Review: Steel-String Guitar Construction by Irving R. Sloane

Reviewed by David Riggs

Originally published in American Lutherie #26, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004



Steel-String Guitar Construction
Irving R. Sloane
Bold Strummer, 1990
ISBN 0-933224-19-2

This is a reissue of a book which was originally published in 1975 and was, at that time, just about the only widely available assistance for those aspiring to build a steel string guitar. In its new edition, it is virtually unchanged from its original incarnation and thus is as good or as bad as it used to be. Although some of the book’s information might appear a bit dated to our information-saturated eyes, it does contain at least one essential feature available nowhere else.

The purpose of this book is to give a person with a few woodworking skills the information needed to build a first guitar, and Mr. Sloane successfully covers all aspects of this commission. Good, solid advice is given concerning selection of materials, design requirements, and the processes which will result in a satisfactory effort, whilst avoiding great expense for materials and special tools.