The two volume Gore/ Gilet “Contemperary Acoustic Guitar Design and Build” arrived via Australia Post last Saturday just before week four of the 2025 SIMSCal Guitar Making Class.
I left Vol 1 (Design) with Larry McCutcheon, who will no doubt understand the math, and theory involved (and let me say that if you haven’t progressed past Algebra 1 then volume one is going to be a major slog) much better than I; and took Vol 2 (Build) home with me.
This set came with the added bonus of having 5 guitar plans slipped inside an envelope glued to the back cover of Volume 2. The included plans are a SS X-braced, a classical lattice braced plan, a Fleta style fan braced plan, a Gore Cutaway with falcate bracing layout and a plan for a “bolt-on bolt off” neck system.
The cost of these plans if purchase alone would probably bemore than 1/2 the cost of the books.
I’ve been reading the “Build” volume for a week, and already have found a number of changes that I can make that will make incremental improvements to my instuments without going crazy and buying/making a ton of testing equipment.
Initial takes:
If you are inclined toward technical discussion and want a reference that will show you how to institute testing to improve the consistancy of your instruments sound quality then this set may become your rosetta stone.
If you can only have one reference set , this set chock full of high tech and practical information with cross references between the volumes and to my mind is well worth the cost!