There is no shortage of lessons available online or in person on learning how to play guitar. However, if you want to build your own guitar the availability of instructions and teachers may be lacking. The Colorado Daily has a write up on a unique build your own guitar class. The class is taught at Jonas Guitars in Boulder, CO which has “been building guitars for 15 years and teaching others to do the same for seven”. Over the course of 24 sessions and at a cost of about $1700 you will design and construct your own guitar. As long as the guitar you create sounds decent, this seems like a really good deal. Unfortunately, you probably have to be in driving distance to make it worth your while. You can get the hard facts from the Jonas Guitars’ site or read the article linked above, or watch the video below.
The following picture is a prototype of a bow tie made of used guitar pics. It was created by Nicholas Tee Ruiz in celebration of the Picasso Guitars Exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. The reaction to this design and several others lead Nicholas to launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund an online store of his designs.
Acoustic Guitar Magazine has put together a list of guitar buying tips called How to Shop for Your Next (or First) Guitar. They asked owners of five well known music stores (Dusty Strings, Elderly Instruments, Gruhn Guitars, Gryphon Stringed Instruments, and Rudy’s Music) for tips on making sure your guitar buying experience is a pleasant one. The shorthand list is below or you can click on the article link for the full text.
1. Determine Your Price Range
2. Get a Solid Top If You Can Afford It
3. Pick a Body Size
4. Tonewoods: Listen to the Guitar, Not the Rhetoric
5. To Buy Online, Find a Reputable Dealer
6. Develop a Keen Eye for Quality Control
7. Treat Online Auctions with Caution
8. Get a Playable Instrument and Start Playing
9. Shop for Value, Not a “Deal”
10. Only Buy Used from a Reputable Dealer
11. Brand Names Provide Better Resale Value
12. Don’t Try to Invent a New Instrument When Ordering Custom
13. Bring a Friend of Similar Ability
14. Get a Pickup If You’ve Got a Gig
15. Buy Local for Better Service
16. Find a Store with a Knowledgeable Sales Staff
17. Court Your Instrument
18. Get a Guitar That Sounds Good Now
19. Keep an Open Mind
“The pointiness of a man’s guitar is widely known to be directly inverse to his couth.”
Pretty funny guitar poster available for sale at Gear Pipe. For the low low price of $12 (includes shipping). Seems like we’re starting to see more guitar humor out there and I’m all for it.
There is no shortage of lessons available online or in person on learning how to play guitar. However, if you want to build your own guitar the availability of instructions and teachers may be lacking. The Colorado Daily has a write up on a unique build your own guitar class. The class is taught at Jonas Guitars in Boulder, CO which has “been building guitars for 15 years and teaching others to do the same for seven”. Over the course of 24 sessions and at a cost of about $1700 you will design and construct your own guitar. As long as the guitar you create sounds decent, this seems like a really good deal. Unfortunately, you probably have to be in driving distance to make it worth your while. You can get the hard facts from the Jonas Guitars’ site or read the article linked above, or watch the video below.
