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Hi Members,

Al Carruth has a DVD he is selling called, "Plate Tuning DVD". It's available on Collins Guitars web site. This DVD includes four hours worth of information. I have visited Alan Carruth's website and have found it extremely interesting with lots of great information. Can anyone who owns this please give their opinion? Roger Siminoff also has a combination book/DVD in the same price range. Curious if anyone can please tell me which is a more complete source of info. Simply trying to de-mystify this procedure and understand it better. The more youtube videos I watch on this topic, the more questions I have. I understand this is a complex topic that continues to evolve and also very subjective. I am simply looking for a hands on approach to obtain a good sounding acoustic guitar top (and back as well) . Thank you kindly.

I voice my top and back. I find it satisfying. But, it's a controversial topic and you'll find people on both sides of the aisle. Like you, the more I watched videos, the more confused I became. It helped a lot when I voiced my first top; it was easy to hear the difference. No matter what you read or the videos that you watch, go very slowly. However, you can make a great guitar by following tried and true plans. Martin and Gibson make great guitars, and none are voiced.

The one, very important point that John Hall taught me is to make sure that the top sounds different from the back, otherwise you'll get wolf notes.

So, when you tap the top, tap the finished back to make sure that the basic tone is different.

Sorry, I may be off topic a bit, because I've not seen either of the videos that you inquire about. I liked the videos offered by Robert O'Brien. I think his voicing method is easy to follow and effective.

I think that you can get good insight into guitar acoustics from Al Carruth. He is thoughtful, organized and does not make wild claims. I have Roger Siminoff books and DVD and got little out of them. While he was able to build and tune some great instruments, I am not sure he was able to pass it along.

If you can afford the books I would recommend Gore\Gilet Acoustic Contemporary Guitar design and build.

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http://www.harvestmoonguitars.com

Thank you Diane. Lot's of great information. Yes I have come across Robert O'Brien's videos. Also met with John Hall who explained keeping the top and back plates -at least- a semitone apart. I enjoy studying alot and will order my first kit soon. Always like to study the build process so I know what's ahead of me (within reason).

Thank you John Parchem. Yes, after watching the brief introductory video of Al Carruth's "Free Plate Tuning" DVD, I get a good feeling that this may be a good purchase.
https://youtu.be/TFEUV0QPfy0

Yes, the books by Gore\Gilet "Acoustic Contemporary Guitar design and build" look to be interesting but haven't read any reviews yet. There certainly is no-way around building acoustic guitars without some type of education from either attending classes, youtube videos, DVD's, and/or Books. John Hall's youtube videos are extremely helpful.

My experience completely duplicates John Parchem's recommendations. I found the Gore/Gilet books to be the most useful (and actionable) source of both information and insight that I've found. I also find Alan Carruth's postings to be thoughtful and very useful; I haven't seen his DVD. I didn't get much useful from Roger Simonoff's book or DVD.

Following the Gore/Gilet lead, I have been weighting the sides of the guitars I build, adjusting the X-bracing to give 2 degree tilt to the saddle/bridge when torqued by the strings, adjusting the top resonance to below 200 hz, and adjusting the back resonance to a frequency 25% (4 semi-tones) above the top resonance (thanks, Audacity) by thinning a lower transverse brace on the back, similar to that used by Gore/Gilet. It works -- well.