1986
AL#6 p.52 BRB1 p.496 read this article
Tom Rossing
▪ The reviewer finds that this collection of scientific papers will be of value to instrument builders, though it offers no “how to” advice.
1986
AL#6 p.51
Bill Hultgren
▪ Hultgren mentions a source for elephant ivory, though he finds its use unethical. He also warns that anthrax can be contracted from working with infected ivory, and that most American doctors will not recognize its symptoms. St. Croix instrument kits get a nod of approval.
1986
AL#6 p.48
Tim Olsen
▪ Editor Olsen submits more GAL history and describes available back issues of the old Quarterly, the previous GAL publication.
1986
AL#6 p.46 BRB1 p.230
Dick Boak
▪ Boak shares a Martin company fixture used for gluing bridges on flattop guitars.
1986
AL#6 p.45
Carl Margolis
▪ Margolis defends the Kasha guitar system, using the Kasha-influenced instruments of Steve Klein examples.
1986
AL#6 p.45
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Wyszkowski offers a luke-warm acceptance of the potential of the Kasha guitar as interpreted by Richard Schneider.
1986
AL#6 p.44 BRB1 p.177
Dana Bourgeois
▪ Bourgeois shares a method of making properly arched top braces for the contemporary “flattop” guitar.
1986
AL#6 p.38 BRB1 p.222
Ted Davis John Monteleone
▪ This lengthy interview sheds more light on the archtop maker’s background and furnishes information about his mandolins.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1986
AL#6 p.34 BRB1 p.227
John Monteleone
▪ Monteleone’s lecture covers personal background, after which a question/answer segment gets to the specifics of archtop design and construction.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1986
AL#6 p.28 BRB1 p.106
Ted Davis
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
1986
AL#6 p.27 BRB1 p.103
Ted Davis
▪ Davis gives a compact history of Martin archtops and offers a blueprint of the C-3 model, then goes on to have a mock interview with Steve Kauffman’s C-3, Suzie. The plan is a reduced version of our full-scale Plan #10.
1986
AL#6 p.26
George Manno
▪ Manno describes his method of tuning an out-of-the-box violin bridge for maximum performance. A “personal expansion” upon previously published work by Al Carruth.
1986
AL#6 p.22 read this article
Ted Davis
▪ Davis interviews the great flatpicker about (mostly) nontechnical matters.
1986
AL#6 p.19 BRB1 p.196 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman likens the physical properties of a stringed instrument to those of the earth’s atmosphere (our great spherical friend), and advises us that an understanding of science should underlay our intuitional sensitivities.
1986
AL#6 p.14 BRB1 p.190 read this article
William Cumpiano
▪ Cumpiano goes to some length telling of the travails and trials of producing the book, Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology.
1986
AL#6 p.8 BRB1 p.204
Roger Sadowsky
▪ Sadowsky’s convention lecture thoroughly describes his version the Don Teeter system of fretting with epoxy and oversize fret slots.
1986
AL#6 p.3
Dick Boak
▪ Boak warns us that luthiers must keep up with the times and a changing market as we pursue our craft, and that complacency is a vice none of us can afford.
1986
AL#6 p.3 BRB1 p.149
Dana Bourgeois
▪ Bourgeois comments about in inappropriateness of refretting many old Martin guitars with the “Teeter” epoxy method.
1986
AL#5 p.53 BRB1 p.496 read this article
Gila Eban
▪ The reviewer finds the book to be of interest to the luthier, even though it offers little technical information about guitars.
1986
AL#5 p.53 BRB1 p.495 read this article
Christopher Allworth
▪ The reviewer finds the book to be “important and useful” to builders who wish to pursue the early viols.
1986
AL#5 p.52
Duane Waterman
▪ The idea of the project is to bring together several members/luthiers to build a guitar cooperatively and sell it for the benefit of the Guild.
1986
AL#5 p.51 BRB1 p.185
Elliott Burch
▪ Burch offers a method of binding a mandolin that contributes to the ease of removing the plates at a later date.
1986
AL#5 p.44
Tim Olsen
▪ Editor Olsen gives a brief history of the GAL and describes the back issues of Vols. 6 and 7 of the GAL Quarterly that were then available.
1986
AL#5 p.42 BRB1 p.188
Richard Ennis
▪ Ennis describes how to cut fret slots on a table saw using notches in a fixed bar as depth stops to regulate the fret spacing.
1986
AL#5 p.41 BRB1 p.195
Tom Blackshear
▪ Blackshear describes his method of thinning the top of an assembled guitar to enhance the tone.
1986
AL#5 p.40 BRB1 p.153 read this article
George Manno
▪ Manno describes a method of removing violin tops that have been improperly attached with contemporary glues.
1986
AL#5 p.38 BRB1 p.186 read this article
Alexander-I. Eppler
▪ Eppler describes the most sophisticated member of the hammered dulcimer family, but offers no construction information.
1986
AL#5 p.36 BRB1 p.184 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman compares different makes of strings for the bass viol.
1986
AL#5 p.34 BRB1 p.182 read this article
Robert Cooper
▪ Cooper describes his method of making ribs for a “half round” lute, in which all the ribs are the same.
1986
AL#5 p.33
George Manno
▪ Manno makes a plea for fairness when buying vintage instruments from unsuspecting owners.
1986
AL#5 p.32 BRB1 p.180 read this article
Ernest Nussbaum
▪ Nussbaum describes his “travel cello,” a takedown frame-body/neck which uses a transducer to produce full sound.
1986
AL#5 p.31
Gary Frisbie
▪ Frisbie states his philosophy of how a luthier should evolve his designs.
1986
AL#5 p.27 BRB1 p.176
Ervin Somogyi
▪ Somogyi uses personal experience to compare Sitka and European spruces.
1986
AL#5 p.26 BRB1 p.172
Ervin Somogyi
▪ Somogyi describes his adventure of buying guitar tops in Germany, and the extent to which bowed instruments dominate the German market.
1986
AL#5 p.22 BRB1 p.168
Ken Donnell
▪ Donnell gives a thorough description of his methods of bridge removal and regluing. Both classical and steel string guitars are covered.
1986
AL#5 p.14 BRB1 p.154 read this article
Bobby Wolfe
▪ Wolfe explains some history of the Dobro-style resonator guitar and mentions John Dopera, then details its construction and lists some commonly seen repairs and how to deal with them. The article is completed by 8 good photos.
1986
AL#5 p.10 BRB1 p.150
Ted Davis William DelPilar
▪ Davis offers his conversation with a professional luthier who made over 800 classical guitars between 1956 and 1986.
1986
AL#5 p.7
Peter Estes
▪ Estes mentions the negative feedback he received about his GAL contribution, Data Sheet #290, in which he recommended a specific method of fitting backs to guitars.
1986
AL#5 p.7
Michael Knutson
▪ Knutson makes a correction to his earlier letter about wire strength and string tension printed in AL#4 (which was a response to an article in AL#2).
1986
AL#5 p.7
Jim Williams
▪ Williams endorses scientific guitar design and refers to the work of Australian guitar maker Greg Smallman. Also brings up the names of Kasha and Brune.
1986
AL#5 p.6
James Flynn
▪ Flynn sends a picture of six Guild members at the Balalaika and Domra Association of America.
1986
AL#5 p.3
Bob Benedetto
▪ Benedetto suggests that lutherie schools be taken seriously.
1985
AL#4 p.53 BRB1 p.492 read this article
R.E. Brune
▪ The reviewer finds that this book about Renaissance and Baroque stringed instruments is “the most intense 178 pages of treatise on the art of lutherie. . . . Lots of math, and “exquisite” drawings of 33 instruments.
1985
AL#4 p.52 BRB1 p.494 read this article
Kirk-A. Janowiak
▪ The reviewer finds that this book is a necessary addition to any luthier’s library, but especially to one who may not yet be equipped with power tools.
1985
AL#4 p.52 BRB1 p.492 read this article
Frederick Battershell
▪ The reviewer examines what has become one of the main-stay catalogs of lutherie and finds that it’s not only chock full of wood, supplies, and tools, it’s a nearly encyclopedic source of lutherie information.
1985
AL#4 p.51
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Wyszkowski, a member of the GAL Board of Directors, gives a pep talk about the advantages and philosophy of GAL membership.
1985
AL#4 p.50
Bill Hultgren
▪ Hultgren offers quick advice about obtaining instrument kits and why one should use them, and mentions two sources of used instruments.
1985
AL#4 p.48 BRB1 p.148 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman champions the use of common materials and low sophistication in the production of serviceable, affordable bass fiddles. Mentions Kay basses and the Richard Ennis design in AL#3.
1985
AL#4 p.46 BRB1 p.146
Peg Willis
▪ Willis explains the construction of her unique hollow dulcimer fretboard, which has coved sides that blend into the soundboard.
1985
AL#4 p.43 BRB1 p.136
William Conrad
▪ Conrad explains how he converted his Dremel moto-lathe into a miniature table saw.
1985
AL#4 p.42
R.E. Brune
▪ Brune, a defender of traditional values, defends his criticism of the Kasha innovations, along the way mentioning Schneider, Hampton, and Segovia.
1985
AL#4 p.42
Gila Eban
▪ Eban takes on Paul Wyzskowski as she champions the design innovations of Michael Kasha. She has incorporated many of Kasha’s changes into her own classical guitars. Her rebuttal mentions Richard Schneider, Jamey Hampton, and Graham Caldersmith.
1985
AL#4 p.39 BRB1 p.145 ALA5 p.6
William Tapia
▪ Tapia describes the method used to make guitar nuts in the Ramirez shop.
1985
AL#4 p.36 BRB1 p.140 ALA5 p.2
William Tapia
▪ Tapia relates the history of Ramirez guitars and tells of his time there learning to properly repair them.
1985
AL#4 p.31 BRB1 p.132 read this article
John Jordan
▪ Jordan describes 14 varieties of rosewood, and 14 varieties of false rosewood. Some max out as large shrubs, and only offer interest to wood collectors. Others are of high interest to luthiers, or should be.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#4 p.28 BRB1 p.131
Nasser Shirazi
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
1985
AL#4 p.27 BRB1 p.126 read this article
Nasser Shirazi
▪ Shirazi offers a history of the Persian bowed instrument as well as plans and construction advice. The kamanche is a four-stringed neck attached to a gourd. The plans are a reduced version of our full-scale Plan #9.
1985
AL#4 p.22 BRB1 p.116 read this article
Robert Cooper
▪ Cooper’s lecture tracks his own development as a lute maker and the instrument’s return to historically accurate models. Mentions Hermann Hauser II, a number of performers, which designs and glues are preferable, how to remove a neck when necessary, and briefly discusses strings.
1985
AL#4 p.20 BRB1 p.114
David Macias
▪ Macias relates an interesting anecdote about the first maple classical guitar he built, then translates a Pujol description of the Tarrega guitar made by Torres.
1985
AL#4 p.16 BRB1 p.108 read this article
Ted Davis
▪ In this lecture Davis describes his method of making instrument plans from a guitar, then fields questions and takes suggestions.
1985
AL#4 p.11 BRB1 p.99
William Cumpiano Manuel Velazquez
▪ Velazquez fields a number of questions about the specifics of building the nylon-strung guitar, including types of glue, choice of wood, construction design, and finishing.
1985
AL#4 p.10 BRB1 p.98
Manuel Velazquez
▪ Velazquez speaks briefly about the qualities that make a good luthier.
1985
AL#4 p.8 BRB1 p.96
William Cumpiano
▪ Cumpiano shares a pleasant visit with Velazquez in Puerto Rico where the conversation is all about classical guitars, wood, compensation factors, and balancing the tone of the instrument.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#4 p.7
Peg Willis
▪ Willis makes interesting comments about the musicians’ responsibility to an instrument’s compensation factor. She contends that a musician’s technique can help an instrument play in tune.
1985
AL#4 p.3
Michael Knutson
▪ Knutson suggests changes to a string tension formula previously published in AL#2.
1985
AL#4 p.3 BRB1 p.147
Patrick-W. Coffey
▪ Coffey describes how to make a small electric glue pot for under $13.
1985
AL#3 p.50 BRB1 p.490 read this article
Fred Carlson
▪ The reviewer finds the newsletter “thin”, but is enthusiastic about its future.
1985
AL#3 p.49 BRB1 p.490 read this article
Edward Kottick
▪ The reviewer finds the journal interesting, yet is nevertheless critical of its informational accuracy.
1985
AL#3 p.48 BRB1 p.491 read this article
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ The reviewer finds the book to be a complete text on the basics of acoustics that is relatively free of math and technical jargon.
1985
AL#3 p.48 BRB1 p.489 read this article
Frederick Battershell
▪ The reviewer finds the book to be poorly organized and under-illustrated, making it a poor text for the beginning violinmaker.
1985
AL#3 p.47
Tim Earls
▪ Earls describes his ordeal of completing a guitar painted by an auto body shop.He finds that even the best auto painter may not understand the intricacies of the guitar.
1985
AL#3 p.46
Bill Hultgren
▪ A question/answer format offers sources for micarta, pearloid inlay materials, and small files.
1985
AL#3 p.45
Larry Robinson
▪ Robinson cut an elaborate inlay pattern to the wrong scale, but made it work.
1985
AL#3 p.42 BRB1 p.92 read this article
Richard Ennis
▪ Rough sketches help describe a fast and cheap substitute for a bass viol. It has no scroll or waist, and a flat top and back.
1985
AL#3 p.41
Chris Pile Tim Earls
▪ Pile contends that Schaller and Badass hardware comes with inferior screws, and that the good screws that come with cheaper machine heads should be swapped for them. Mr. Earls offers a method of cleaning bolt threads after cutting the bolt.
1985
AL#3 p.38 BRB1 p.90
Ed Mettee
▪ Photos and sketches fill out a description of a knockdown solidbody guitar that fits into a briefcase.
1985
AL#3 p.37
Chris Pile
▪ Pile offers tips on using superglue.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#3 p.26
Dick Boak
▪ Coverage of the 1985 regional GAL meeting is presented with 29 photos.
1985
AL#3 p.24 BRB1 p.88 read this article
Thomas Snyder
▪ Measured drawings are presented for building a jig to facilitate rehairing bows. A detailed method for using the jig is also presented.
1985
AL#3 p.22 read this article
Lawrence-D. Brown
▪ Brown comments on trends in lute making toward Baroque instruments, all-gut stringing, larger body sizes, and lower pitches.
1985
AL#3 p.19
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Sixty books and articles dealing with guitar acoustics are rated for legitimacy, clarity, and usefulness.
1985
AL#3 p.17
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Wyszkowski submits that the generations of luthiers have intuitively followed the scientific method.
1985
AL#3 p.16 BRB1 p.83 read this article
Michael Dresdner
▪ Dresdner relates a story from his early days which illustrates the fact that only the ill informed believe in trade secrets.
1985
AL#3 p.15
Larry Robinson
▪ Robinson suggests methods of getting your name and work into newspapers and periodicals.
1985
AL#3 p.11 BRB1 p.84
C.F. Martin-III
▪ The former head of the Martin Guitar Company reminisces about his life as a guitar maker, offers a short history of the company and certain guitar models, and in the process mentions C. F. Martin Jr., Frank Henry Martin, and Mike Longworth.
1985
AL#3 p.8 BRB1 p.80
C.F. Martin-IV
▪ Martin, currently head of the Martin Guitar Company, offers some personal history and business advice to luthiers.
1985
AL#3 p.5
Jamey Hampton
▪ Hampton counters R. E. Brune’s criticism of Michael Kasha in AL#1, and draws upon Jose Ramirez III to help defend the scientific philosophy of guitarmaking.
1985
AL#3 p.2
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Wyszkowski rebuts R. E. Brune’s criticism of the work of Dr. Kasha in AL#1 and mentions the work of Richard Schneider, then goes on to counter a criticism of the GAL.
1985
AL#3 p.2 BRB1 p.79 read this article
Bob Benedetto
▪ Benedetto offers advice on making a living as a luthier.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#2 p.54 BRB1 p.77
Brian Mascarin
▪ They are: an archtop guitar brace jack, a modified 1/4″ phone plug to position an output jack, and a clear plastic square for scribing fret positions on a fretless bass.
1985
AL#2 p.53 BRB1 p.488 read this article
C.F. Casey
▪ The reviewer calls this the best of the popular (as opposed to scholarly) histories of the guitar.
1985
AL#2 p.52 BRB1 p.488 read this article
Edward Kottick
▪ The reviewer calls the book a brilliant overview and analysis of all that can be said about the complex issue of temperament on string instruments between 1520 and 1740.
1985
AL#2 p.51 BRB1 p.487
Frederick Battershell
▪ The reviewer praises the concise approach of the book as it describes one builder’s construction of a violin.
1985
AL#2 p.51 BRB1 p.487 read this article
John Bromka Ron Lira
▪ Positive reviews praise the text, photos, and ad reproductions in this book about the Larson brothers, who made instruments from the 1880s to 1944.
1985
AL#2 p.50
Alan Carruth
▪ Philosophical musings. Is lutherie an art or a science?
1985
AL#2 p.49
C.F. Casey
▪ Casey prefers laminate trimmers to Dremels.
1985
AL#2 p.49 BRB1 p.72
Ted Kellison
▪ Kellison presents a safe method for preheating lacquer before spraying, and recommends an anti-static gun.
1985
AL#2 p.48
Mark Goulet
▪ A thickness sander drum is produced from scrap lumber without the use of a lathe.
1985
AL#2 p.46 read this article
Topher Gayle
▪ A jig for holding a natural-skin head at tension while it is being glued to a drum.
1985
AL#2 p.45 BRB1 p.135 read this article
Don Musser
▪ Musser describes two Amazon woods with properties similar to Dalbergia nigra.
1985
AL#2 p.44
Richard Ennis
▪ Ennis kerfs wide boards on the table saw, then rips them to twice the desired width. He then rips each of these at an angle with a bandsaw to produce (after they are sliced lengthwise) two lining strips.
1985
AL#2 p.42 BRB1 p.78
Graham McDonald
▪ McDonald gives formulae and graphs to determine appropriate steel string gauges for nonstandard scale lengths.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#2 p.41 BRB1 p.46 read this article
Ted Davis
▪ Davis tells of his long, difficult, and ultimately successful quest to obtain logs of red spruce (Picea rubens).
1985
AL#2 p.40
Jim Williams
▪ Brief overview of the 1985 meeting of the Association of Australian Musical Instrument Makers. Attendees included Graham Caldersmith, Alistair McAllister, Greg Smallman, Mark Lewis, and Gerard Gilet.
1985
AL#2 p.38
David Macias
▪ Brief overview of the 1985 event. 5 photos.
1985
AL#2 p.35
Mark Humpal
▪ The 1985 annual exhibition of instruments from the area around Portland, Oregon. Some of the people involved are Paul Schuback, Jeffrey R. Elliott, Robert Steinegger, William McCaw, Ken Butler, and Robert Lundberg.
1985
AL#2 p.32
Michael Dresdner
▪ A brief life history of Mario Maccaferri, including his career as a musician, his work with the Selmer Company and the Django Reinhardt guitars, his plastics manufacturing, his association with John Monteleone, and his projects as he nears retirement.
1985
AL#2 p.25
H.E. Huttig
▪ Humorous fiction. A guitar of continental proportions is constructed with disastrous results.
1985
AL#2 p.25 BRB1 p.74
William Cumpiano
▪ Cumpiano discusses wood color and figure on the cellular level.
1985
AL#2 p.20 BRB1 p.68
Graham Caldersmith
▪ Caldersmith discusses the efficiency and pattern of sound radiation in the classic guitar produced by the four lower resonance modes, which he calls monopole, cross dipole, long dipole, and tripole. Mentions Tom Rossing, Gila Eban, Paul Wyzskowski, Fred Dickens, Michael Kasha, Richard Schneider, and Greg Smallman.
1985
AL#2 p.13 BRB1 p.56 read this article
Tim Olsen
▪ An update of the 1980 Lutherie Business panel discussion, featuring George Gruhn, Max Krimmel, Steve Klein, Robert Lundberg, and R.E. Brune.
1985
AL#2 p.8 BRB1 p.58 read this article
Ted Davis Steve Grimes Bob Meltz Matt Umanov
▪ This panel discussion from the 1984 GAL Convention features Bob Meltz, Matt Umanov, David Sheppard, Ted Davis, and Steve Grimes. Straight talk on the realities of being a one-man lutherie shop.
1985
AL#2 p.7 BRB1 p.47
Ron Lira
▪ Lira recommends specific routers and bits.
1985
AL#2 p.3 read this article
Tony Pizzo
▪ Where to get gourds and gourd seeds for building ethnic instruments.
1985
AL#1 p.54 BRB1 p.486 read this article
Peter Estes
▪ The reviewer praises the book in general, and especially the quality of the diagrams.
1985
AL#1 p.54 BRB1 p.486
William McCaw
▪ The reviewer praises the book as the most logical of the construction methods he has read, but takes issue with some specific techniques.
1985
AL#1 p.53
William McCaw
▪ McCaw ruined a classic peghead when the cheap collar of his router gave way.
1985
AL#1 p.53
Carl McFarland
▪ McFarland drilled up through the face of a finished tamburah when drilling holes for string anchors in the tail area of the sides.
1985
AL#1 p.52
Ervin Somogyi
▪ Somogyi comments briefly on the relative merits of oil stones and water stones.
1985
AL#1 p.51 BRB1 p.29
Joel-Ivan Hawley
▪ Hawley describes a method of sawing part way into a 4×4, then clamping it to the bandsaw table and using it as a table for sawing the outline of a guitar or banjo peghead.
1985
AL#1 p.50 BRB1 p.73
John Jordan
▪ Jordan describes two incandescent lights designed for use inside guitars. One uses a 7½-watt bulb on a standard power cord. The other uses tiny low-voltage bulbs and a step-down transformer.
1985
AL#1 p.49 BRB1 p.17
C.F. Casey
▪ Casey briefly describes the construction and use of a long-handled knife designed to be used with two hands.
1985
AL#1 p.46 BRB1 p.26
Michael Jacobson-Hardy
▪ Jacobson-Hardy describes devices based on pneumatic cylinders for bending sides, clamping braces to plates, clamping plates to sides, and holding neck blanks in a lathe.
1985
AL#1 p.45 BRB1 p.45
Elliott Burch
▪ Burch describes modifying an automotive part-retrieving claw into a device for positioning small crack-reinforcing studs.
1985
AL#1 p.44 BRB1 p.44
Gregory Jackson
▪ Jackson comments on the basic principle upon which electronic moisture meters work, use of the meters, and why you should not try to cobble together your own.
1985
AL#1 p.43
Bill Hultgren
▪ Hultgren offers advice to those conducting telephone searches for parts or materials.
1985
AL#1 p.42 BRB1 p.13
Ted Davis
▪ Davis presents a drawing of a jig for properly forming the sides and lining of a guitar to accept a domed back. The sides are held in a mold while a sanding stick, held by a central post, is passed over them.
1985
AL#1 p.40 BRB1 p.42
Merv Rowley
▪ Rowley describes a method of setting nails into half-round slots in a dulcimer fretboard. The slots are made by passing the fretboard over a veining bit in a router table with a miter fence.
1985
AL#1 p.38 read this article
R.E. Brune
▪ Brune criticizes the theoretical design work of Dr. Michael Kasha, concluding that it is in fact less scientific than the empirical work of luthiers untrained in physics.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#1 p.36 BRB1 p.18
Mark Stanley
▪ Stanley proposes a lutherie workbench of an unusual stepped-width design and gives thoughts on the materials and carpentry involved in constructing it.
1985
AL#1 p.32 BRB1 p.14 read this article
William Cumpiano Bruce Hoadley
▪ In this interview with well-known author and wood expert Bruce Hoadley, Cumpiano seeks to clear up certain questions about Brazilian rosewood relating to identification and confusion with other Dalbergias and so-called rosewoods.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#1 p.31
Bob Gleason
▪ Gleason admonishes luthiers to respect the ukulele as a legitimate instrument with its own challenges and rewards. Martin and Kamaka ukes are mentioned.
1985
AL#1 p.27 BRB1 p.38 ALA4 p.7
Ted Davis
▪ The article contains 4 photos, a short text, and a reduced image of our full-scale instrument Plan #8. Both pages of the very thorough drawing are presented. A chance to get an accurate preview of the plan before you buy. This is a very small flattop guitar, less than 13″ at the lower bout.
1985
AL#1 p.21 BRB1 p.30 read this article
Keith Hill
▪ Hill theorizes that the violinmakers of the classical period tuned tap tones of certain areas of their instruments to desired pitch relationships. He finds these to be consistent within the work the individual makers, and suggests that the natural resonances of the human body may be a model for this idea. Specific techniques and tools are described.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#1 p.16 BRB1 p.8 read this article
W.D. Allen
▪ Allen attempts to introduce the nonphysicist to useful concepts of resonance including standing waves, captured air mass, and soundhole size. Illustrated with the author’s own sometimes-whimsical drawings, the article aims at preparing luthiers to understand heavier fare on the physics of musical instruments.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#1 p.10 BRB1 p.2 read this article
David Nichols
▪ Nichols does a lot of custom inlay work, including ultra-fancy work on new instruments for the Martin Company. He describes his entire process here, illustrated with 15 photos. He also reveals his tool choices and sources of supply.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#1 p.5
Jose Llorens
▪ Llorens describes methods of fixing mechanical flaws in Schaller classic machines.
1985
AL#1 p.5
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Wyszkowski defends assertions he made in a previous article (Vol. 12, #4, GAL Quarterly) concerning sound radiation of the (1,0) mode in the classic guitar. His assertion is based on the work of William Strong and Graham Caldersmith. Criticism was made by Gila Eban.
1985
AL#1 p.3
Michael Dresdner
▪ Dresdner discusses the availability of files suitable for nut slotting, and supplies an address for the Grobet Company.
1984
BRB2 p.478
C.F. Casey
▪
1984
GALQ Vol.12#4 p.37
Alan Carruth
▪
1984
GALQ Vol.12#4 p.36
James Flynn
▪
1984
GALQ Vol.12#4 p.30
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Of the thousands of varieties of stringed instruments made on this planet, the bdoingbink is one of the least known.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#4 p.28 LW p.41 read this article
Ted Davis
▪ Hard North American wood also called bois d’arc.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#4 p.24
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ A stab at comprehensively pulling together the information on acoustic vibrations of guitars for use by the practical luthier.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#4 p.10 read this article
Tom Morgan
▪ From his 1984 GAL convention lecture.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#3 p.9 BRB2 p.456
Duane Waterman
▪ Waterman on his impressions and experiences with Bob Mattingly.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#3 p.8 BRB2 p.456
William Tapia Bob Mattingly
▪ Mattingly is one of the best classical guitar makers in the U.S., yet what is it that keeps him and other fine luthiers from reaching international acclaim?
1984
GALQ Vol.12#3 p.20
Ervin Somogyi
▪ Somogyi promotes steel string guitars through the medium of bluegrass festivals.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.31
William Tapia
▪ It’s always been the same; the great luthiers of the world have a growing list of customers waiting for their instruments to be finished, while the rest have a hard time making ends meet.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.30
Jim Williams
▪ The aims of the Australian Association of Musical Instrument Makers, formed in 1982.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.28 BRB1p.410
Fred Carlson
▪ Beards may interfere with the filtering out of toxic stuff in the air by use of a standard respirator.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.25
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Some inklings garnered over the years of reading, listening, thinking, and building, to make a good guitar.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.24
John Meng
▪ Meng quests the solution to a great eternal mystery: the search for the ‘Cremona sound’.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.22
John-E. Philpott
▪ Thomas Blackshear builds world class instruments, but this time it was something special.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.20
J.R. Beall
▪ Beall comments on the results of a listening test conducted on five classic guitars by Richard Schneider at the 1978 GAL convention.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.10 BRB1p.386 read this article
Edward Kottick
▪ Nearly every person alive in the western world has grown up with music that sounds the same in every key, but there was once a time when music had no keys, and later a time when each key had its own particular sound. We are perfectly comfortable with how our music sounds, but are we richer for it? More importantly, people once had different concepts of music, and perhaps different expectations. They thought differently. And if they thought differently about music perhaps they thought differently about everything. How can we understand their times if we can’t understand the way they thought? Kottick doesn’t delve into this, but you might be tempted to after reading this article.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#1 p.37
Tim Earls
▪
1984
GALQ Vol.12#1 p.32
John Jordan
▪
1984
GALQ Vol.12#1 p.30
J.R. Beall
▪
1984
GALQ Vol.12#1 p.20 BRB2 p.124
Tom Rossing
▪ The way in which the guitar body responds to the driving forces of a vibrating string is a very complex subject.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#1 p.10 LW p.31 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison Perry Thomas
▪ In 1984 we were already in trouble. What are the odds that things have gotten better?
1984
DS#301
Tim Olsen
▪ To have holiday fun, you gotta have a luthier’s snowflake. To make a luthier’s snowflake, you need the following stuff.
1984
DS#300 LT p.101
Duane Waterman
▪ Simple table saw uses a 3″ blade mounted directly on the shaft of a small motor.
1984
DS#299 LT p.44
Duane Waterman
▪ The go-bar box illustrated in this data sheet is primarily used in clamping braces and plates to a guitar soundboard, is very effective, easy to use, and has many more advantages over a workboard and clamps.
1984
DS#298 BRB2 p.444
Elliott Burch
▪ Most banjo rims (or pots) are laminated from one long strip of steam-bent wood. An even stronger rim can be made of blocks laid up like a brick wall. Here’s how to make one. With 7 illustrations.
1984
DS#297
Jim Williams
▪ The advent of the piezoelectric transducer has provided a relatively simple method of amplifying the sound of an acoustic nylon or steel string guitar.
1984
DS#296 LW p.29 read this article
Gregory Jackson
▪ The lowdown on chemically bound water and free water in wood.
1984
DS#295 LT p.40
J.R. Weene
▪ Wooden C-clamp for special uses.
1984
DS#294 BRB2 p.340
Ted Davis
▪ Various theories and attempts to involve more of the top of classical guitar in sound production, including the methods of Robert Bouchet.
1984
DS#293 LW p.114
Dave Gentry
▪ Fender’s unorthodox method of installing a truss rod makes the replacement of the rod a strange undertaking. Gentry’s technique is clever, and far less invasive than removing the entire fingerboard. With 2 drawings.
1984
DS#292 LT p.36
Alan Carruth
▪ Diagram gives dimensions to make a lute peg reamer.
1984
DS#291 LT p.16
Alan Carruth
▪ General process of identifying and heat treating steel for use in edge tools.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1984
DS#290
Unknown
▪
1984
DS#289 BRB2 p.456
Duane Waterman William Tapia
▪ Mattingly was one of the most respected classical builders in America before his death. This article examines some of the unusual construction techniques he used.
1984
DS#288 LW p.111 read this article
Michael Dresdner
▪ Dresdner steals yet another tool from another discipline, this time for polishing frets after they’ve been shaped with a file.
1984
DS#288 LW p.98
Tim Earls
▪ Here’s a simple trick to keep slack strings out of the way while you work on the saddle. Especially helpful on 12-strings.
1984
DS#288 LW p.92
Anonymous
▪ Plastic is often recycled in the factory, and various colors may be added to a basic mix. Plastic for instrument adornment is never supposed to be made this way, but it can happen. Your supplier should make good on it.
1984
DS#287 BRB1 p.25 read this article
John Meng
▪ Meng suggests bending violin ribs using a backer of sheet aluminum to prevent shattering the wood, then goes on to suggest that tensions in the wood are often inadvertently built into instruments. Given time, the wood relaxes into its new shape, and the tone of the instrument improves at the same rate.
1984
DS#286 LT p.47
Elliott Burch
▪ Simple steamer rejuvenates gelled glue after it’s been applied and the clamps are in place.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1984
DS#285 LW p.120
Michael Dresdner
▪ Steam out the neck with a cappuccino machine. See also the previous 2 articles. This variation involves sawing off the fretboard at the body joint.
1984
DS#285 LW p.107
Michael Dresdner
▪ All right, so you got the neck off of your flattop and you’re about to reset it. How much wood do you have to remove from the heel to achieve the proper correction? It turns out that you can calculate that figure, and here’s how to do it. With 1 sketch.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1984
DS#285 LW p.106
Michael Dresdner
▪ In the “old days” you couldn’t buy a set of nut slotting files. They didn’t exist. The author used pattern makers files with parallel safety sides. He recommends learning about and adapting the tools from every trade that crosses your path.
1984
DS#285 LW p.97
Michael Dresdner
▪ Dresdner studs the crack, then compresses the edges of the top crack into a wedge shape into which a tapered spline is glued. This technique has become routine, but this is one of the first times it reached print. He also offers a recipe for touching up the new wood to a “vintage” color.
1984
DS#284
James Flynn
▪ Essential dimensions for all sizes of the Balalaika, a Russian folk instrument.
1984
DS#283 BRB1 p.20 read this article
Keith Hill
▪ Hill advocates tuning different portions of the plates to segments of the overtone system, using various tonic notes to suit the particular wood before you. No measuring tools are necessary during tuning since the actual thickness of the plate portions is of no consequence. He maintains that this is the tuning system used by the Italian masters.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1984
DS#282
Michael Dresdner
▪ Spot spraying, French polish clothes marking intricate inlays, cyanocrylate glue. From his 1982 convention lecture.
1984
DS#281
Fred Carlson
▪ Procedure for repairing a basic heel/neck crack with butterfly patches.
1984
DS#280 LW p.86 read this article
Michael Dresdner
▪ There are several ways to lay out an inlay pattern before routing, but this one might be the most accurate.
1984
DS#279 LW p.64 ALA6 p.4
Ted Davis
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
1984
DS#279 LW p.62 ALA6 p.2
Ted Davis
▪ This rare Martin required the creation of a new harp neck as well as the repair of many top and side cracks. The plans included are also available as GAL full-scale blueprint #7. Includes 5 photos.
1984
DS#278 BRB2 p.367
Duane Waterman
▪ This is a trick method of laminating wood purfling strips and bending them to shape at the same time. With 5 photos.
1984
DS#277 LW p.121 read this article
Jim Williams
▪ Make your own Rickenbacker-style double rod. With 3 illustrations.
1984
DS#276 BRB1 p.262 read this article
Graham Caldersmith
▪ The Sacconi technique of sealing fiddles with silicates has not been widely accepted. Nevertheless, the author explains how he has successfully used silicates to seal and harden violin wood before varnishing, as well as the use of vernice bianca (basically whipped egg whites) to act as an interface between the silicate and the varnish.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1984
DS#275 BRB2 p.418
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ This is a physics of sound primer for the hammered dulcimer.
1984
DS#274 LT p.67
George Gawlik
▪ Jointing the center seam of instrument plates with a router.
1984
DS#273 BRB1 p.254 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman created a shipping crate for the bass viol that will take abuse without damaging the bass, which is suspended in the crate without touching any of the walls. With 5 good drawings of crate details. It’s not lutherie, but it might save your instrument.
1984
DS#272 LT p.50
Duane Waterman
▪ Uses pipe clamp screws.
1984
DS#271 BRB2 p.400
Graham Caldersmith
▪ The “Young’s Modulus” of any piece of wood can be calculated, giving a result measurable in frequency. Comparing the Young’s Modulus of a wood species with unknown qualities with a chart of other species of known characteristics can tell you what to expect before any instrument work is commenced. Here’s how to calculate the Young’s Modulus of any piece of wood you have on hand. With 1 drawing and a sample wood chart.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1984
DS#270
Paul Wyszkowski
▪
1984
DS#269 BRB1 p.264
Neil Hebert
▪ This guitarmaker has adopted finishing techniques that are often reserved for violins, and claims that in eye and tactile appeal it is superior to lacquer. Particularly important is how he deals with rosewood’s tendency to bleed color, a problem that fiddle finishers don’t have to face.
1984
DS#268 LW p.42 read this article
Roger Sperline
▪ This is one of the first descriptions of this fine wood as a tonewood.
1984
DS#267 BRB2 p.356
Peter Psarianos
▪ There are two main styles of commercially available bass bridge adjusters. Here’s how to fit them to a bridge. With 6 drawings and a handy spec chart of the two adjusters.
1984
DS#266 LW p.94
William Cumpiano
▪ Yet another way to make your own kerfed lining, with 4 diagrams of the procedure. More sophisticated than the previous two articles, but not necessarily a better way to go about it.
1984
DS#265
Terry Herald
▪ Installing PZT crystals (materials that generate a small electric current when subjected to pressure) in a guitar bridge and elsewhere.
1983
DS#264 LW p.61 ALA4 p.2
Ted Davis
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
1983
DS#264 LW p.60
Ted Davis
▪ New top, fingerboard, and headstock veneer. GAL plan #6.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#4 p.37
Chris Pile
▪
1983
GALQ Vol.11#4 p.30 LW p.127 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ Amateurs, by definition, love what they do. Professionals may start out that way and then find out that it’s not so hunky-dory. Amateurs are free to discover, but professionals are locked into the expectations of their clientele. Are we building instruments or are we building a life? Just something to think about.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#4 p.26
Larry Robinson
▪
1983
GALQ Vol.11#4 p.20 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Gary Karr’s great achievement: performing a solo classical concert on the double bass.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#4 p.12 BRB2 p.124
Tom Rossing
▪ A simple explanation of how the guitar ‘works’.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.30 BRB2 p.176
Don Alfieri
▪ The goal and duties of the instrument restorationist are not always clear cut since the philosophy of restoration is not universally agreed upon. The author makes a good case for a conservative approach to the subject and the work.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.27
Jeff Feltman
▪ Three major lectures, a Sunday discussion of business, and a public exhibition on Saturday were highlights of the two day conference.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.25
Ted Davis
▪ Hard North American wood also called bois d’arc.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.22
John Judge
▪ A response to the directions column by Duane Waterman in Vol. 11 #2, concerning the future of lutherie as a profession.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.18 LW p.68
Gerald-W. Aquino
▪ Just like it says. With 4 photos and a drawing.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.10 BRB2 p.154
H.E. Huttig
▪ The author visited Hauser in Germany in 1966. This short biography and remembrance adds a bit of humanity to a man who is usually only thought of in terms of the guitars he left behind when he died. With 2 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.30
Duane Waterman
▪
1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.27
Jim Williams
▪
1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.24
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ The violin is a historical entity, an object of a very special and esoteric scholarship, an artifact with extremely subtle and critically variable properties.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.20
Ervin Somogyi
▪ On February 26 and 27, the Western Forestry Center presented its annual handmade musical instruments show.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.16
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Richard Schneider accepts Wyszkowski as his ‘outhouse apprentice’.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.15
Bob Gleason
▪ Lutherie: the hours are long and the dollars short.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.12 LW p.123
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ The author maintains that if we knew that each piece of work was going to turn out perfectly there would be no reason to continue building. Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how narrowly our lives are focused. We should always be a beginner at something.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.8 BRB2 p.142
Charles Prouty
▪ A short visit with a man who makes superb banjos; Mr. Robert p.Rock.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.20
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ Humorous fiction.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.18
John Jordan
▪
1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.16
R.L. Robinson
▪ This piece of motivational philosophy is reprinted from the Folk Harp Journal, March 8 1975.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.12 BRB2 p.109
David Fisher H.E. Huttig
▪ H.E. Huttig, wood merchant, writer, world traveler, experimenter, practical musicologist, lover of life, guitar maker.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.8 BRB1p.372 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ Robison offers a convincing, multi-pronged philosophical stance for using natural dyestuffs that should lodge firmly among the luthiers that build ancient instruments or see them on their repair bench. Or anyone else who admires subtlety more than bright pizzazz.
1983
DS#263 LT p.48
Joyce Westphal
▪ Cuts 2-liter anesthesia bags into big rubber bands.
1983
DS#263 LT p.90
Ken Ellis
▪ correction to data sheet #240, section 2.
1983
DS#263 read this article
S.L. Mossman
▪ Mossman guitar truss rod adjustment.
1983
DS#262 BRB1 p.37 read this article
Ron Lira
▪ How to deal with lacquer in less than one page. Heavy on Sherwin-Williams products and short on details, it is nevertheless interesting for his use of heated lacquer.
1983
DS#261 LT p.49
J.C. Nelson
▪ Saw two layers at an angle and the pieces fit together with no gaps.
1983
DS#260
Ken Ellis
▪ Why is the event tempered scale necessary? Why is a scale based on pure intervals faulty, thus requiring the artificial construction of a scale based on equal rather than pure intervals?
1983
DS#259 BRB1 p.122
Ervin Somogyi
▪ Somogyi wrote this scary little article in 1983, but if you think that the chemicals luthiers encounter have gotten friendlier you better think again. The compounds that have been making people sick for decades are still out there, and regulation doesn’t seem to have made much of an impact. You’ll have to be your own safety cop, and this article is a good place to begin.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1983
DS#258 LT p.102
Ron Lira
▪ Swinging a fretboard over the table saw blade cuts the radius.
1983
DS#257 BRB2 p.450
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ The rude construction of many basses prevents them from being as subtle an instrument as a violin, but they have their own setup requirements that may not be obvious to the uninitiated. Lyman shares his years of experience with bass creation and repair to help us get the most from any bass, however crudely fashioned or maintained.
1983
DS#256 LT p.58
Robert Steinegger
▪ Wedges to drive pressed-on plastic tuner knobs off the shafts.
1983
DS#255 LT p.40
Phillip-W. Walker
▪ A kidney-shaped chunk of plywood rotated inside a guitar body until it jams a brace back into place.
1983
DS#255 LT p.11
Tom Mathis
▪ Heat small pieces of binding on a laundry iron.
1983
DS#255 LT p.5
Donald-L. Brown
▪ Simple tool for marking lines square to the centerline of a flattop instrument.
1983
DS#254 LT p.46
Wesley Wadsworth
▪ A baby bottle warmer makes a good heater for hide glue.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1983
DS#253 LT p.49
Phillip-W. Walker
▪ Simple devise makes it easy to glue an overlay on the tip of a bow.
1983
DS#252 LT p.3
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman was the GAL’s bass guru for years.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1983
DS#251 LT p.7
Tom Mathis
▪ Mike stand, a gooseneck, and a swivel lamp.
1983
DS#250 LT p.31
Donald-L. Brown
▪ Saw frame with one-inch throat for tight places.
1983
DS#250 LT p.29
Donald-L. Brown
▪ Made from a Blitz saw blade and used to clean out fret slots on a bound neck.
1983
DS#249
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ One way of finishing rosewood, for those who prefer a varnish finish to lacquer or don’t have lacquer spray facilities.
1983
DS#248 LT p.48
John-M. Colombini
▪ Brass block on a C-shaped handle is heated and placed inside the guitar against the bridge plate.
1983
DS#247 BRB2 p.394
Lawrence-D. Brown
▪ It is perhaps true that a good playing action must be built into the instrument, and that less adjustment can be done to a finished lute than to other instruments. Brown explains lute action adjustment from the perspectives of both the builder and the repairperson. With 9 illustrations.
1983
DS#246 BRB2 p.455
Bruce Day
▪ Tuning pins on antique zithers are different and larger than modern steel pins. Fortunately they are not hard to make. Here’s how, including 2 drawings.
1983
DS#245 LT p.86
Al Leis
▪ Customized bandsaw from a kit.
1983
DS#244
Duane Waterman
▪ The synthesis of the traditional (Martin) X-brace system and parts of the present radial bracing theory.
1983
DS#243 BRB1 p.214
Gila Eban
▪ Eban offers an eloquent argument for trying the Kasha system in your own shop, as well as many details of her own guitars. A page-sized blueprint is included. She maintains that there is a philosophy and an aesthetic behind the Kasha design that is self-revealing and pleasing to work with, and that the design will always be under-realized until a larger number of builders have come to understand and absorb it.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1983
DS#241 BRB2 p.361
C.F. Casey
▪ The laminated, hollow fretboard is one of the standard designs of the dulcimer industry. Casey’s is a bit nicer than most. With 6 drawings.
1983
DS#240 LT p.90
Carl McFarland
▪ Set up a bandsaw fence formed of two boards at a shallow angle and the apex at the blade. Run a board through the saw such that each end of the board touches it’s half of the fence at all times. You get a nice smooth curve. McFarland explains why it works.
1983
DS#239 LW p.102
Lester DeVoe
▪ The author likes transparent pickguards but doesn’t like commercial pickguard stock. Here’s how he makes his own.
1983
DS#238 BRB2 p.340
Ted Davis
▪ The author began building classical guitars before there was much written help out there, and he evolved his design specs by making a lot of guitars. Some of these have been absorbed into the general body of classical guitar literature, other remain unique. With 14 drawings and 2 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1983
DS#237
John Jordan
▪ The various types of potentiometers you are likely to encounter, and selecting the right one for the job.
1983
DS#236 BRB1 p.210 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ The dyestuffs are from bugs, flowers, and tree parts. Mordants are chemicals that set the colors and may shift the hue. Dyers’ hip talk is a lot of fun, and the bits of dye history Robison includes add sparkle to a colorful article. Working with these materials could add mountains of snob appeal to a guitar. Rather than describe a three-color ‘burst as yellow/red/brown it might be described as fustic/madder/walnut hull. Be the first on your block to give it a go.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1983
DS#235 BRB2 p.452
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ It’s well known that designing a guitar for longevity and designing a guitar for best performance may drag the designer in opposite directions. Guitar construction is a compromise (like life itself). The author takes a closer look at the situation. With 1 drawing.
1983
DS#234 BRB2 p.335
Edward Damm
▪ Some of these tricks need to be built into the instrument. The others are useful after it’s complete. With hammered dulcimers you need all the tuning help you can get. With 5 drawings.
1983
DS#233 BRB2 p.243
Alan Carruth
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
1983
DS#233 BRB2 p.242
Alan Carruth
▪ A drawing, a photo, and a one-page blueprint help explain the unique way Carruth constructs his hammered dulcimers.
1983
DS#232 LT p.54
Duane Waterman
▪ Side-bending form is made from the waste of the mold.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#4 p.28
Dennie Siler Doc Watson
▪ At age 13, with two years of banjo experience already under his belt, Doc began to learn the guitar.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#4 p.22
Bonnie Robiczek
▪ Robiczek’s husband Robert Meadow makes lutes, violins, and classical guitars; they also run a school teaching woodworking and instrument making.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#4 p.20
Michael Dresdner
▪ From his 1982 GAL convention lecture.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#4 p.17 read this article
H.E. Huttig
▪ It wasn’t easy being a lutherie wood dealer back when there were hardly any luthiers and they were mostly broke hippies.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#4 p.8 BRB1p.346 read this article
Graham Caldersmith
▪ Caldersmith loves the scientific aspects of instrument design, and offers this primer to help explain what’s going on in an excited classical or steel string guitar without going off the scientific deep end. The most interesting part is that in his update (17 years later) he has reversed is position on how to use this information. Information doesn’t change as much as how we use it, and we can’t use it if we don’t understand it. That, in a nutshell, is the acoustician’s tenant.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.40
William Eaton
▪ An early statement of philosophy by William Eaton, who went on to be the key man at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.36
Lawrence-D. Brown
▪ Brown dissolves the Lute and Guitar Shop and expands his instrument making business into a larger building.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.35 read this article
H.E. Huttig
▪ Huttig visits 3 fine craftsmen: Allen Chester, Robert S. Cooper, and George Wilson.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.33 LW p.37 read this article
Jan Callister
▪ Another example of what a small specialty lumber company has to go through.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.16 BRB2 p.158
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr. Victor Gardener
▪ Gardener was an independent sort from Oregon who built closely in the style of the violins of the classic period in Italy. Mentions Hans Weishaar. With 2 photos.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.8
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ Wyszowski spends 4 days in Richard Schneider’s studio, where he works with his 3 apprentices.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#2 p.22
Lawrence-D. Brown
▪ Brown is the owner of Lute and Guitar Shop in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#2 p.12 LW p.74
Steve Klein
▪ This is a history of Klein’s unusual steel string guitars, as well as a window into the mind of one of lutherie’s most creative thinkers. Includes 5 photos as well as a plan of the top of the guitar Klein built for Joe Walsh.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#2 p.8 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1982
GALQ Vol.10#1 p.26 read this article
H.E. Huttig
▪ Huttig’s introduction to the mystery of beauty of musical instruments.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#1 p.23
Paul Wyszkowski
▪ In all the languages of the world, the word guitar is of the feminine gender.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#1 p.18 LW p.34 read this article
Dennis Coon
▪ Tonewoods are required to be nearly perfect, but first perfect trees must be found, felled, and hauled.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#1 p.10
Tim Olsen
▪ The GAL was ten years old, and doing surprisingly well.
1982
DS#242 LT p.53
Bo Walker
▪ A deep plywood frame with a guitar-shaped hole in it. Uses no hardware other than a few screws.
1982
DS#231
Dick Boak
▪ The C.F. Martin guitar with its 149 year history has had plenty of time and experience to evolve a system of finishing that works.
1982
DS#230 BRB2 p.462
Rich Westerman
▪ Westerman was among the first to produce quantities of Irish bouzoukis, or citterns. Here he offers an explanation of his design, as well as a blueprint for the instrument. The plans are available as GAL Instrument Plan #3.
1982
DS#229 BRB1 p.265 read this article
Lawrence-D. Brown
▪ Historically, lute soundboards were left unfinished in order to produce the best sound. However, the raw wood collected dirt at a rate that is unacceptable to contemporary musicians. Brown has found a compromise using lacquer that doesn’t affect the sound production of the instrument.
1982
DS#228 LT p.66
J.V. Buehrer
▪ Uses an oversize template to index of the outsides of the router base.
1982
DS#227 LW p.88
Al Leis
▪ Bending sides can be an intimidating process. It was especially so before the advent of the Fox bender. The author found a new method of applying heat to the wood to coerce the bend. With 6 photos to prove it works.
1982
DS#226 BRB1 p.167 read this article
Louis DeGrazia
▪ Rosin varnishes preceded the varnishes developed by the Cremonese violin masters. Though they are often scorned by experienced luthiers, DeGrazia maintains that the ease with which they can be mixed and applied makes them a good starting point for the budding violin builder.
1982
DS#225 LT p.7
C.F. Casey
▪ Uses a night light bulb.
1982
DS#225 LT p.7
C.F. Casey
▪ This inspection light will even fit through a mandolin f-hole.
1982
DS#224 BRB2 p.349
Alan Carruth
▪ Unhappily, a new violin bridge is just an unusable flake of wood. You not only need to adjust it for proper action but tune it to help bring the most out of the instrument. Here’s how. With 5 drawings.
1982
DS#223 LW p.92
Michael Breid
▪ The author has had good luck heating and stretching shrunken binding back to its original configuration. Here’s how.
1982
DS#222 LT p.26
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ Traditional native American knife cuts on the pull stroke.
1982
DS#221 LT p.61
Don Alfieri
▪ Adds nylon bolts to the bottom corners of a Dremel base. The tool rides on the bolt heads, raising the router above the level of the bridge.
1982
DS#220 BRB1 p.178
Glenn Markel
▪ These are finishing tips picked up while Markel worked at Guild. The best of them involve heating the lacquer and building a stationary buffing wheel.