I believe in hot hide glue, not because of tradition but because of its serviceable properties. Hide joints can be rehydrated, reheated, and cleanly disassembled. They can also be re-adhered without needing to remove the surface fibers of the glue joint, unlike most other options. These properties alone are highly desirable for wooden instruments which need serviceability if they are expected to last.

But the advantages do not simply end there. Hot hide glue by its nature needs to be applied hot and clamped before it cools. While cooling, it contracts and creates an impressive amount of force in doing so. Mark Stutman from Folkway Music points out that hide glue was once used to etch glass because of this effect.

Once the glue is dry, it behaves uniquely compared to other options because it becomes hard like crystal. On the contrary, commonly used yellow glue or PVA (used for its convenience) always stays a bit rubbery and is engineered to do so.

All things considered, if I'm working so hard to source great material and build an effective acoustic system, why the heck would I want a rubbery layer holding all the parts together?

Now consider hot hide glue. With a small amount of extra effort, I can use an extremely strong and reliable glue that will pull the parts together through thermal contraction, in addition to clamps, and harden to a glass-like quality while also being easily repairable. The stuff is downright magical and perfect for a huge portion of the guitar parts.

However, I do not use hide glue on every part of the guitar. For example, to bind a synthetic material like carbon fiber to wood, a resin-based adhesive is the proper tool for the job.

Wood needs some time to forget that it was once a tree. If you've never thought about this, it's not a silly notion to ignore. A tree has all sorts of stress on it as it grows depending on its environment. A tree that is exposed to high wind shear will grow in such a way that it can resist that wind shear. When that tree is eventually cut into lumber, it will be sawn up into straight boards, and each one of those boards will have internal stresses as a result of being separated from the balance of forces in the log.

It's common woodworking knowledge that wood must be dried before it's used and may warp during this process due to these internal forces. However, the drying process does not completely eliminate the stresses, and simply cutting a board in half can release internal forces again even when dry and create another opportunity for warping.

This is why material selection is critical, and beyond the quality of the material, the manner in which it was prepared has a significant impact on the stability of the instrument. More affordable guitars often fall victim to this. At their price point, wood selection is a non-factor and is often not suitably dry.

A dual-way truss rod does not stand a chance against a neck that wants to bow. If the stresses are there, they will eventually win.

Humidity changes can make these stresses show like childhood traumas, and if the wood is not properly dried, the effect is worse. It's also very difficult to stop wood from cracking if it needs to shrink. With the thin woods in acoustic guitars, it's likely that cracks will appear in solid wood instruments that are not humidified.

Also, different species will absorb and release moisture at different rates, which can introduce new stresses and cause all sorts of funny geometry to appear as the wood finds a path of least resistance.

As a builder, I try to manage the possibilities with attentive wood cutting practices, intentional grain orientation, and a climate-controlled environment to build in.

Beyond just that, I believe in the power of thoughtful and informed construction techniques. A laminated guitar neck is constructed of many strips of wood instead of one board. When built properly, a laminated neck will have much smaller internal stress as each part is smaller than the whole. No one strip of wood can exertenough force to effect the whole, ideally arranged in a way that the forces mirror each-other balancing out and creating a very stable structure. The neck blank described essentially becomes an engineered material instead of just wood.

This is a somewhat endless topic, so I won't go on much longer here, but here's one more thing to consider. There is one brand of guitar that's built a reputation for a fairly fragile headstock design. This is entirely due to the way the neck is being cut from a single board. This "one-piece" construction style is commonly marketed as a feature, but in reality it's harmful in almost every aspect of the guitar's performance. Not to mention that it's a wasteful practice of a precious material.

I don't think there's a "correct" way for a guitar to feel, but I do believe that the way it feels will have the largest impact on tone. Love it or hate it, it's the way that you play that makes it speak. If the feel is off, you will never find that "plays itself" groove.

Feel is not just neck shape and string spacing. It's also intonation, neck relief, nut height, and saddle height. It's scale length and break angle and top stiffness and headroom. It's how the guitar reacts to being hit really hard and how it responds to the slightest touch. Feel is about the connection between the body and the instrument, and when the feel is right, everything is right.

The setup plays a much bigger role in one's instrument enjoyment than anything else. Adjusting bracing patterns and back and side woods adds colors and layers to the identity of an instrument, but setup and therefore feel is, to me, the most important aspect of any instrument. That presents a challenge—setup is subjective, personal preference is a big factor. I try to address my clients' setup needs individually.

I often find myself remembering a friend repeating a line from one of his teachers: "Your favorite guitar is probably whichever one currently has the best setup for you." I think a great musician can make almost anything serve, but I tend to believe that a better feel leads to a better instrument as a whole.