2017
AL#131 p.50
James Condino
▪ Pop goes the soundpost! Can this affordable old Kay bull fiddle be saved? Plywood-doghouse bass specialist James Condino shows us how.
2013
AL#113 p.71 read this article
Ken McKay Tim Olsen
▪ Remembering Frederick C. Lyman (1925-2011) WWII veteran, art painter, bass builder, and free jazz musician.
2012
AL#110 p.48
James Condino
▪ Restoring old plywood basses. From Condino’s 2011 GAL convention workshop.
2012
AL#109 p.34
James Condino
▪ Restoring old plywood basses. From Condino’s 2011 GAL convention workshop.
2011
AL#107 p.36
Geza Burghardt
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
2011
AL#107 p.22
Geza Burghardt
▪ Exhaustive pictorial building of a double bass. From 2004 and 2006 GAL convention workshops.
2011
AL#105 p.62
Kevin-B. Rielly
▪ Repairing an old upright bass and discovering graffiti inside.
2011
AL#106 p.16
Geza Burghardt
▪ Burghardt shares his experience of fulfilling his dream of constructing a double bass. From his 2004 and 2006 GAL convention workshop.
2009
AL#99 p.38
Veronica Merryfield David Minnieweather Harry Fleishman
▪ As a panel discussion at the 2008 GAL convention this must have been the one not to miss. As an article it is engaging and intriguing. Why do electric bass makers get to have all this freedom and the rest of us have to make copies of stuff that appeared before we were born? Bass players seem to always have had more open minds than other musicians, and these three authors have certainly pushed the envelope. With 47 photos.
2009
AL#97 p.68 read this article
Arnold Schnitzer
▪ Strips of wood on the ribs at the top and bottom edges of a double bass are called ‘external linings’ and can be found on many commercial basses from Germany and China.
2009
AL#98 p.34
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ There’s not a lot of detail to this piece, but there’s nice story telling and some philosophy to live by. Lyman has been involved in the bass world since before the GAL, and whatever he has to say about it is important (and usually fun). With 3 photos.
2007
AL#89 p.48
James Condino
▪ Musical instruments made of aluminum didn’t catch on. This doesn’t mean that a number of companies didn’t go into manufacture, or that the instruments weren’t good. Every luthier knows how fickle and finicky the market is, so it’s no wonder that metal stringed instruments weren’t welcomed by the playing public. Examined here are a violin, a mandolin, and a pair of bass viols. The bass viol stories are the most fun since the author has personal experience with them. Fun stuff! With 25 photos.
2007
AL#89 p.66 read this article
Guy Rabut Roman Barnas Tim Olsen
▪ Advice for carving a first bass scroll.
2005
AL#84 p.58 BRB7 p.534 read this article
James Condino
▪ The reviewer finds this book to be a treasure well worth the high cost to anyone serious about the standup bass.
2004
AL#80 p.22 BRB7 p.248
R.M. Mottola
▪ Savart built a simplified violin that apparently sounded very good. This was long ago. The author uses Savart’s general principles to build a much simplified upright bass that compares to the traditional design in sound. But the scale length is 34″, and it can use electric bass guitar strings if desired. An interesting concept and a cool looking instrument. With 14 photos. Included is a one-page version of GAL Plan #50 of Mottola’s bass.
2004
AL#80 p.27 BRB7 p.253
R.M. Mottola
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
2004
AL#80 p.60 BRB7 p.233
Randy DeBey James Condino
▪ Construction and repair issues for upright bass.
2003
AL#73 p.34 read this article
Juan-Carlos Morales John-L. Walker
▪ The struggle toward lutherie can be really difficult in countries where the people honor the old ways and mistrust anything new. The Pugos in this little story the fought indifference and fear of their Ecuadorian countrymen to become makers of violins and other instruments.
2002
AL#71 p.66 BRB6 p.540 read this article
David Riggs
▪ The reviewer turned his pages into a gathering of all the chief sources of useful bass making information, finding that in the end “there is a very deep well of information not in print.”
2001
AL#66 p.3 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Longtime GAL member Fred Lyman tells of the conversation that got Irving Sloane interested in making bass machines. Fred also gives a quick overview of his life in lutherie and wishes more lutherie info had been available to him in his youth.
1999
AL#58 p.61
Don Overstreet
▪ Info on upright bass repair in book or video form.
1996
AL#47 p.57 BRB4 p.150
Larry Pater
▪ The author used a Fishman guitar transducer pickup on a flattop bass with good results.
1993
AL#34 p.61 BRB3 p.499 read this article
David Wilson Peggy Warren
▪ Remembering Hammond Ashley, aged 91, advocate of fine music and fine musical instrument making.
1991
AL#28 p.59 read this article
David Riggs
▪ A luthier volunteers for the space program in this humorous piece.
1991
AL#27 p.4 BRB3 p.80
Chris Brandt R.E. Brune Jeffrey-R. Elliott Richard Schneider Ervin Somogyi David Wilson
▪ A look inside the shops of six professional luthiers, featuring floor plans, tooling descriptions, notes on lighting and specialized machinery, and ideas about how work space can help (or hurt) your lifestyle. With a good Q&A segment and 63 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#25 p.14 BRB2 p.430
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman continues his crusade for a low-cost, high performance bass viol. Part 1 was printed in the previous issue.
1990
AL#24 p.30 BRB2 p.430
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman builds a bass with a lauan body and a top of quartersawn 2x4s, and is quite pleased with the outcome. There are only 2 photos, but a lot of text. Lyman’s conventional basses are in the hands of many well-known musicians. He certainly knows the difference between good and bad instruments. Part 2 follows in the next issue.
1990
AL#24 p.32 BRB2 p.430
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ This plan gives a half-scale drawing of the bass, plus a full-scale body outline.
1989
AL#20 p.38 BRB2 p.338
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Marshall is a builder of bass fiddles.
1989
AL#18 p.46 BRB2 p.248
Jonathon Peterson Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman is an inveterate experimenter best known for his string basses, a regular American Lutherie contributor, and an interesting thinker.
1989
AL#17 p.50 BRB2 p.153
Michael Sacek
▪ Sacek prefers a scale length of 31″ for bass fiddles and bass guitars. The article contains no plans, but offers enough food for thought that builders should take his ideas into consideration. In the one photo his instruments look pretty interesting.
1988
AL#16 p.50 BRB2 p.197
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman examines D’Addario Nylon Core Upright Bass Strings as well as Savarez “Corelli” strings.
1988
AL#15 p.30 BRB2 p.82
Tim Olsen Hammond Ashley
▪ This is a “factory tour” of the Ham Ashley shop.They specialize in the larger members of the violin family.
1988
AL#15 p.66 read this article
Keith Davis
▪ A natural gas explosion blows up the instruments of an entire school orchestra. Davis comes to the rescue, but wonders what the long-term ramifications will be for the fiddles and bass viols.
1988
AL#14 p.50
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman forges ahead in his quest for a cheap but satisfying substitute for the traditional solid wood bass viol. This segment describes an experimental bass made of lauan plywood and 2×4 studs. The results leave him hopeful that he is on the right track.
1987
AL#10 p.60 BRB1 p.202 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman’s quest is to build an inexpensive but musically useful string bass. In this episode he tries to improve a Kay plywood bass. The results leave him ambivalent but hopeful.
1987
AL#9 p.49 BRB1 p.342
Dale Randall
▪ Randall finds an inventive way to fix a bass that’s been dropped on its top, but the repair leaves a 1/4″ hole through the top that must be plugged and disguised.
1986
AL#8 p.6
Richard Ennis
▪ Ennis defends the plywood bass (and plywood in general in its application to instruments) and goes on to mention a few particular problems with the instrument that need to be addressed.
1986
AL#7 p.43 BRB1 p.196 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman offers another philosophical look at lutherie and acoustical physics.
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#5 p.36 BRB1 p.184 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman compares different makes of strings for the bass viol.
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#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.
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#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.
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#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.
1982
DS#206 LT p.30
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Electric chainsaw, cheap block plane, and Japanese saw rasp.
1980
GALQ Vol.8#1 p.36 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ A new instrument which fills the gap between the bass and the cello and which can be used in the melodic register but with the tonal density of the bass, rather than cello.
1980
GALQ Vol.8#4 p.8 BRB2 p.52
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman has made basses for several contemporary bass luminaries and has decided that they need qualities in the bass that weren’t called for in the past. He offers specific ways to match a bass to the requirements of the player. With one photo of the author.
1979
DS#113 LT p.41
Frederick Battershell
▪ Humongous spool clamp.