Voicing the classical guitar top 

This is amazing. I've watched close to a hundred different instrument construction videos for acoustic instruments, and NOBODY breaks down the construction of the top like this. Thank you so very much, my approach will be entirely different now.

Lots of people wish to be luthiers. Many say they are luthiers. This guy IS a LUTHIER. But I would be willing to bet I couldn’t possibly afford a guitar made by him. Lotto money.

You are a real LUTHIER! **The best explained tutorial I've ever seen; thank you MASTER for the time 🙋

Bravo and thank you! I have not yet found a video detailing the reason WHY as well as it's corresponding WHAT so precisely. What a peaceful inspiration!

That's the way to lower the soundboard frequency step by step. The only problem is that the whole frequency will change again after closing the box and it's very hard to determine beforehand at what frequency it will respond afterwards.

Awesome!! A true craftsman I never realized the time that goes into building a quality instrument I now know why they aren't cheap it also explains why one martin guitar sounds better than another they are factory guitars that are not voiced and if you find one you like you just got lucky!

Thank you for the information and demonstration. Sending warmest greetings from the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA 🇺🇸

Dear Ad, I play this guitar for 12 months now, I play it almost every day. It proved to be a stable instrument. Expressive, colourful, well-balanced, with its very own 'soul': sweet and lovable but high-tempered where needed. Always beautiful and singing in all registers with great resonance and sustain. Every day I love it more and more. Thank you a thousand times!

Ands down the most in-depth tutorial about voicing I’ve ever watched thank you for passing your skill “ Maestro”

This is, by far, the most helpful and well done video on this subject.

Thank you so much for your videos. They’ve helped me tremendously. I built a pretty guitar before I came across you. I’m hoping my next guitar will be pretty and great sounding. Cheers from NYC

Hello Ad, I learned a lot in your video. At 13:30 the tone drop to G and the vibrating for almost 2 seconds. Then you primarely listening to the length of the vibrations. So as your experience, how many seconds it vibrates is the maximum to achieve before over the boundery point ? My objective is around F - F#. Thank you very much.

White wood. White shirt. White hair.

This is Spinal Tap. There’s a fine line between clever and stupid. Just turn it up to “11”.

Why do we use thin timber and add bracing. Could we not just start with a thicker timber and have less or thinner bracing?

As a machinist, I understand about taking off a little too much and scraping it.

It is really important that people understand how much care goes into making a great sounding guitar. When I make my first guitar I will use the Ad Van Kuijk method. Thanks for sharing.

The soundboard is the most complicated process of building the guitar. I failed at it before and didn't know why. This lesson is the best of its kind on the internet.

Thank you so much for the details! I'm restoring an old guitar (the first time) to understand how it all works, and your video is the only one to break it down to the details and explain everything - it helps very much :)

Okay, a bit of a weird question... but... Does anyone know where I can buy that sweater?

Battila bene, mi raccomando...anzi attaccaci elettrodi e guardala al computer😂

What thickness of top do you aim for with spruce and cedar ? Thanks.

Thanks for sharing your skills... Fascinating...

listen at 0:09 and then click ahead to 19:59 ... you can hear some change from how the top started... pretty neat stuff!

This is the most informative video I've sen on voicing. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much for your video.. I have made 5 classical guitars so far. They came out pretty good. But when it comes to voicing the top, I have to admit that I have been shooting in the dark until I watch your video. Great teaching, at least I am sort of learning how to voice the top. All the books and literatures from the internet could not lighten my little brain until now. I would like to express my appreciation for doing this video. You are the best around. Thanks again.

Seeing this vid as an ASMR vid. Nice!

Fascinating I love this ❤

Guitar builders are not talking about numbers on youtube. You did it, thanks for sharing.

Maestro!!!!!! You are a Maestroooo!!!!

Lovely, simply lovely!!!!

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Hi Ad. So you tunned the top around F#…?

thank you very much for the video my friend. helped me a lot. and after you stick (glue)the top on the instrument body, do you sand the top again looking for a specific note(tune)? thanks here from Brazil

Great work 👏 and thx for the information and sharing your experiences in guitar making. I just to ask you about targeting the right note when you removing some material from the braces first was the tone on B and you drop it to E or F# so what will happen if you keep it higher note like A or B ? The lower tone its mean more vibration of the soundboard ? And in general what is the right tone should be in classical guitar to tune the soundboard ? For both spruce top and cedar top ? Sorry too many questions 😅

Excellent demonstration of your methodology. I see the value of recording all the steps of the procedure, and its value in evaluating the effects of various decisions made along the way. Thanks for this great video.

Need to vacuum, but great video.

Dear van Kuijk, thanks for sharing such a precious video. Everything in it is very learning. I don't build instruments, but I think it's an amazing art. Could you clarify a doubt I had when I saw your video? The top was tuned in F #, but after assembling the entire guitar can he change the tone? Sorry for the way to write English, it's not my language. Keep sharing all this great knowledge! Hugs.

Hello, why do you tune the guitar at this note?

So, do luthiers discard tops they have cut too much? No. They choose some middle position and don't risk it.

Congratulations¡¡ You really voice the sounboard in a good way. Thank you¡ It is a great contribution for the community of Luthieres and beginners.

If you're wondering about the equivalent process for a steel-string guitar, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ei5-DkVTrEE.html . With a much higher strength requirement, a steel-string acoustic guitar is a quite different instrument, but the processes are very similar. Dana Bourgeois is a master.

At which note the acoustic guitar top should be tunned help me sir ... And when we glue it to sites and give oil finish does the note wil change..

A real gift, this. Thanks so much Pi Ad! and cheers from the northern Thai mountains.

thank you for a brilliant insight to your craft. But when do you decide you have "gone too far, and the top is ruined" . Will it never be of any use, what exactly is 'ruined'.

Gosh I'm so sorry. I'm 4 min in and you are shaving braces equally. It seems that compensation should be done between the low and high strings. I build solid body so I actually have no idea. I know that classical strings are an entirely different animal. Is the tension the same across the bridge? Are all strings equal in amplitude as well?

What size finger planes do you use? Are they flat or curved bottoms? Standard blade or with teeth? Love your build series!

Wow..being able to connect the tapping on a piece of wood to a tone is really something extrardinairy. Must have taken many years of experience.. Would almost take my cheap yamaha classical apart, tap it..shave it..and put it back together.

Why not go to tapered, 3mm, rounded braces to start with?

Another great instructional video, thank you. Which plane are you using for shaping the braces?

Nice tutorial! Thank you, Sir, you are a wonderful luthier and a great teacher, too!👍❤️

Luthiers should also make voiced strings because they are the biggest contributor to the sound

Pssshhhh

Thank you very much for your teachings! Appreciate for you sharing your experience, sir!

LOOKS LIKE FUN, TAKE YEARS TO GET THESE SKILLS.BUT IN THE END YOU MAKE A1 QUALITY INSTRUMENT. TO BE ENJOY OVER MANY YEARS, BY EVERYONE.

You're excellent luthier. Very easy to unstander. Thank you

the spruce has its sound for the best I look for that resonance, sometimes the best sounds have come from poor quality as it was being sold, yet with age and dryness, it improved to be grade a.

Amazing video about the top and how to give the tones. Thank you so much!

Such a great knowledge about the art of luthierie, that's what make diference between a true instrument and art and some piece of wood else made in large scale

Thanks fot posting. I'm always learning something else, always.

Thanks for sharing your kowledge

THANK VERY MUCH FORE SHERING TUNING INFORMATION.

Thanks for sharing !, just subscribed !. About to start attempting to make my first guitar, I'm using plans for a Manuel Reyes flamenco guitar as a guide (I like to play flamenco). Thanks again (I wonder if you'll voice the fundamental tone of the top to a higher pitch for a flamenco guitar)

ما هو نوع الخشب المستخدم في صناعة هذا الجيتار ؟

Ik denk dat dit de meest gedownloade joetjoeber is voor alle gitaarbouwers. Bedankt Ad, fantastisch werk! But ... If you say it's a G, then I hear a B. What you tell doesn't correspond with what I hear. I know, when listening to taptones, you can hear several notes together and, depending on the spot you hold it, or knock it, it's all different. So ... what are you really listening to? Or is it just some magical mistery?

So so useful 👍😍 so what note should be tuned on the back?

Thank you for providing me with information about the great skill that you have! Do you sell any of the classical guitars? I am located in France.

Hello Ad, It is great fun to see how you have come to this point in guitar building! Some interesting points in how you're getting further and further, especially by making the top thinner towards the edges. I had a cheap factory guitar but with a solid top. That instrument didn't had an interesting sound but by thinning the top just at the lower bout edges from the outside made a hughe difference and then the right way of voicing a top proves to be of the utmost importance! That my top was too stiff was obvious but what I was experimenting was merely a lot of luck also as I only can listen between the "shaving" probes. Good luck and maybe you want to visit the Boom international guitar and violin building presentation evening also on wednessday the 21th of june..... Just get in touch!

In my own guitar building, I come back again and again to your videos. Your video (and Luthier) work is very elegant, confident and informative. I sometimes I come back months later and watch as I have gained an additional bit of experience that enabled me to really understand. Thank you for sharing your master craftsmanship - it is more valuable and enduring than we can tell you. Interesting that you didn't stop when you reached the point when the tone dropped and changed no more? You were probably pushing the limits when you were younger too...….. yah?

Please you can show us your solera for full size classical guitar?a review..

Van Kuijk, how thick are the harmonic bars, do you wear on the top? Thank you very much

This is the best luthier video on RU-vid... period ! Exclamation point!

I feel the need for pointy felt shoes and a clay pipe.

I like the idea of using go no go guage blocks.

Hi. I just wanted to say thank you very much for your videos. I just made my first guitar and followed your method for voicing the soundboard. I have a wonderful sounding guitar. I am so pleased. Thank you for sharing your valuable experience.

Thanks a lot for that vid. I've been willing to see that operation performed & explained for a long time. And now I know that ist is not without reason that my Japanese Asturias guitar has a natural resonance in F#) Hartelijk bedankt !

ok, making a very stupid noob question but, why don´t you use a digital tuner to know exactly which tone the top is vibrating at? don´t get me wrong i am amazed by your skills, you have what some would call an absolute hearing loved the video, the craft, skill and explanations excellent, thank you

Obrigado por compartilhar seu conhecimento. Agora tudo faz sentido.

I learned a lot Thanks

I just wanted to add that when building with hyde glue, that you can replace the brace, and start over again in the event of an overcompensation

13:38 What is the specific reason of always sliding into the note from below instead of just playing the note?

Love the love for guitarmaking, and this is also a great ASMR video btw!

So when the guitar is finished you could have possibly went a little further .

Thanks! I read something like this about Stradivarius violins. Do this "true" note around f#-g# is true for any guitar? Classical? Western? Baritone? Bass? Electric?

Excellent!

This is great! Thank you!

Excellent video. Thanks a lot

Thanks Ad, I like to watch a Luthier at work.

Good job

Dear Ad Thanks you so much for your wonderful and very helpful videos! Your calmness and sureness comes forth so clearly.

"The boundary between excellent and ruined is very small." Now there's a life lesson for you.

A true master...

Thank you so much for your generosity in sharing your amazing experience. It is so much better to be shown than to read a book.

Thanks sir

Thanks for sharing all this knowledge! Cheers

Real Luthier.. the best. 👍🙏

Very Cool 😎

MERAVIGLIOSO

Fascinating.

After the finish is on will your tap tone raise again?