CONTEMPORARY GUITAR MAKING

A MESSAGE FROM
Charles Fox

Thanks for your interest in the Contemporary Guitar Making seminar. I'm always delighted to communicate with anyone who shares my passion for this fascinating work. During a thirty-year career, I have had the pleasure of introducing hundreds of people to this craft and count many of today's successful luthiers among my former students.

These are certainly the best of times for guitar making. Hand-crafted American guitars have established a new level of excellence and are among the most highly valued instruments in the world today. The guitar is evolving rapidly as more and more luthiers share a sophisticated understanding of the instrument.

The amount of lutherie information that's available today is staggering and often confusng in it's lack of agreement.. Contemporary Guitar Making is a way through this thicket of fact and opinion. As a teacher, my responsibility is to thoughtfully distill this collective wisdom, present each important principle as clearly and meaningfully as possible, and to demonstrate it's direct application to state-of-the-art guitar making. My teaching style is direct and personal with an emphasis on lively dialogue.

I hope this information is useful. If you have any questions, please call. I'll be happy to discuss the program with you.

INTRODUCTION

Contemporary Guitar Making is a comprehensive six-day, sixty-hour presentation of the craft as it's practiced today. The lecture/demonstration format covers study topics ranging from nuts-and-bolts skills to fundamental theory and principles, with an emphasis always on their direct, professional application. Every aspect of the guitar's function, design and construction - both steel string and classical - is demonstrated and explained in detail. This unique seminar takes place in the dynamic working environment of CFox Guitars, a full-time production workshop creating performance quality instruments for a world-wide clientele.

Contemporary Guitar Making covers the guitar's acoustical, structural, and aesthetic design factors as well as voicing, materials, construction methods, tooling, shop design, and other critical topics.

IS THIS FOR YOU?

For the beginning guitar maker, this seminar is the best possible introduction to the field - a strong foundation for working ultimately at an accomplished professional level. This course will take years off your learning curve by starting you off right at the top, ready to work with a clear awareness of the state of the art. Although it's not required, some familiarity with tools and materials is useful, as this program is not a general introduction to the art and craft of woodworking.

For the more experienced guitar maker, this is an opportunity to review your own approach in a new creative light; a chance to further refine the quality and direction of your work and to resolve the guitar building problems that remain for you.

For the full-time luthier, this intensive re-examination of the craft will dramatically broaden your frame of reference and help you to both break out of the old habits that we all get stuck in and to take your work to the next level with renewed inspiration and increased productivity. With the information and techniques from this seminar, you should be able to add at least one instrument to your monthly output.

THEORY

We'll concentrate on the simple physics that inform the guitar's design. Every important theory and principle is identified, explained and then underscored by demonstrating it's direct application. The aim is for you to be guided in your work by a clear understanding of the basic phenomena that govern the behavior of the instrument.

DESIGN

The creation of a guitar begins with design work and pattern making. The logic and thoroughness of this process are rewarded throughout the building of the instrument. You'll learn simple procedures that will produce an integrated design and a complete set of working patterns in a few hours.

TOOLING, JIGS AND FIXTURES

The best choice of tools for guitar making depends on your personal style, resources and available space. We'll examine an extremely versatile and compact setup that's perfect for the small guitar-making shop. Well-designed jigs and fixtures are a key to efficiency and consistent high quality work. We'll explore the few basic principles around which most jigs and fixtures can be designed and we'll examine many affordable time-saving guitar making devices.

SHOP SETUP AND PRODUCTION

Working efficiently is important to anyone who values his or her time. There's more than one way to set up an efficient workshop, but there's only one best way for you to do it without compromising either the quality of your work or your enjoyment of it. We'll discuss tooling up and organizing the one-person shop for smooth productivity, with an emphasis on economy and appropriate means.

CONSTRUCTION METHODS

Fundamentally, there are two basic ways to build guitars: free-form on an open workboard for prototyping and other custom work, and fixed-form, using solid molds and other specialized devices for reproducing standardized designs. Familiarity with both ways is essential for versatile, creative lutherie.

We'll examine a variety of approaches to every construction process, from traditional hand methods to up-to-date time-saving production techniques. You'll learn ways of guitar building designed to maximize the quality of your work while minimizing your time and effort. All of these methods are presented in the context of a logical, integrated approach to the craft.

Making guitars is among life's most challenging and deeply satisfying activities. If you are prepared to embrace this work in it's fullness, Contemporary Guitar Making can contribute hugely to your success as a guitar maker.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Tuition for the six-day CONTEMPORARY GUITAR MAKING workshop is $1050. Enrollment is limited, to assure plenty of individual attention, and is filled on a first-come basis.

To secure a spot in the session of your choice, complete the enclosed registration card and send it in along with your $1050 course fee. For additional brochures or registration cards, please call the number below and we will send what you need right away. The information in this brochure is also available on the CFOX Guitars website: www.cfoxguitars.com

Confirmation of your reservation will be sent to you by return mail, along with directions and a list of local motels and inns. Each participant is responsible for his or her food and housing.

For your convenience, our friends and neighbors at Luthier's Mercantile International, Inc., offer you special discounted prices on their wide selection of tools and materials while you're here in Healdsburg.

Again, please feel free to call if you have any questions.

CHARLES FOX is the dean of educators in the field of guitar making. He began building guitars in 1968, and has since built every type, both as an independent luthier and as the head of guitar production shops. In the late '70s and early '80s, Charles' GRD GUITARS helped define the market for high-end electric guitars. In 1973 he founded the first school for guitar builders in North America, the School of the Guitar Research & Design Center in South Strafford, VT. In 1993 Charles founded the American School of Lutherie in Healdsburg, CA. Charles is also a founder and the educational coordinator of the Healdsburg Guitar Festival.

Charles enjoys an international reputation as an educator, designer and consultant. Charles' original design concepts, such as the thin-line acoustic guitar, as well as his building techniques and production devices, such as the Universal Side Bender, are widely used by guitar builders and in factories all over the world. He currently heads CFox Guitars, a Healdsburg-based production workshop crafting performance quality instruments.