(Book). This book explains the secret ingredients needed to obtain the very best tonal qualities when building acoustic string instruments. It includes an exploration of the tools and equipment needed, the methods to excite tones in the instrument, how to make the necessary changes, and how to achieve consistency and repeatability. The text focuses on tap tuning as it relates to mandolins, guitars, banjos, violins, ukuleles, dulcimers, pianos, and more. The DVD includes demonstrations of the acoustic phenomena described in the text.

This books describes the process of voicing and tap tuning acoustic stringed musical instruments and includes a secure code to stream a 55-minute video with numerous real-time demonstrations of the tap tuning process.

(Book). The Ultimate Bluegrass Mandolin Construction Manual is the most complete step-by-step treatise ever written on building an acoustical string instrument. Siminoff, a renowned author and luthier, applies over four decades of experience to guide beginners to pros through detailed chapters on wood selection, cutting, carving, shaping, assembly, inlays, fretting, binding and assembly of an F-style mandolin. A special highlight is an in-depth chapter on the art of tap tuning. This fully-illustrated manual boasts more than 250 photos, a full-color section on the staining and finishing processes, numerous detailed illustrations, and a bonus set of 20 full-size blueprints. Spiral bound.

Tuning engines can be a mysterious art, all engines need a precise balance of fuel, air, and timing in order to reach their true performance potential. Engine Management: Advanced Tuning takes engine-tuning techniques to the next level, explaining how the EFI system determines engine operation and how the calibrator can change the controlling parameters to optimize actual engine performance. It is the most advanced book on the market, a must-have for tuners and calibrators and a valuable resource for anyone who wants to make horsepower with a fuel-injected, electronically controlled engine.

(Book). An essential item for the instrument builder, The Luthier's Handbook explores the secrets and science behind making good-sounding acoustic stringed instruments. Renowned author Roger H. Siminoff brings to the table more than four decades of luthiery experience and shares the time-tested philosophies, tips and technology of the craft. As the ideal complement to other books on building instruments, this text describes the structural and acoustical attributes of air chambers; what to listen for when tap-tuning; selecting a good piece of wood; placement of the braces and tone bars and how to tune them; how to select the right strings; what to consider in bridge design concepts; and much more. Includes a free String Gauge Calculator for determining the right set of strings.

Tuning your database for optimal performance means more than following a few short steps in a vendor-specific guide. For maximum improvement, you need a broad and deep knowledge of basic tuning principles, the ability to gather data in a systematic way, and the skill to make your system run faster. This is an art as well as a science, and Database Tuning: Principles, Experiments, and Troubleshooting Techniques will help you develop portable skills that will allow you to tune a wide variety of database systems on a multitude of hardware and operating systems. Further, these skills, combined with the scripts provided for validating results, are exactly what you need to evaluate competing database products and to choose the right one. - Forward by Jim Gray, with invited chapters by Joe Celko and Alberto Lerner - Includes industrial contributions by Bill McKenna (RedBrick/Informix), Hany Saleeb (Oracle), Tim Shetler (TimesTen), Judy Smith (Deutsche Bank), and Ron Yorita (IBM) - Covers the entire system environment: hardware, operating system, transactions, indexes, queries, table design, and application analysis - Contains experiments (scripts available on the author's site) to help you verify a system's effectiveness in your own environment - Presents special topics, including data warehousing, Web support, main memory databases, specialized databases, and financial time series - Describes performance-monitoring techniques that will help you recognize and troubleshoot problems

The Art Of Lutherie offers a glimpse into the mind and craft of luthier Tom Bills, whom many consider to be one of the most talented luthiers today. In this beautifully written and enjoyable read, Tom elegantly and clearly shares his best- kept secrets and methods of custom guitar making - those which make his guitars favorites among top collectors and players. Tom's unique approach to The Art Of Lutherie will empower and inspire you to create more than just a guitar, but a truly unique work of art. The information that is generously shared within this insightful and timeless work is both practical and applicable. It contains the same hard-won wisdom that only comes from years of experience and experimentation that Tom uses in creating his inspiring instruments. Over the years, he has producedinstruments considered to be some of the bestsounding guitars ever made. Learning the steps of how to build a guitar is important, but understanding whymaster luthiers take those steps and make those decisions can empower you to make your own educated choices. This will allow you to create unique guitars, and the world needs your art, your guitars - your important contribution. The Art Of Lutherie, a truly unique and inspiring guide, can prepare you to reach new heights when designing and creating unique guitars. It is not often I heap such lavish praise on people; however, Tom is in this case more than deserving: I know of no other luthier whose work I respect more. Tom knows his craft inside and out; he pours his soul into every guitar he makes; heuses cutting-edge science to guide his work, and it shows...as head of Artist Relations and Product Development at Mel Bay, it gives me great pleasure topublish Tom's work, which will no doubt take the art of lutherie to a new level. I hope you'll spend some time soaking in this book - it will certainly augmentyour musicality - Collin Bay. Includes access to online video