Rating: 
Summary: essential reference
Review: Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology is a valuable reference for luthiers, and I think the current renaissance in guitarmaking by amateurs and professionals owes much to its publication. The book's stance is clearly "old school," and it shows how to make the entire guitar by hand, from scratch, right down to the bracing and the kerfed liner. While I myself have little to no intention of hand-sawing my own kerfed lining any time soon, I am nonetheless gratified to have on hand a reference work that would assist me in doing so if I wanted to.
Some of the methods described in this book do seem outdated. To an extent that is because the craft has continued to blossom since the publication of Cumpiano's book. And yet if I could have only a single book on the subject it would be this one. (It is sort of like the lutherie equivalent of THE JOY OF COOKING.) One true weakness of the book that other reviewers have pointed out is the side-by-side coverage of steel string and classic guitar construction. I think these two subjects would be better addressed in separate volumes, ideally with discussion on the multiple ways to perform tasks such as joining the neck to the body or bending the sides.
Rating:
Summary: This book is THE guitar-making guide....
Review: I am a guitarmaker based in Canada. I bought this book after my first attempt at making a guitar, and I wish I'd known about before I ever started building! Not only is it encyclopedic in content, but it is very interesting and readable. Even if you never plan to construct an instrument, this book will quickly turn you into a guitar expert. It is a great read, cover-to-cover, with lots of historical information that helped me more fully understand why certain things are done certain ways. I must admit, however, that the neck attachment method described in the book is quite complex, and may prove to be somewhat intimidating for the amateur woodworker. Check Mr. Cumpiano's website for a much easier method of neck attachment, as well as for other updates and clarification of any obscure points in the book. My only complaint about this book is that it refuses to lay open and flat on my workbench!
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: I am an experienced woodworker who is only now beginning to get into guitarmaking. I greatly appreciated the level of detail into which this book goes and the clarity with which procedures of guitar construction are explained and illustrated. This is my first book on the subject and I have no plans to suppliment it with any other work.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good manual for the new luthier.
Review: I built my first guitar using The Cumpiano/Natleson Book and am currently finishing my 5th guitar. I have read other books, read articles by other luthiers and devoured Luthier Journals. There is nothing that comes close to a definitive, no nonsense approach to the art of guitar building. I have found that there is a tremendous amount of myth and misinformation on the market and some of it is promoted by guitar magazines, professional musicians and amatuer luthiers. What Cumpiano presents in his book is the result of 30 years of experience. He knows what works and what doesn't. If you want conjecture on how to change sound, tap tones, sound hole size and a lot of other misconceptions you won't get it from William or his book. What you will get is a well described plan to building a great guitar- A plan based on knowledge and experience- not conjecture. I highly recommend this book. They wrote the book because there was nothing out there and a definite need. I am very grateful they took on such a formidable task. I was inspired enough by Williams book to take his excellent class. Check out his web. site.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Book!! A veritable Bible of Guitar Making
Review: I built my first guitar using The Cumpiano/Natleson Book and am currently finishing my 5th guitar. I have read other books, read articles by other luthiers and devoured Luthier Journals. There is nothing that comes close to a definitive, no nonsense approach to the art of guitar building. I have found that there is a tremendous amount of myth and misinformation on the market and some of it is promoted by guitar magazines, professional musicians and amatuer luthiers. What Cumpiano presents in his book is the result of 30 years of experience. He knows what works and what doesn't. If you want conjecture on how to change sound, tap tones, sound hole size and a lot of other misconceptions you won't get it from William or his book. What you will get is a well described plan to building a great guitar- A plan based on knowledge and experience- not conjecture. I highly recommend this book. They wrote the book because there was nothing out there and a definite need. I am very grateful they took on such a formidable task. I was inspired enough by Williams book to take his excellent class. Check out his web. site.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for acoustic guitar builders
Review: I had the good fortune to build my first guitar as a student in William Cumpiano's shop. I am using the book to guide me through my second guitar project. The book is an ideal mixture of theory, history, and detailed, step-by-step instruction. Be sure to check William Cumpiano's web site for an improved method of attaching the neck he developed since the book was written.
Rating:
Summary: A permanent reference work on my bench
Review: I had the good fortune to work with William Cumpiano in his shop last year. With Bill's guidance over a 2 week period I built a fabulous acoustic guitar. We used the step by step procedures outlined in this book entirely. I'm now on guitar #3 and the book has a earned a permanent spot on my work bench. I reference it often and can't imagine guitar building without it.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the finest textbook I have read on any subject
Review: I have been repairing guitars for nearly 15 years, and successfully completed several electric guitars, yet had not attempted an acoustic instrument. I have found this book to be an outstanding resource to me as a luthier, with a level of detail and thoroughness seldom seen in books of this kind. Often the author is too familiar with the subject to realize that they have left out critical details which are obvious to them by merit of experience, but without which a beginner is lost. Mr. Cumpiano's attention to detail helps a seasoned craftsman to achieve professional results, but he always manages to offer a simpler approach to each procedure for the beginner to more easily grasp. I hope he is inspired to write a sequel!
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: I live in Ukraine, a country not known for its prosperity. When I ordered this book back in 1999 (from other online source, actually), the order cost me about my whole month salary, together with shipping expenses. When I received it, I obviously tended to be rather critical. Frankly, I was disappointed by monochrome photos in the book at first ;) That was before I tried to build my first guitar...Now, 5 years later after the purchase, I keep looking into this book and find many invaluable subtle things that are very important for success. The material is explained in a very clear manner (English is not my mother tongue, by the way) and I appreciated the fact that the authors show how to get away with basic simple tools to build fine instruments. I'm not a super reviewer, but I really love this book (it isn't the only book on guitar making in my collection, so I could do some comparison). I agree, this book is a Bible on guitar making.
Rating:
Summary: This is the book for all beginning and intermediate luthiers
Review: In the research stage of my luthier career I bought quite a few books. Without a doubt my favorites would be this book and Robert Benedetto's "Building an Archtop Guitar". What makes this book so outstanding is that it actually breaks the process down into unique steps. Most books will tell you to "Plane the top plate to the correct thickness". This book tells you how to do it, not just what to do. This is also the only book on guitar building where the author anticipates the areas where the beginning luthier might have problems. There are several areas where you're told to do such and such a step (which may not be obvious) in order to avoid such -and-such a problem. There's also several times when the author tells you how to escape from common mistakes. I own a lot of guitar building books but this is the one that sits in the top of my tool chest.
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