Condition Details:

Building Electric Guitars is in Like New condition, with some small dents on the front cover.

Electric Guitar & Bass Making & Marketing is in Very Good condition, with a small crease on the back cover and a crease on the spine.

Total MSRP of over $190!


Building Electric Guitars Description:

Completely updated throughout with new color photos, this comprehensive guide covers the design and construction of solid, semi-hollow (chambered), and semi-acoustic guitars and basses.

From wood selection to final finishing
Everything from design, finishing, electronics, and final setup is covered step-by-step. The optional companion full-scale plan details a solidbody guitar with tremolo, two humbuckers and a bolt-on neck. Koch even includes steps to help first time builders fix common mistakes.

Featuring over 1800 photos and 600 illustrations, Koch focuses on the smallest details in an easy to understand way. He also goes into great detail on making jigs, using tools, and fine-tuning every aspect of the build. You'll find valuable information on wood selection, pickups, electronics, and setup too.

Contents in brief: 

  • Introduction: parts of an electric guitar, tonal range, popular body styles
  • Wood: sound characteristics, drying, selection and purchasing tips
  • Hardware: tuners, nuts, pickguards, fretwire, bridges, tremolos, strings and more
  • Electronics: making your own pickups, passive and active circuits, shielding
  • Tools and jigs: hand tools, routers, planes, scrapers, saws, sanding, jigs for fretting, radiusing, routing, and finishing techniques
  • Designing the guitar: scale length, calculating fret positions, truss rod choices, guitar layout, making templates
  • Making the neck: making the fretboard, bolt-on, neck-through, and set neck designs, preparing the blank, making and installing a truss rod, fretting, neck shaping and fitting
  • Making the body: solidbody, neck-through, semi-solidbody (chambered), and semi-acoustic construction, binding, positioning the bridge, installing a tremolo, routing body cavities
  • Finishing: sanding, staining, grain-filling, finish application, polishing
  • Assembly: mounting the hardware, installing and shielding the electronics
  • Setup: making the nut, tuning, setting neck relief, setting the string action, intonation, setting pickup height
  • Fixing mistakes: patching holes, adjusting neck pockets, fixing finishing errors

388 pages, hardcover.

Solidbody Guitar Plan: The 34" x 24" full-scale plan includes a helpful fret placement chart, materials list and wiring diagram. Dimensions are displayed in inches and millimeters for convenience.


Making and Marketing Description:

The only book that tells you how to build a guitar with professional standards, and how to promote your guitars afterwards.

It starts with setting up and organizing your workshop. Will you build one guitar a year, or one hundred? You'll learn woodworking techniques, followed by clear explanations of how to apply an oil or lacquer finish. Guitar electronics are covered, along with assembly and setup procedures.

What really makes this book valuable is the last section, Marketing for Luthiers. You'll learn about shows, displays, and brand identity. Not sure how much to charge? What about social media? This book will give you some great guidelines.

    Contents in brief
  • Setting up your workspace / Shop safety
  • The Ten Steps of guitar design
  • Wood selection
  • Shop Tools and Techniques
  • Making the fretboard
  • Making the neck
  • Making the body
  • Binding and Inlay
  • Fretting

  • Finishing Techniques
  • Aging a guitar
  • Guitar Electronics
  • Assembly and setup

  • Marketing for Luthiers
  • Showing your guitar
  • Brand identity and positioning
  • Pricing
  • Promoting
  • Website and social media
  • Copyright law for luthiers

317 pages, softcover.