Infos, Hot Takes and Science

Season 1 opens with the map. Europe wrote the guitar's first answers — courses, six strings, Torres — then built for export from its violin towns, rebuilt itself after the war with accordion makers and refugees, lost the volume game to Japan, and came back one bench at a time. Five ages, eight stops, and the claim the season will test.

Why does a guitar built in Munich count as Spanish? Vol. 3 closes the introduction with the question every country episode depends on: what makes a school. Six forces — wood and climate, music, founders, teachers, borrowing and money — and how they turned one instrument into the flamenco guitar, the dreadnought, the Telecaster and everything in between.

Every country thinks the guitar is theirs, and every one of them is partly right. Vol. 2 follows the instrument around the world — the oud into Córdoba, the vihuela into Spain, six strings out of Naples and Cádiz, Torres in Seville, Martin across the Atlantic, Fender in a radio shop, and the whole thing copied, improved and rebuilt in Japan. One story, a dozen borders.

IRYW Volume X. The return of Truth.

Your guitar hasn’t opened up. A 2026 Sorbonne study played a violin daily for six months under a laser vibrometer, beside two unplayed controls, and found nothing — not in the instrument, not in the player’s hands. Volume X takes on playing-in, vibration boxes and aging like wine, concedes what’s real about old wood, and shows which direction a guitar actually ages.

The first of a long series on the makers behind the instruments. Before the countries, the groundwork: where the word luthier comes from, how the guitar spent three centuries as a side job, what separates a factory from a bench, and what "handmade" actually means — with a usable test for the next time someone says it. A luthier's reading, not a journalist's.

Tonewood is graded by appearance and sold as a claim about behaviour. The peer-reviewed evidence says those two things are only loosely related. But a 2019 blind listening study on nine identical Taylor guitars found that material variation invisible in a photograph was audible to listeners. What measurement actually buys you, what it doesn't, and how the Belforti Rating is built.

IRYW Volume IX : Acoustics are Easier to Build than Electrics

I know, I know... How can someone write this in their right mind ? Well, I did.

The trade believes acoustics are the real test of a luthier and electrics the warm-up. Volume IX lays the two build timelines side by side and argues the opposite. Acoustics have more steps, but each step is, one by one, simpler. The ladder of luthier nobility — quartet, classical, acoustic, electric — isn't a measurement. It's a manners chart.

The dead spot is the trade's most misdiagnosed problem. It gets blamed on tired strings, a weak pickup, or the wrong wood — and it's none of them. Helmut Fleischer's vibrometer measurements show it's a resonance in the neck, draining the string at the exact frequencies you play. You can map it. You can move it. You can't erase it.

I'm Right, You're Wrong - Volume VIII - Death Threats Edition

The neck joint debate has always been argued on tone. It should have been argued on failure. In Vol. VIII of I'm Right, You're Wrong, we look at the only controlled measurement of joint type and sustain, the impedance physics that explains why a clamped joint can outperform a glued one, and the durability case that closes the question — every neck is a wear part, and only one joint treats that as a design input.

Your guitar is never in tune — not because it's set up wrong, but because equal temperament makes every major third about 14 cents sharp on purpose. A luthier walks through the arithmetic, the physics of inharmonicity and the slandered G string, the lute-fret history we forgot, and what compensated nuts and curved frets honestly do: fix the instrument, not the math.

I'm Right, You're Wrong - Volume VII

The electric guitar is not the exception to acoustic physics. The string vibrates, the wood responds, the pickup faithfully reports — Faraday's law makes no allowance for marketing categories. Volume VII on string-body coupling, modal frequencies, and the physics the industry decided to ignore.

A century after its invention, the archtop guitar is still built largely by 1930s rules. But the way players actually use the instrument has changed: studios, stages, planes, contemporary jazz contexts that demand more uniformity and less drama from the instrument. This article looks at three engineering moves boutique luthiers are making to bring the archtop into the present — and what is gained and lost when you do.

What role does wood actually play in shaping the tone of an electric guitar? This article unpacks decades of acoustic research, psychoacoustics, and measured data to separate myth from measurable fact. From damping and resonance to human hearing thresholds, we examine where tonewood matters—and where it doesn’t. Ideal for luthiers, players, and skeptics alike. No fluff, no dogma—just evidence.

Want your guitar to play smoother and sound better? This guide breaks down everything you need to know about Truss Rods and Neck Relief—from how they work to adjusting them safely. Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just curious, this luthier-approved article covers the essentials for better tone, action, and playability.

This in-depth guide explores everything you need to know about guitar and bass pots. Learn how different pot values, tapers, and types affect tone and functionality. Whether you're working with passive circuits or active electronics, this article covers the best options for volume, tone, and blend controls—with practical installation tips and insights into modern trends like smart pots.

A professional setup can make your guitar or bass feel like a whole new instrument — but there’s often confusion around what a setup actually does. This article breaks down what’s included in a setup, what improvements you can realistically expect, and where the limits lie. From action and intonation to pickup balance and tuning stability, we’ll cover how a setup works and how to communicate your preferences to get the most out of the process. Whether you're a seasoned player or new to the world of lutherie, understanding this service will help you play better — and avoid disappointment.

What do strings actually do to your tone — and what does the marketing only claim they do? This deep dive separates the real from the folklore: where material and gauge genuinely matter, why most of what you feel is tension rather than tone, why the heavier-strings and coated-strings myths don't hold up, and the one variable that outweighs brand, alloy, and price combined — how fresh they are. For players, builders, and skeptics. No fluff, no dogma — just what the wire is doing.