Author: Neil Miller

The backs are on the two guitars I’m building to compare bracing patterns, and this allows me to measure the main frequencies of each guitar body. The results fit my expectations with the more modern Gore-inspired bracing producing higher pitched main frequencies than the scalloped X-bracing. In fact, the latter was so low (main air…

Last month I described an experiment I’m conducting with 2 different bracing styles on 2 guitars I’m building.  The tops are now attached to the ribs, so I can begin testing the relative strength of their bracing.  This deflection jig measures how much the top moves when a force is applied directly on the bridge…

One of my highlights of the Wintergrass festival was visiting the vintage instrument room. How amazing to be able to pick up and play 100+ year-old guitars and mandolins! One afternoon I listened to Joe Vinikow of Archtop.com, play this 1923 Lloyd Loar-signed Gibson mandolin. When I asked if he’d play my 12-year old Miller Acoustics…

Last week, before heading to the Wintergrass festival, I had a visit from Neal Curran, who bought an F-5 Mandolin from me 12 years ago. Neal has been playing hard, including with his current band, Sugar Rooster, and the instrument was in serious need of a setup and fret levelling, but it has held up…

I’m honored that the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN) has asked me to teach a class on guitar building beginning next month. My assignment is to guide six students through the process of building a guitar styled after the style of the iconic Martin D-28 in a mere 14-weeks! I’m excited to combine my passion…

Last week a customer brought me a Washburn acoustic guitar with narrow string spacing that he found difficult to play cleanly. He asked me to widen the string spacing which led me down a luthier’s rabbit hole trying to research the most widely preferred string and nut spacing. It turns out the nut width on…

A customer brought this Ibanez George Benson 10 for fret levelling and asked if I could lower the action at the same time. It was was already VERY low so I was doubtful. After levelling it straightening the neck a bit, I managed to lower the action with just a slight buzz on the G…

An Australian engineer turned luthier is stirring up the guitar-building world these days. Trevor Gore’s somewhat unconventional ideas have been rapidly adopted by boutique builders and a few larger manufacturers. I’m testing his bracing in my latest build. The dreadnought top on the right uses Martin’s scalloped, rear-shifted X-bracing. The top on the left uses…

After returning from Tanzania I launched Miller Acoustics as a way to turn my passion for instrument building and repair into my occupation. So far, it’s been quite an adventure. I discovered that getting a guitar playable can bring together a father and daughter. I experienced the excitement of a son and father playing their…

I’m currently building a dreadnought guitar for a musician in Rwanda. We met and bonded over music while I was living and working in Tanzania. The design for the custom abalone inlay on the top, fingerboard, and pick guard emerged as a collaboration between owner and luthier.