha but I still do. It's my most prized possession. This book reminded me of the ones on his workbench.
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