As we approach our centennial, people often assume our shop only services Latin instruments. But since the 1940s, we’ve built more than 50 types of string instruments for artists across many genres. Apprenticing under my father and grandfather, I learned the delicate balance of tension, action, scale length, bracing, and intonation. Yet every week in Nashville, I see fine instruments misdiagnosed by techs applying electric-guitar logic to acoustic builds.While techniques vary, our history and client list demonstrate that our approach works. Let’s look at a few common errors—call it five things your tech may be getting wrong about acoustic tone and setup, and how a master luthier fixes them.