Is Hide Glue usually worth the upcharge?
 

I've been wondering if I should go with Hide Glue for a Custom Shop build or if I should spend that money in other options such as better tuners, woods, etc. The upcharge for the hide glue in this case is pretty high vs what I was expecting, but so far I don't have any guarantees that it does make a difference.

No, IMO, given the choices, spend it elsewhere for sure!

Dick Boak told me yes to the same question.

That is a big ole box of worms…..do a search, alot of debate on that topic for sure!

I would choose better woods over hide glue but not tuners.

Any luthier will tell you that hide glue can be harder to work with than modern glue and there's been a plethora of debate over the whether or not it has little if any impact on the sound.

I would think that spending your money on a higher quality wood or tuners would be a better bet.

I should have clarified my answer further as it is really not just IMO, it is based on conversations with builders, builder reps, as well as individual luthiers I have worked with....Woods, tuners, aesthetic choices to make it more your guitar, all more important to me.

For those who own a guitar with hide glue, it's the best thing since prune juice. For those who don't, it's not worth the effort or cost. The real answer is somewhere in the middle. I know that if I spent that much on glue, I'd swear that it did something for the investment. ;)

......Mike

The important question is, "Can you hear the difference?" If YOU can't hear the difference between one guitar made with hide glue and one made with another glue, then the up-charge for the hide glue isn't worth it.

Another angle is does having it made with hide glue influence its resale value, should you ever want to sell it: will you get your up-charge for the glue back if/when you sell it? Likely not.

Then the there is the question of "better wood". "Better" how? Better sounding? Better looking? Better resale value? Better because it is more scarce/more expensive/more sought-after? Better, in being more stable (i.e. quarter sawn vs flat sawn)? Many of these "better's" don't directly influence the sound of the instrument in a way audible to most people.

If you are going to spend big-bucks on a guitar, why would it come with anything but the best tuning machines? The best, large-scale factory-made tuners are typically under $200 retail. (Exotic, small-scale-production tuners can run into the thousands.)

...an informed opinion but still an opinion as there many expert builders and players that do believe there is a recognizable difference...

...as to the OP...if you don't believe it makes a difference then don't pay for it but i don't think that you'll get anything more than opinions here, informed or not, regarding the merits of HG construction...which i assume is all you're asking for...

...so...my informed opinion is that it might be why my best sounding instruments, vintage and new were built with hide glue...or maybe it was something else...

It is impossible to decide that a single guitar sounds better because of the glue - to many other variables. I'd go with the opinion of the builder.

You will hear the difference simply because You spent all that extra money on it. Why do audiophiles spend 500 dollars on a power cord for their amp? because it makes the amp sound better. Why does that power cord make the amp sound better? Because it cost 500 dollars. If you spend money on things that make no difference (not saying that glue will make no difference, but that power cord sure isn't going to make any difference) you will hear difference simply because you spent all that money and your brain will have tricked you (or you will have tricked your brain) in to thinking that there is a difference and that it sounds better. More money = better sounding to your brain.

This can be a hot topic here, so get ready. But I will say I'm very close with guy that has done the final string-up on every single Santa Cruz guitar for yeas and he's said many times that would be the one upgrade he'd recommend. He said they just always have a little something more than the same model without. My Santa Cruz 00 has hide glue.

I watched a PBS special with Travis Tritt unplugged last night and he was playing his Custom D45 signature model...that thing was awesome. I know it was made from a select Brazilian Rosewood and probably had the best spruce Martin had in the building. Probably used hide glue on it as well...that's what took it to the next level. ;)

Good points, I wonder what else would be able to be applied in this situation other than informed opinions. Unless that is you know of a controlled, double blinded study in which two exact guitars are built with different glue. Of course you don't because that study would be impossible to design as no two guitars can be built exactly the same with the same wood. So, opinion it is, what a weird concept on this forum....