The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One

by Mark French

Originally published in American Lutherie #139, 2020

See also,
A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Hands-On Guitar Making Course by Mark French
The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two by Mark French
The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Three by Mark French
The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four by Mark French
The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French
The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six by Mark French


Charles Fox has been making guitars for about fifty years and, as a master luthier will, he has developed a personal approach to his craft. Building on a solid foundation of experimentation, he has developed a set of processes that let him complete tasks quickly, accurately, and repeatably, but with a deeper purpose.

This is the first in a series of articles that describe Charles’ building method in detail. There are some good descriptions in print of how to make an acoustic guitar, so it may not be clear why we need another one. Books and extended articles are usually for beginning builders unfamiliar with making instruments, and describe basic processes for making good, traditional acoustic guitars. Some of these works are quite good and a few are iconic. However, this series of articles has a different purpose. It is intended for readers who have basic familiarity with acoustic guitars and guitar-making skills.