The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum-First Kit-Build (2024)

I would like to eventually build a guitar to compliment my D18. My end goal is to build a rosewood dread that has enough punch to solo in a bluegrass jam, but still sounds good for playing without a group. I'm thinking of a stewmac kit, replacing the soundboard with Adirondack, using hide glue, and FSSB.

I have heard that first time builds rarely turn out the way you plan. The only instrument I have built is a mountain banjo from scratch that turned out pretty well.

For the builders out there, should I start with a less expensive kit to iron out the mistakes, or was your first build a success?

I'll take a guess (based upon a google search that implies it might be bracing related...)

Forward Shifted Scalloped Bracing?

Edit: Although, I suspect Forward Shifted Standard Bracing might also fit. Not a huge fan of acronym's that aren't used in full at least once or are patently obvious like CIA or FBI. YMFD (:)).

Yes, Forward Shifted Scalloped Bracing.

Side question, to get more punch with Sitka would using straight braces or rear-shifted scalloped bracing (1 7/8") help? I know the reimagined D28 uses forward shifted straight bracing. There are definitely a lot of variables. Part of the fun

You've got some building experience so you could jump right into a guitar but I'd highly recommend starting with a Stew Mac uke kit. They are under $100 and essentially mimic building a guitar although much simpler. I built my first one with my 12 year old son and we literally built it with glue, clothespins, rubber bands, a hammer, a file, and a drill. The end product looks like it was built by a couple of people who had never built an instrument but it plays in tune up the neck and was a ton of fun to build. As an added bonus if you screw something up Stew Mac will send you a replacement part free of charge.

Since then I've built five other kit ukes/guitars and have had a blast doing so and the end results have far exceeded my expectations. I do not know what your rationale for wanting to build a guitar is but if it is to enjoy the building process and play something that you made then I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so. If it is to save money then you will likely be disappointed, depending on the current state of your tool locker. I could have bought a nice Nazareth built Martin for all I've spent on clamps, routers, files, bits, chisels, planes, etc...

SColumbusSt wrote: ↑

Mar 01, 2022

You've got some building experience so you could jump right into a guitar but I'd highly recommend starting with a Stew Mac uke kit. They are under $100 and essentially mimic building a guitar although much simpler. I built my first one with my 12 year old son and we literally built it with glue, clothespins, rubber bands, a hammer, a file, and a drill. The end product looks like it was built by a couple of people who had never built an instrument but it plays in tune up the neck and was a ton of fun to build. As an added bonus if you screw something up Stew Mac will send you a replacement part free of charge.

Since then I've built five other kit ukes/guitars and have had a blast doing so and the end results have far exceeded my expectations. I do not know what your rationale for wanting to build a guitar is but if it is to enjoy the building process and play something that you made then I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so. If it is to save money then you will likely be disappointed, depending on the current state of your tool locker. I could have bought a nice Nazareth built Martin for all I've spent on clamps, routers, files, bits, chisels, planes, etc...

Hey that's a cool idea. I'm sure some of it will translate, and I could give it to my son. Thank you

My first build was a success and has served me well in a 4 piece bluegrass band. It's a sitka/ mahogany stewmac kit. It sounds decent, but the fit and finish aren't great.

Are you planning to continue building guitars after the first one? Tools and equipment costs can easily be more than a new D-28. It's a good hobby and you'll be proud to play whatever you build,

My suggestions are:
Consider sending it to a professional guitar finisher.
Buy the best sandpaper you can find.
Use good quarter sawn wood.
If you are going to change out the top wood or other components, look at buying a kit from someone who will make you a customized kit. Blues Creek Guitars can do that.

Sarchfieldgtr wrote: ↑

Mar 19, 2022

My first build was a success and has served me well in a 4 piece bluegrass band. It's a sitka/ mahogany stewmac kit. It sounds decent, but the fit and finish aren't great.

Are you planning to continue building guitars after the first one? Tools and equipment costs can easily be more than a new D-28. It's a good hobby and you'll be proud to play whatever you build,

My suggestions are:
Consider sending it to a professional guitar finisher.
Buy the best sandpaper you can find.
Use good quarter sawn wood.
If you are going to change out the top wood or other components, look at buying a kit from someone who will make you a customized kit. Blues Creek Guitars can do that.

Thanks for the reply and suggestions. I am planning to continue building, so I'm looking at the tools as an investment. Definitely not expecting to save a bunch of money on this guitar!

I am planning to try a shellac finish, but am open to suggestions. I also looked at Blues Creek Guitars' kit page, but didn't think about asking for a custom kit. I'll send him an email when I'm closer to buying.

My goal for this guitar is to have a rosewood dread that I can use for leads as well as rhythm. I love the sound of rosewood when playing chords, but I never play amplified or with a mic so I am worried about it getting lost in the mix of a banjo, fiddle, and Dobro. I am hoping the Adirondack top will help with that.

Open to suggestions as well on other ways to help a rosewood guitar punch out for lead work.

I would use tru oil, especially on mahogany without pore fill super thin and looks beautiful.

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TW18 wrote: ↑

Mar 19, 2022

Sarchfieldgtr wrote: ↑

Mar 19, 2022

My first build was a success and has served me well in a 4 piece bluegrass band. It's a sitka/ mahogany stewmac kit. It sounds decent, but the fit and finish aren't great.

Are you planning to continue building guitars after the first one? Tools and equipment costs can easily be more than a new D-28. It's a good hobby and you'll be proud to play whatever you build,

My suggestions are:
Consider sending it to a professional guitar finisher.
Buy the best sandpaper you can find.
Use good quarter sawn wood.
If you are going to change out the top wood or other components, look at buying a kit from someone who will make you a customized kit. Blues Creek Guitars can do that.

Thanks for the reply and suggestions. I am planning to continue building, so I'm looking at the tools as an investment. Definitely not expecting to save a bunch of money on this guitar!

I am planning to try a shellac finish, but am open to suggestions. I also looked at Blues Creek Guitars' kit page, but didn't think about asking for a custom kit. I'll send him an email when I'm closer to buying.

My goal for this guitar is to have a rosewood dread that I can use for leads as well as rhythm. I love the sound of rosewood when playing chords, but I never play amplified or with a mic so I am worried about it getting lost in the mix of a banjo, fiddle, and Dobro. I am hoping the Adirondack top will help with that.

Open to suggestions as well on other ways to help a rosewood guitar punch out for lead work.

I've built many mandolins but only a few acoustic guitars, a few considerations for you:
•For kits I'd take a good look at Luthiers Merchantile. They have very high quality kits and a "kit wizard" program where you can select your own components. If you decide to go a la carte, they offer services such as side bending and slotting fretboards.

•As finishes go, shellac is not a durable one. It hardens quite brittle (just look at a shellac flake sometime) so it may be good tonewise, but has little resistance to water and solvents. If you don't mind the pre war style relicing, it could turn out pretty cool. As someone else mentioned, you could do a thin topcoat of something like a wipe on poly.

•For a strong punch through tone for soloing you are correct about unscalloped bracing. The extra meat in the X brace puts more meat in the single notes. My Bourgeois D Vintage (rosewood and adi) has hybrid bracing where the bass side of the X brace is scalloped and the treble side is straight. That guitar has really strong, defined notes and is such a powerhouse that I don't even keep full medium gauge strings on it.
* Voicing of a flattop guitar is quite complex and it takes years of experience and many builds to reach the point where a luthier can instinctively produce the results they are shooting for. This is why at my age, even though I have luthier skills and tools, I've opted to buy guitars of Martin and Bourgeois quality rather than muster through the process and hope for a mediocre result. I would recommend you get a reliable set of detailed traditional plans and stick to them, particularly in regards to bracing and tone bar carving. Enjoy the experience!

In my experience of thirty+ years of teaching, I'd say that almost nobody builds just one.

The guitar as we have it is an extremely robust design that has been optimized through generations of refinement. If you use reasonably good wood, and work carefully to a known spec, you should end up with a better than average guitar. For the first time out it doesn't make any sense to get 'Holy Grail' wood; you are unlikely to end up with a significantly better instrument for the extra cost, and there's always the chance of messing it up. I always hate it when a new student comes in with a set of expensive wood that they've already taken down too thin to use. Later, when you know more, is the time to do spend some money on really fancy wood.

IMO it's hard to beat a good set of Indian rosewood for the B&S, and spruce is pretty much all spruce when you take it's density into account. If you want to go for 'domestic' wood, Black Locust is 'improved' IRW, and if you don't like the light color you can fume it with ammonia.

Don't get fancy with trim. It adds lots of time to the build without much payoff. Simple and clean is far more impressive than fancy and sloppy.

Take your time. Learn to sharpen. Take notes. An app such as 'Luthier Lab', free for Android devices, can be a big help in that respect, since it has modules for drawing plans, recording the various steps using annotated, pictures, and tools such as a spectrum analyzer to help you figure out what you did.

Alan Carruth wrote: ↑

Mar 20, 2022

In my experience of thirty+ years of teaching, I'd say that almost nobody builds just one.

The guitar as we have it is an extremely robust design that has been optimized through generations of refinement. If you use reasonably good wood, and work carefully to a known spec, you should end up with a better than average guitar. For the first time out it doesn't make any sense to get 'Holy Grail' wood; you are unlikely to end up with a significantly better instrument for the extra cost, and there's always the chance of messing it up. I always hate it when a new student comes in with a set of expensive wood that they've already taken down too thin to use. Later, when you know more, is the time to do spend some money on really fancy wood.

IMO it's hard to beat a good set of Indian rosewood for the B&S, and spruce is pretty much all spruce when you take it's density into account. If you want to go for 'domestic' wood, Black Locust is 'improved' IRW, and if you don't like the light color you can fume it with ammonia.

Don't get fancy with trim. It adds lots of time to the build without much payoff. Simple and clean is far more impressive than fancy and sloppy.

Take your time. Learn to sharpen. Take notes. An app such as 'Luthier Lab', free for Android devices, can be a big help in that respect, since it has modules for drawing plans, recording the various steps using annotated, pictures, and tools such as a spectrum analyzer to help you figure out what you did.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check out that app