A Man A Plan A Guitar Katana: A Luthier's Tale

By Paul McNamara

This book is a (largely pictorial) record of a series of electric guitar builds undertaken by an amateur luthier in Australia during the second decade of the millennium. The guitar builder undertakes to make a Katana-style guitar, a Telecaster-style guitar, a Moderne-style guitar and an Explorer-style guitar. At times humorous but always interesting, the pictorial record takes the reader through the mistakes, oversights and glitches that make for several truly unique guitars – with a very personal appeal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul McNamara
• Release date: Feb 12, 2021

Paul McNamara

Paul McNamara is an editor and journalist with over 20 years’ experience. His career includes spells with the Financial Times, Euromoney, BRW Media, Asia-Inc, Private Equity & Hedge Funds Middle East and Banker Middle East. He has a specialization in Islamic finance, the Middle East banking and finance industry, GCC capital markets, wealth management and the world of interest rate securities.

Book preview

Introduction

Where to begin?

Of course, at the beginning.

Towards the end of 2012 I found myself out of work as the business I had been busy with had to fold. But, with Christmas fast approaching, I decided that I owed myself a treat and so bought myself a kit guitar online.

I had a whale of a time building it and, although I didn’t know it at the time, it was the birth of a guitar obsession that lasts to this day.

However, the present book is largely about two guitar builds that spawned my interest in making functional and good-sounding instruments from scraps of old stuff I found lying around. The first is a Katana-styled instrument and the second is a Telecaster-styled instrument.

There is a load of old cobblers written and spoken about ‘tone woods’ and how mahogany sounds ‘darker’ than maple. If you are reading this book you will certainly have come across such sentiments yourself somewhere along the way.

Needless to say I am a profound sceptic and I can hear no difference between mahogany, acrylic or aluminium bodied guitars if they are fitted with the same pickups and set up the same.

Who know? Perhaps I have a tin ear.

The pages that follow are meant to be a bit of a laugh. Indeed the subtitle of the book ‘a luthier’s tale’ is a bit of a laugh.

You will realise by the end of it that I write far better than I build guitars. I am a complete amateur when it comes to building but what I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm. And occasional bad temper.

There are many steps at which I could have done things better. Many instances when my entire approach should have been different. But I am very much someone who learns on the job. And sometimes not even then. There are some mistakes that I have made more than once. More than twice, even.

But I had some fun – and made some sawdust along the way.

I hope you have some fun reading it.

The first guitar build

Building a Fender Katana-style guitar out of odds and ends.

Here’s the story.

I had been looking to get hold of a Katana guitar for over a year.

I was on the lookout for a Fender Katana – but would have made do with a Squier – but there had been none up for sale on either eBay or Gumtree in Australia (where I lived) since I had started looking.

I could probably have sourced one on Reverb – but I was not up for paying the postage or freight, so …

So I decided to make one myself.

I am not a luthier or anything – although I have made an Explorer-style guitar from a kit that I bought a few years ago. Readers can find a brief account of that at the end of the book if they are still awake by then – and looking for more literary punishment.

I also made a Moderne from scratch as well as a Flying V from scratch. So I am not a complete beginner but I am no expert.

Anyway,