Posted on October 1, 2026October 26, 2026 by Dale Phillips Controlling Classical Guitar Neck Angle Controlling Classical Guitar Neck Angle by Rodney Stedall Originally published in American Lutherie #85, 2006 What neck set angle is required for a classical guitar prior to gluing the back? Some say 2MM, some say 3MM. The more the dome, the less angle required. A prominent flamenco builder says there is no need for any neck angling if the soundboard dome is adequate and the saddle is low (8.8MM for flamenco). The final neck set angle is not merely a constant but is determined by the builder’s construction method and his client’s requirements. I have developed a method of knowing what the final action setup will be, before that “so final” gluing of the back. This enables me to alter the neck angle to achieve my optimum action setup. A simple diagram on graph paper using certain constants can be manipulated to meet the exact requirements for each guitar. Factors which need to be used in the calculation are: Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on October 1, 2026October 26, 2026 by Dale Phillips Fabio’s Fabulously Simple Neck Joint Fabio’s Fabulously Simple Neck Joint from his 2004 GAL Convention presentation by Fabio Ragghianti Originally published in American Lutherie #87, 2006 This article represents Fabio Ragghianti’s portion of a GAL Convention presentation entitled, “Guitar Neck Joints: Attachment Issues,” which he gave in company with Harry Fleishman and Mike Doolin. The neck joints that both Harry and Mike discussed were adjustable, and because of their similarities, we presented their portion of the presentation in a separate article in AL#86. Harry Fleishman: Fabio Ragghianti is a guitarist, luthier, and lutherie teacher from Italy. He has twice won the “Best Tone” award, in 1993 and 1995, at the Concorso Internazionale di Liuteria Chitarristica of Baveno (Italy), and in 1998 was named artisan of the year by the Rotary Club. He has taught at my school in Colorado and also at my current location in California. He’s really funny, and people actually learn something in his classes. I met Fabio at a garage sale. I really did. Twice. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #140, 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 One 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 There are four major subassemblies in Charles’ guitar design. The separately completed rim, soundboard, and back are assembled to create the body, to which the completed neck is then fitted and attached. Given that the design process has highlighted and resolved all their relationships, they can each be considered individually, and created either serially, in any sequence, or simultaneously. Starting the Neck At first glance, Charles’ neck follows a fairly standard design, but it incorporates features that make it work better. One characteristic of Charles’ instruments is that many features and dimensions are shared across different body shapes (“Production Techniques for the Custom Luthier,” AL#110). One of these is the neck. Since most of Charles’ instruments share the same 25.5˝ scale, they can use the same 12-fret or 14-fret necks. The only visible difference is their heel depths, as shown in Photo 1. Even then, there are only two different depths. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #142, 2021 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 One 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 Five by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six by Mark French Early in this series we got the neck under way, then soon laid it aside to focus solely on creating the body. The body is now as complete as it can be without its neck, so from here on it’s all neck, all the time, until the neck is complete. To bring us up to date on the neck: We began with a 7/8˝×3˝×36˝ mahogany neck blank, 12˝ of which we chopped off to later be cut into four pieces and stacked beneath the arm as the heel block. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2022 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 One 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 Six by Mark French The fretboard is the final part needed to complete the neck, our final guitar subassembly. The fretboard is important to both the instrument’s playability and its harmonic accuracy. Its dimensional, geometric, and other specifications represent thoughtful design decisions by its maker. The fretboard is fashioned from a fretboard “blank,” a hardwood billet sufficiently oversize to yield the intended fretboard, typically of rosewood or ebony. Charles’ production sequence should be familiar to anyone who has made a fretboard from scratch, regardless of the specific methods they’ve employed: Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
