Scott's Guitar Blog

Bending Sides with Mark Yodice

Hi folks, The last couple days have been fun here...I've been making guitars! I started three new acoustic projects; one for myself, and my clients Mark Yodice and Gerry McKeveny. This article deals with the bending process on Mark's OM sized 9-string acoustic guitar...Yes, that's NINE strings, all single spaced (no doubles). It will make for a wide fingerboard, but Mark is going to take this to new tonal frontiers...I can't wait to hear what he does with it!

We did this today, starting with trimming the walnut sides to shape, wetting them, then putting them into the side-bending machine pictured in the photo. Once heated until dry and cooled, they pop right out, ready to go into the mold, which you can see behind the bending-machine.
For those of you with Super-vision, the humidity meter on the post behind Mark is at 45%
relative humdity....perfect for guitarmaking, and expensive to maintain...I get love letters from the power company with all the heavy motors and climate gear in the shop!

Mark was blown away seeing a 90/1000" thin piece of hard, brittle wood transform into a series of gentle curves without breaking. I have to admit, I still enjoy the alchemy of it myself, as well as the hot, wet wood aroma that fills the shop during the process. Yum, walnut tea! Mark is seen in the other photo smiling with what will one day be the lower side of his guitar, propped on his leg as he discovers new tone-zones on those 9 strings. I was glad he lives locally and could share the moment with me and the wood that will be making his music! Please visit my site to see about custom built guitars! http://www.customguitars.com

All the best, Scott

Inside Connection Magazine article

Hi Folks, this post I'm republishing a very nice article written by Kevin Mcleod for Inside Connection magazine. Kevin wrote a very heartfelt story on my shop, and it follows below. Thanks so much Kevin! Please visit Kevin's website at http://www.mcleodmusic.com and his blog HERE.

Sunday, February 26, 2006
Scott MacDonald - Custom Guitars and Expert Repairs
Walking into the reception area of Scott B. MacDonald’s workshop I am always struck by how Scott makes me feel welcome and gives me his complete attention as I describe whatever my latest guitar problem is and wait for his advice. He’ll bring the guitar over to his workbench, check it out, and offer suggestions. The room is well lit, there are a few comfortable chairs, and an old ice-cream parlor type stool reserved for customers picking up guitars – Scott wants you to feel at home when you try out your new or repaired instrument.

Scott has been building and repairing guitars for 16 years in Huntington, Long Island. He has become well known for his custom guitars, vintage instrument restorations and repairs. He has clients all over the world. Having been authorized by Gibson, Fender, Martin, Taylor, Ovation, Gretch, and Tacoma for repair and warranty work, his workshop is always filled with guitars. He has a knack for addressing the underlying causes of guitar problems quickly. I’ve taken an electric guitar to Scott thinking I needed to spend money on new pickups only to have Scott say, “I’ll put new pickups in if you want, but I bet those pickups are fine and this wiring is what’s killing your sound.” Scott was right – he re-did the wiring and the pickups sounded great.

Although his extensive knowledge of both vintage guitars and modern guitar building suggests a man who works because he loves instruments, Scott told me there was something else that he found even more satisfying, “It’s not really about guitars, it’s about people.” He means it. When he says he builds ‘custom guitars’, he’s talking about instruments designed around the needs, spirit and personality of the musician, not just two or three designs that he cranks out over and over. Scott always strives to make a unique instrument for the PERSON who orders it. He insists on getting to know as much about each customer and their music as he can before design and construction begins. In the end, each instrument is as unique as its owner. He considers the whole personality of the musician ordering a guitar.

I’m a guitar player. I like guitars. I like it best when I pick up a guitar and it sounds and feels as good as it looks. Music is born when the right instrument reaches the hands of a creative musician. This is why I’ve become such a fan of Scott’s custom guitars. I haven’t had Scott build me one yet (although I do see a custom electric in my future…), but I have played a few that he’s built for others. They look and feel like something special, they sound great, and in the cases of a few LI musicians I know who own his guitars the instruments genuinely suit their music and playing styles. I think Scott gets high marks for hitting his goal of constructing guitars that fit the personality of the player.

Scott says that he’s seen tremendous growth in his business in the past few years as a result of the internet. I think Scott’s reputation for meticulous work and attention to detail might have something to do with it too, but he has recently re-vamped his website, www.customguitars.com. In addition to seeing photos of some of his custom guitars potential customers can now hear samples of what they sound like. They can also see video clips of Lucinda Williams and her band making good use of the Resonator Electric Guitars Scott made for Lucinda and her lead guitarist.

Scott builds custom instruments for musicians who play large venues and for musicians who play bars and coffee houses. He gives everyone the same respect and attention. Scott says it usually takes about a year to make an electric and fourteen months to make an acoustic. His prices are very competitive so before you shell out a lot of money for an assembly line instrument you might want to consider getting a guitar hand-made with your personality and playing habits in mind instead.