Classical guitar making

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A person who is specialized in the making of stringed instruments such as guitars, lutes and violins is called a luthier.

[[File:Musee de la musique 2. jpg|thumb|300px|right|alt=Baroque Guitars from the Cité de la Musique in Paris|Baroque Guitars from the Museum Cité de la Musique in Paris (which houses almost 200 classical guitars Guitars by different builders often reflect different sound preferences—e. g., when comparing instruments of Lacôte or Grobert, with Torres, etc. All can have high sound quality, yet many guitarists feel one may be more appropriate for particular repertoire choices, e. g., Lacôte or Grobert for "classical era repertoire" or "central European romantic repertoire"; versus Torres for "Spanish or late romantic nationalist repertoire", etc.). "Playability" aspectsThis includes the shaping of the frets, string spacing, neck width, neck, nut and bridge height (influence on action); decisions about scale length; etc. The aim is a guitar that is easy and comfortable to play, does not have string buzz, and suits the requirements/desires of a particular player. "Visual/decorative" aspectsThis includes the visual features of the guitar, including rosette design, inlays, ornamentation, etc. (In general these creative visual aspects should not interfere or diminish the sound features, or hinder the playability of the guitar). Fernando Sor has written that an instrument maker "should be an accurate draughtsman, understand the common principles of mechanics, the composition and resolution of forces, and the laws of vibrating strings and surfaces". thumb|320px|right|alt=Gasparo Duiffopruggar|Gasparo Duiffopruggar (1514 c. 1570) Engraving by Pierre Woeiriot (1532–1599)Viva fui in sylvis, sum dura occisa securi,dum vixi, tacui, mortua dulce cano

This shaping of the wood is known as "resonance plate tuning" (or "plate tuning"). It refers to a comprehensive tuning of the wood and bracing (its density, thickness, tension, sound influence) to influence the acoustic properties. It does not refer to a tuning of the guitar body to a single "default" frequency. Instead, it is a comprehensive way of shaping the wood and its response and resonance properties to improve the guitar's sound. The "tuning" of the wood is also called "voicing" the instrument. The techniques used trace to previous centuries, especially in violin making (example: attempt at understanding some of the tuning schemes of Italian violins: 1 , 2). Some guitarmakers believe that the actual voicing of the wood, and working with and "shaping" the wood (during and even after construction) is more important than the outer construction itself (such as chosen bracing): "As my skill and experience have grown I have come to believe that what makes a good guitar good is firstly how well fine tuned and balanced it is rather than what type of strutting system it is built with. Different strutting systems can add different flavours to the sound but is never the main factor in the Good Guitar." (Per Hallgren)

One of the important aspects that good luthiers need to understand, is that a single tone consists of the "fundamental and simultaneous overtones". (Historically the scientific analysis of this discovery can be associated with Nicole Oresme, Marin Mersenne and Joseph Sauveur.) The ratio of the "intensity of fundamental" and the various overtones, defines the "colour" (Frequency spectrum) of the tone. Overtones are simply frequencies that are at a multiple of the base fundamental frequency. (Overtones defining colour, do not only occur in instruments, but also in the human voice. When singing a note, there are numerous overtones present. Singers experienced in overtone singing are able to control their voice in such a way, that they can increase the intensity of any high overtone to such an extent, that it becomes clearly audible, whilst simultaneously singing the fundamental. In this way two pitches (fundamental and high intensity overtone) can be made clearly audible while singing.) Tonal colour is an important characteristic on a guitar. Usually the notes of the guitar's different registers (low bass, mid range, high, etc.) have different colour spectrums, i. e., differing relative intensities of fundamental to different overtones. Various types of guitars have tone differences in the various registers (also differences in response, action, etc.). Specific colour spectrum characteristics of certain types of guitars can be said to form a specific "sound aesthetic"—this is like a "fingerprint" of the characteristic of that type of guitar. Other guitars have a different "sound aesthetic", i. e., a different colour spectrum characteristic. Different historic instruments reflect various sound aesthetics.

As was mentioned, it is possible to group historic instruments according to the colour and response sound characteristic (present for notes in the various registers). A baroque guitar has a different "sound aesthetic" than a 19th century guitar, i. e. a differing colour spectrum in the various registers (low, mid, high) and a different duration of attack (response of the instrument). The "sound aesthetic" is determined by the sound characteristic of notes in specific registers (an instrument's low notes has a different relative timbre, than its high notes). There is a historical parallel between musical styles (baroque, classical, romantic, Spanish nationalist, flamenco, jazz) and the style of "sound aesthetic" of the musical instruments used: Robert de Visée played on a baroque guitar with a very different sound aesthetic than the guitars used by Mauro Giuliani or Luigi Legnani they used 19th century guitars. Whilst the difference between baroque guitars and 19th century guitars is large and immediately obvious, one can also identify differences in style within the 19th century guitars themselves: They are part of the same family, but one can distinguish early Italian instruments (Fabricatore), then French instruments and Viennese instruments, etc.

The Australian guitarmaker Greg Smallman introduced guitars with an extremely thin soundboard, which is supported by bracing in the shape of a lattice. Smallman combines this with heavier, laminated back and sides with a frame. Smallman is well known for building the guitars played by John Williams. A large number of luthiers worldwide have incorporated Smallman's design innovations into their own guitars.

The terms double top, sandwich top, and composite top all refer to a relatively new way to construct the soundboard of a guitar, developed by Matthias Dammann in Germany in the late 1980s. Other luthiers such as Robert Ruck, Fritz Mueller, Jim Redgate, Michel Bruck, Boguslaw Teryks and Gernot Wagner have since adopted the method. A double top usually consists of a material called Nomex sandwiched by two thin sheets of tonewood. A flame resistant meta aramid (a polymer used to make synthetic fiber) material, Nomex was originally designed by DuPont Chemical Co. in the 1960s as a lightweight material for use in the aviation industry. Luthiers use the honeycomb sheet (calendered paper) version of the product: the low mass, strength, and ease of shaping make it ideally suited for guitar soundboards. Though the construction of a double top significantly differs from the traditional soundboard, a double top guitar often looks just like a traditional guitar. A thin soundboard is often incorporated and used to obtain the most vibration and to allow for optimal sound.

A number of luthiers are now incorporating a soundport, an additional small soundhole on the guitar's side, usually facing the player. This is said to allow air to move more freely in and out of the body of the guitar as it is vibrating, and to have the advantage of allowing the player to better hear the sound projecting from the guitar. The only published formal research on the latter subject suggests however that players may not be able to hear any difference in a soundport equipped guitar.

Improvement of intonation and playability.

Some guitar makers like American Thomas Humphrey (who patented such a system in US patent 4,873,909), Italian guitarmaker Renato Barone, Frenchman Antoine Pappalardo, and the Canadian Fritz Mueller, make elevated fingerboard guitars. The primary advantage is to improve left hand playability on the upper frets, although the increased distance between the strings and the top is also advantageous for the right hand. The elevated fingerboard is visually unobtrusive from the front, and the instrument retains its traditional appearance.

Some guitar makers like the French Antoine Pappalardo make a Curved fingerboard to improve the playability.

High frets facilitate vibrato and barreing, and generally aid in the development of a "lighter" left hand.

The 17th century wire strung instruments, Orpharion and Bandora are early examples of instruments featuring multiple scale fretboards.

An armrest provides three primary benefits: it lessens damping of the top caused by the right forearm; it is potentially more comfortable for the player; and it absorbs the wear to the finish that would otherwise happen on the top, the binding, and the side. These benefits are of particular importance for ultra thin topped instruments, such as Smallman's, but could subtly improve any guitar, including double tops.