The Responsive Guitar - Ervin Somogyi

[John Link]

This is one of a two book set written by Ervin Somogyi. It is oriented to guitar design more than construction, yet it really is the foundation for Somogyi's other book (Making The Responsive Guitar) which is explicitly about construction, which I will review later. That said, many of this book's topics are often found in construction books: the nature of wood, difference between factory and hand-made instruments, variations of the X-brace, bracewood selection, practical voicing, domed vs. flat construction, string action, setup, and finishing.

The author presents principles of guitar design and how to apply them as well as the evidence that supports their use. This would be of most utility to those who wish to design their own "modern" guitars. Because Somogyi is deeply respectful of tradition, especially that part which has stood the test of time because it produces superior sound, these folks can work from the shoulders of past luthiers who have taken the art and craft to where it is today. He makes it clear that originality is not the same as inane novelty. Rather it is the result of careful consideration of a host of factors that all feed into the final sound. More than any other source I have encountered, he accounts for all these factors in a coherent, clear, and plausible manner. Even if you disagree with one of his conclusions, you will probably not find a better source than his own book for the tools with which to express your disagreement.

But there is a lot here for the "vintage" builder as well. Fact is, there is no single set of designs that define "vintage". Besides the obvious differences between fan, ladder, and X-braced guitars, there are many variations within each mode. The Responsive Guitar offers the vintage builder great tools for making decisions about which direction to take among those many choices. What happens if you tighten or spread the X (a question that was recently asked elsewhere on this forum)? What does scale length have to do with sound? What about bridge placement on the top? How are X-braces affected by the outside shape of the top? What is the effect of letting the braces into the kerfing versus not? I could go on, but I think these questions make the point, unless a builder is dedicated to making an exact copy of a specific instrument or model.

In a sense, most vintage builders have a lot in common with those who build modern - everyone is taking from tradition, distilling what they think best from it, and reinventing it in the present. There is some difference in the goals, but how much, I am not so sure.

So, the Somogyi book is an extremely valuable resource for working one's way through the swamp of variation after variation ... and the many advocates of each and every one who seem, at times, to be absolutely right in their proclamations, except that we know they can't all be absolutely right.

There is more than just a little bit of Socrates in the author, in that he leaves it to the reader to do the final thinking for him or herself. What emerges from his many presentations is that "rightness" is never absolute, but rather makes itself felt in the context of other factors and variables, all of which must be orchestrated as a total package, if the instrument is to succeed. Somogyi does not deliver total packages for the reader to copy, but rather the tools by which the reader can evaluate pre-existing packages, modify them, or strike out in creative directions.

[ken cierp]

I've seen three of his videos -- interesting guy, sets up his points well but, I am an engineer by trade and would challenge some of his "luthier science" and I don't think I am not alone? As an example I believe Trevor Gore (an Engineer) is a proponant of closed box tuning rather than free plate -- but his opinions are good stuff just the same and I am sure there's plenty of those in the expensive books. And of course this is my opinion.

[John Link]

Ken,

One of the things I like about Somogyi is that he does not present his ideas as "all or nothing". You can take any aspect that is helpful and leave the rest.

Nor does he say he possesses "the answer" or any other "magic", something that is sometimes held against him - as if he is holding "the answer" back.

His use of science is hardly rigorous like a scientist would want, but he does use it, and seems to understand that his use is not rigorous. His terms "monopole", "cross dipole" and "long dipole" he admits are unproven mental constructs that help conceptualize top movements that are much, much more complex than they represent. But I certainly find them useful in understanding the difference, even, in the way an Oscar Schmidt Stella and a Harmony Sovereign (both ladder braced) sound.

[ken cierp]

Being a "Best Practice Engineer" by trade I am compelled to copy what has proven to work well -- so while I am sure this publication has appeal to some, its just not in my wheel house. Then there's always the subjective, who to say if something sounds or tastes better or even good. And there's the sample size -- better or worse than what? -- life's too short, but God bless those trying to find the Holy Grail of guitars and its construction.

[Dave Bagwill]

I bought, read and sold ES's books about 7 or 8 guitars ago.

I did not get much out of them (that has really stuck with me) EXCEPT for the attitude of paying great attention to each portion of the build. That seems like common sense, and it is. The accumulation of many small improvements - good glue practices, control of materials, keeping things maximally aligned, that sort of thing. Which is not specific to ES.

He is a very very good artist and his instruments are gorgeous.

More helpful to me would have been a "Big book O' Luthier Jigs" :-)

[John Link]

Ken, anyone who copies "what has proven to work well" has much in common with those who respect and borrow from tradition. The two are not exactly the same, of course, but I don't see either one as simply subjective, though subjective is always part of anything musical. Myself, I wallow in subjectivity as a positive. It not only makes music and instruments more fun, it is the source of a lot of their life.

As far as those jigs go, Dave, there is a book for you to write. You are not the only one who would buy it, believe me.

Meantime, looks like I am the only one here who really likes this book. Not a problem for me.

[John Parchem]

Although as an engineer I also agree with Ken that Somogyi's science is dubious at best, I think that Ervin is describing as best he can his intuitive model that he uses to build and voice his guitars. I liked reading it and did find it valuable.

I could not build a repeatable process from reading this book, but I was happy with the detailed insight into his thought process.