2024
AL#152 p.46
Raymond Bryant
▪ Guitarist Bryant fell in love with an instrument that he tried at a local music store. When he learned to his surprise that it was individually handcrafted just a few miles from his home, he had to make the short pilgrimage. He takes us along to meet Mark Goodman, who has been working alone for decades in his simple and efficient home workshop.
2024
AL#151 p.6
Todd Cambio
▪ From his 2023 GAL Convention lecture. For decades, it was received wisdom that the inexpensive steel-string guitars, made in their millions before WWII in American factories using American woods, were crap. Todd Cambio has been taking another look, and finds a lot to like and even to emulate. Hear him out; its a ripping yarn. Mentions Gibson, Martin, Lyon and Healy, Harmony, Sears, Wilhelm Schultz, Oscar Schmidt, Stella, Galiano, poplar, tulip tree, oak, parlor guitar, ladder bracing, bajo sexto, R. Crumb, Lead Belly, John and Alan Lomax, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Blake, Lonnie Johnson, Carter family, Bristol sessions, Ernest Stoneman, Nick Lucas, Eddie Lang, Raphael Ciani, John D’Angelico, Lydia Mendoza, Guadalupe Acosta, Luis Acosta, Mike Acosta, Miguel Acosta, 12-string guitar, Michael Iuchi, mandolin, John Greven.
2024
AL#151 p.40
Jay Anderson
▪ Innocently attending a James Taylor concert, an Art major learns to his surprise that guitars are made by people. Its an epiphany that changes his life. He has a day job as a building contractor, but he transitions to a full-time maker of fully functional musical sculptures. Along the way he finds himself established as the fun uncle of talented group of young musicians. Mentions James Taylor, Jim Olson, Brian Sutherland, Jenn Bostic, Dave Fenley, Pablo Picasso, Emil Ernebro, JLD Bridge Truss System, Don Kendall, pyrography, Harry Fleishman, Kevin Aram, Charles Rufino, Chris Herrod.
2024
AL#151 p.50
Harry Fleishman
▪ As a fourteen-year-old kid, Harry Fleishman was lucky enough to find a kindly and perceptive mentor in Seymour Drugan, an older legit jazz player who was running a guitar store. Although Seymour passed away long ago, Harry imagines a present-day interview in which he expresses his gratitude to Mr. Drugan. Mentions Carol Kaye, Johnny Winter, Fife & Nichols, Milt Owen.
2023
AL#149 p.50
Mark French Eddy Efendy
▪ Putting a tube in the port of a loudspeaker box changes the lower resonances. Makers of classical guitars have known about that for a century and a half. They call that tube a tornavoz. French and Efendy give us the math on how it works.
2023
AL#149 p.64
Graham McDonald
▪ Fourteen years ago, McDonald wrote up a survey of the steel string guitar making books that were available at that time. More books have appeared since then, so hes back with an update. Look up the earlier article in our Premium Online Content.
2023
AL#149 p.4
Mike Doolin Ken Parker
▪ Can you believe we have never met this guy? Hes a giant of the American Lutherie Boom, he was at the Guilds 1979 Convention, and he has been a GAL member for over twenty years. The world knows him as the maker of the Fly solidbody guitar, but now he has returned to his first love: the archtop guitar. Mentions Larry Fishman, John D’Angelico, Jimmy D’Aquisto, Scott Chinery, Orville Gibson, Lloyd Loar, Raphael Ciani, Nick Lucas, Michael Greenfield, Sam Zygmuntowicz.
2023
AL#149 p.24
Lee Herron
▪ You know what they say: When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When you are a luthier, everything looks like it could be made into a fine handmade guitar. Like that chunk of firewood over there. Its way too short to make sides, but well figure something out.
2023
AL#149 p.28
Charlie Price
▪ Guitar intonation exists at the intersection of math, music, and mojo. How good is good enough? Can we ever quite get there? Price brings us one step closer with a money ball approach of adding up all the errors at each string and fret position, then optimizing for the lowest total error.
2023
AL#149 p.36
Rebecca Urlacher Paul Woolson
▪ A conversation is kinda like two interviews happening at the same time. Thats what we have in this article; questions and answers come from both makers, as we meet them and learn about their lutherie lives. Mentions Charles Fox.
2023
AL#149 p.42
John Calkin
▪ One operation at a time, Calkin is showing us how to make ukes in a direct and effective way. Its all done by one worker with simple tools in a small space. Here he shows us how to get the back onto the ribs quickly and accurately, with no cleanup needed.
2023
AL#149 p.46
Robin Connaughton
▪ Lots of materials can work for a flattop guitar bridge saddle. Will they sound different? Connaughton tries several, and collects data with an ingenuously simple plucking technique.
2023
AL#148 p.28
Mark French
▪ If you are like me, you probably think you know what the Helmholtz resonance of a flattop guitar is. And like me, you may be exactly wrong. Turns out it is the note that you don’t hear. Mentions Fender Acoustasonic Stratocaster, tornavoz.
2023
AL#148 p.34
Harry Fleishman
▪ The late Denny Stevens was one of the earliest self-taught guitar makers of the American Lutherie Boom. He was also a mentor to author Harry Fleishman, who goes back in memory and imagination to interview Denny as he never did in life. Mentions Dale Bruning, Paul Killinger, Tony Jacobs, Richie Furay, Johnny Smith.
2023
AL#148 p.63
R.M. Mottola
▪ Legit scientist Graham Caldersmith was an early GAL member and a prolific author for us and other journals. Those articles have now been gathered and published in a book. Our reviewer talks about the book, and about Caldersmiths position in the lutherie literature.
2023
AL#148 p.6
Dan Alexander
▪ Dan has been a vintage guitar dealer for decades. He avers that there is no such thing as a bad-sounding Martin Guitar made between 1930 and 1944.
2022
AL#147 p.24
Robbie O’Brien
▪ Lutherie uber-pedagog Robbie OBrien has taught beaucoup guitar makers and repair techs to set the action of steel string flattops, so his thoughts on the matter are crystal clear. Here he steps us through the process in a relaxed, logical, and concise presentation. From his 2017 GAL Convention workshop.
2022
AL#147 p.52
Michael Burton
▪ What do you do with a guitar that seems beyond repair? Repair it anyway. Why not? After decades of neglect and wildly improper storage, this sturdy Asian-built flattop had developed the mother of all neck warps. Burton ripped into it with clothes iron, heat blanket, router, and neck jig to replace the truss rod and fix earlier disastrous repair attempts. It turned out great.
2022
AL#146 p.26
John Calkin
▪ David Thormahlen started making many kinds of string instruments in the woodshop in college, and then made a strategic decision to focus his lutherie career on lever harps. It all worked out well, and he still makes guitars, mandolins, and bouzoukis in addition to the harps. He shows us some of his gluing fixtures which involve bicycle inner tubes; some stretched, some inflated.
2022
AL#146 p.38
Lee Herron
▪ Sometimes you get a customer who just wants you to run wild. Check out the design and build process of this 17.75-inch, 7-string, multiscale black-locust flattop guitar. Fun!
2022
AL#146 p.58
Beau Hannam
▪ These simple plywood squares with dowel halves glued to them can replace all the carefully shaped side cauls that thousands of luthiers have been using for decades. Sometimes one size really does fit all.
2022
AL#146 p.62
Aaron Cash
▪ Lutherie is way cool. The guitars that people are making these days are mind-blowing. Standards of craftsmanship and creativity are sky high. And all that can be daunting to a sincere wanna-be. Here’s how to talk yourself into not talking yourself out of it.
2022
AL#145 p.4
Michael Bashkin
▪ Bashkin ornaments his pegheads and end grafts with marquetry combined with thin, free-flowing veneer lines. He shows us in detail how he accomplishes some of these effects, including scorching decorative pieces in hot sand.
2022
AL#145 p.38
Roger Haggstrom
▪ Haggstromm uses a commercially-available radiused sanding block, a few scraps of wood, and a handful of parts from the hardware store to make this simple jig. It that lets him quickly and quietly produce a fretboard with the radius and the relief accurately sanded in.
2022
AL#145 p.48
R.M. Mottola
▪ Mottola precisely describes his process for slotting a nut. All the spacing work is done on-screen, then printed out to make a template for the bench work.
2022
AL#145 p.60
Federico Sheppard
▪ Our frequent author and online lutherie resource hero RM Mottola has finally gone all the way. He has written Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar, a comprehensive, detailed construction method for building a flattop guitar. Speaking of frequent authors, Federico Sheppard reviews it.
2022
AL#145 p.60
John Calkin
▪ Our frequent author and online lutherie resource hero RM Mottola has finally gone all the way. He has written Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar, a comprehensive, detailed construction method for building a flattop guitar. Speaking of frequent authors, John Calkin reviews it.
2022
AL#145 p.70
John Calkin
▪ Calkin thinks about a few things that have changed since he started making guitars nearly 50 years ago. And some things that have not.
2021
AL#144 p.6
Roger Haggstrom
▪ A hundred and some years ago, Swedish folks sat around the house all of a dark winter and sang hymns together, accompanied by the strummings of cheap mass-produced guitars. Those days are gone, but a lot of the guitars are still hanging on the walls of old houses. Roger Häggström has made a business of restoring them to useful condition and modifying them to sound and play better than they ever could have. He restores and modifies. Restomods. Mentions the Levin guitar company.
2021
AL#144 p.44
Mark French
▪ In this concluding episode of the series, the neck is fretted and the frets are filed and polished. Threaded inserts are installed in the heel and the neck is attached. Finally, the bridge is glued on, the nut is set in position, and the guitar is strung and set up.
2021
AL#144 p.66
John Calkin
▪ Online video lutherie instruction has come of age. Our reviewer John Calkin is a veteran luthier and a fan of lutherie videos from way back in the VHS days. He gives this course a strong reccomendation.
2021
AL#143 p.22
Mark French Charles Fox
▪ In this article the fretboard is slotted, crowned, and glued to the neck. The neck is then shaped.
2021
AL#142 p.14
Mark French Charles Fox
▪ In this article the peg head is shaped and drilled, the neck shaft is slotted for the truss rod, the heel is formed, and the neck is fitted to the body.
2021
AL#142 p.40
Doug Hunt Mark French
▪ Two luthiers dare each other to make a useful guitar for a total investment of $75 each. One makes a flattop, the other a solid body. There are rules, and rules are meant to be broken.
2021
AL#142 p.52
Terence Warbey
▪ Not only does Warbey make the entire bending form and the outside mold from a single sheet, but the form pops apart like a Swedish Christmas ornament and stores flat in a plastic bag. Mentions Charles Fox and Mark French.
2020
AL#141 p.70
Todd Cambio
▪
2020
AL#141 p.36
Steve Kennel
▪ Here’s a detailed drawing of a straightforward and ubiquitous mid-century, solid-wood, American-made guitar. This inexpensive model was the first instrument of a generation of would-be folkies and rockers. Not a classical, but certainly a classic.
2020
AL#141 p.50
Mark French
▪ Here come the robots. Although CNC routers are not yet at the Jetsons stage, we are far beyond the days when computer-driven tools were only in luthiers’ dreams, not their workshops. Mark French brings us up to date as he selects and installs an inexpensive machine in his home shop.
2020
AL#140 p.67
Mike Doolin
▪ A positive review. Mentions Martin, Gibson, National, D’Angelico, Selmer, Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, Danelectro, Vox, Val-Pro.
2020
AL#141 p.7
Charles Fox Mark French
▪ In this episode of the landmark series, the back and top plates are braced and glued to the rim to form the body of the guitar. The body is then bound and purfled using Fox’ distinctive method of fitting everything dry, taping it in place, and running superglue into the seams.
2020
AL#139 p.58
Roger Bucknall
▪ Can people really hear the difference between different back-and-sides wood? Brittish guitar builder Roger Bucknall is in an excellent position to explore this question. He’s the founder (in 1973) and still head honcho of boutique brand Fylde Guitars. He made a set of identical guitars except for the wood choices, and….. Read the article to see what happened.
2020
AL#140 p.2
Stephen Marchione
▪ The braces in an archtop guitar are very similar to the bars in fiddles, and Marchione fits them with the same traditional techniques. The mating surface of the brace is roughed out with a chisel, then refined with a small plane, and perfected with files and scrapers. Chalk shows the whole truth of the fit. Believe the chalk.
2020
AL#140 p.20
Mark French Charles Fox
▪ Building a Charles Fox guitar reveals the beautifully developed interdependence between the design and the process. In this episode we rough out the neck, work with the unusual neck block and the distinctive two-part lining, and then brace the top and back plates.
2020
AL#140 p.52
Glen Friesen
▪ Some public servants take on challenging tasks that many of us would fear to attempt. I’m not talking about fire fighters or the people who change light bulbs on the tops of suspension bridges. I’m talking about high school shop teachers. And here’s a guy who has been teaching guitar making in public school for twenty years. Hats off to you, sir! And respect to the students. These guitars look pretty good.
2020
AL#139 p.26
Mark French Charles Fox
▪ If, some day, there is a Mt. Rushmore for the American Lutherie Boom, the ruggedly handsome face of Charles Fox will be boldly chisled in a place of honor. For over half a century he has led the way as developer and teacher of guitar-making methods and tooling. He is also a thoughtful and articulate philosopher of the craft, whose words will inspire luthiers yet unborn. Here’s the first in a series of four articles which will cover his process, and his thinking behind it, in detail.
2020
AL#139 p.35
Kerry Char
▪ Vintage guitar restoration specialist Kerry Char runs down the many changes that Gibson’s most popular flattop has gone through over the decades. Then he presents a full drawing of one that falls into the best period of the model: a well-worn example from 1947.
2020
AL#139 p.36
Kerry Char
▪ Reduced image of the full-scale plan.
2019
AL#138 p.38
Steve Denvir Jay Lichty Corrie Woods
▪ Jay Lichty was late to the lutherie game, having spent a lot of years in a real job building houses as a general contractor. But he’s deep into instrument making now, and finding success with an eclectic line of ukuleles and small guitars. Jay’s wife, Corrie Woods, is the marketing department, working with photography and online media to make the most of Jay’s work at the bench. Together, they are making it work. From their lecture at the 2017 GAL Convention.
2019
AL#138 p.48
R.M. Mottola
▪ Sometimes when a vintage instrument is being restored, you want to leave a few of the dings and a lttle of the funk, just for authentic flavor. Sometimes you want to leave the big dings and all the funk, and end up with something that is very tasty to a certain sophisticated palate. Mottola takes a century-old beater and ends up with a sweet-playing silk purse disguised as a sow’s ear. Mentions B&J, Buegeleisen and Jacobson, Oscar Schmidt, and Stella. Instrument is ladder-braced.
2019
AL#138 p.54
Harry Fleishman
▪ Harry teams up with the owner of one of his flattop guitars to try some major changes to the bridge and evaluate the results. He reaches conclusions about the relationship between saddle height and bridge beefiness. And speaking og beef, Harry shows how he makes individual tapered saddles out of chopsticks.
2019
AL#138 p.60
Terence Warbey
▪ If you will attach a neck to a body with bolts rather than a dovetail, you will first want the two pieces to fit tightly at the correct angle. This can be done by a process which is sometimes called flossing; sandpaper is pulled between them while they are pushed together. The author presents a simple jig to facilitate this process.
2019
AL#137 p.4
Federico Sheppard Todd Cambio
▪ Federico has traveled the world to bring us news of excellent and unusual luthiers and their work. This time he journeyed from Green Bay, Wisconsin all the way to Madison, Wisconsin to meet a guy who keeps his work on the cutting edge of innovation by closely following the century-old work of American guitar factories, and Italian-American luthiers who worked in New York City before WWI. A word to the wise: Tulip poplar is not, and never shall be, banned by CITES or the Lacey Act. Mentions the Acosta family; John D’Angelico; Lydia Mendoza; Lonnie Johnson; Stella; Regal; Oscar Schmidt; Harmony; Lyon & Healy; Lead Belly; Favilla.
2019
AL#137 p.44
Todd Mylet
▪ As a repairman in a busy guitar shop, Todd Mylet has a lot of Martin-style neck resets under his belt. There is a lot involved in doing it right. Todd presents a detailed account of his well-considered and time-tested method.
2019
AL#137 p.62
Greg Maxwell
▪ Australian luthier Trevor Gore is the co-author of the two-volume book Contemporary Acoustic Guitar, Design and Build. Gore teaches a three-day seminar in which he demonstates his very specific and number-based method of measuring and controlling the resonant frequecies of guitars. Maxwell attended one such seminar, held at Robbie O’Brien’s shop, and gives a brief overview.
2018
AL#135 p.69
Mark Hatcher
▪ What’s the deal with hardwood tops on steel string guitars?
2019
AL#136 p.12
Kerry Char
▪ A cool old Gibson-era Epiphone guitar got well and truly smashed in an incident involving large and excited dogs. Better call Char! Kerry Char, that is. He jumps right in to remove the top, take off the braces, and then put the whole thing back together and polish it up nice before you can say “Kalamazoo!” From his 2017 GAL Convention slide show.
2019
AL#136 p.20
Mark French
▪ We all know what “impedance” is, right? It’s that stuff… the force that… well, what is it really? Turns out it’s something like pushing a kid on a swing at the wrong time. And it has a lot to do with the resonances of acoustic instruments, which has a lot to do with how they sound. Anyway, in this largely math-free presentation, Professor Mark gives us the scoop.
2019
AL#136 p.54
Mark French
▪ Author Mark French has made a lot of guitars over the years, but when he wanted to up his game he attended an intensive two-week course by the dean of all American lutherie teachers, Charles Fox. Four students each built a guitar in the white from scratch and strung it up.
2019
AL#136 p.69
Walter Carter
▪ What’s the deal with deep V-shaped necks on old guitars?
2018
AL#134 p.69
Luis-Alberto Paredes-Rodriguez
▪ Is it bad to cut into the lining when routing a binding channel? Paredes says no it’s actually a good thing. He shows how he does it, and says that in this he is a follower of the late Arthur Overholtzer.
2018
AL#135 p.16
Dan Erlewine Erick Coleman Chelsea Clark
▪ “Uncle Dan” Erlewine has been a constant presence in the American Lutherie Boom era, because he personifies the can-do ethos that underlies the whole dang movement: figure something out, and tell everybody about it. As a young man hoping to move from rocker to luthier, he found a generous mentor in Herb David of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dan has paid that forward many times as he has brought young people into his shop and given them a place to grow. Mentions Herb David, Mark Erlewine, Jerry Garcia, Albert King, John O’Boyle, David Surovel, Bryan Galloup, Charlie Longstreth, Tom Erlewine, Gary Brawer, Joe Glaser, Steve Olson, Albert Garcia, Elliot John-Conry, Adam Fox, Exodus Almasude, Johan Powell, Max Feldman, Paul Lampley, Aaron Smiley, Rodrgo Gomez, Chelsea Clark. From his lecture at the 2017 GAL Convention.
2018
AL#135 p.30
Kerry Char
▪ Kerry Char sawed the top off an old Gibson flattop in front of a group of several dozen luthiers at the 2017 GAL Convention. And within the same hour he pried the back off a Knutsen harp guitar. Step by step photos.
2018
AL#135 p.36
Tim Olsen
▪ Martin’s 15-style guitars were the bottom of the line back in the 1940s and ’50s. All the fancy stuff was stripped away, leaving a very respectable all-mahogany guitar with no binding. Here’s a drawing of the smallest, cheapest one in the time-tested series. Hardwood top.
2018
AL#134 p.42
Michael Bashkin Harry Fleishman
▪ Everybody knows Harry Fleishman, right? We first “Met the Maker” in 2001, but by then Harry had already been an active GAL author and convention attendee for some time. Now we are catching up with him. This recent chapter of his story is a doozy, with major moves, businesses opening and closing, fruitful collaborations, international travel, and new beginnings.
2018
AL#134 p.60
Mark French David Zachman
▪ There are times when a luthier may want to draw a good long-radius arch. If jury-rigging a 25-foot compass seems like a hassle, you may have been tempted to just bend a straight stick a little and call it good. Turns out that’s a better solution than you may have thought. This article evaluates several techniques and gives the math that undergirds them.
2018
AL#133 p.22
R.M. Mottola Mark French
▪ Mark French was a kid who took guitar lessons and paid the guy at the music store to change his strings. He went on to be an aerospace engineer, but with all that book learning he still did not know how guitars worked. Now he teaches college courses on guitar making and hangs out with captains of industry at Fender and Taylor.
2018
AL#133 p.40
John Armstrong
▪ Many different designs have addressed the problem of making a travel guitar with a full scale length. Here’s one that solves the problem by completely redesigning the tuning mechanism so that it can fit into the body behind the bridge.
2018
AL#133 p.60
Jay Anderson
▪ Here’s a simple device that lets you string, play, and set up a flattop guitar before you glue the bridge on.
2017
AL#131 p.71
R.M. Mottola
▪ How do I find the best compensation angle compromise for a steel string guitar saddle slot?
2017
AL#132 p.6
Brian Yarosh Michael Bashkin
▪ Michael Bashkin came to lutherie after earlier passions and careers in photography and tropical forestry. But for decades now he has been happily Geppettoing it, building beautiful steel string guitars in a cavernous industrial space. Mentions Harry Fleishman and Abe Wechter.
2017
AL#131 p.58
Kjell Croce
▪ Everybody has seen them; those cracks on the tops of old Martins that form just south of the soundhole when the pickguard shrinks. Croce shows us how to close and reinforce the crack, and then make a well-behaved modern pickguard.
2017
AL#131 p.3
Samuele Carcagno Chris Plack
▪ A study at Lancaster University seeks luthiers to help with a scientific study of the impact of wood choice on the percieved sound of acoustic guitars.
2017
AL#129 p.52
R.M. Mottola
▪ Grab a piece of paper and a pencil. See if you can find that old plastic triangle. Mottola steps you through the process of actually drawing the outline of an Orchestra Model guitar. Keep a candle handy. If the power goes out you can keep working.
2017
AL#129 p.63
Rick Rubin
▪ Use that firm packing foam stuff to clamp a bridge on a flattop guitar. The foam can conform to small transducers that may be glued to the bridge plate.
2017
AL#130 p.22
David Freeman
▪ Freeman has made a number of guitars with varying combinations of off-center soundholes, graduated body depth, rolled-over edges, and adjustable side ports. He gives us his thoughts on how these design factors interact and how they advance his quest for a more erognomic steel string guitar.
2017
AL#130 p.42
Paul Schmidt Jason Harshbarger
▪ A lot of the makers that we meet in the pages of American Lutherie are grizzled veterans of the early days. Not this one. Harshbarger is a young single father who went to lutherie school in the late 1990s, then survived on cabinet work until he could build a lutherie shop in his basement. His steel-string design work uses Steve Klein’s work as a point of departure, and moves forward boldly from there.
2016
AL#128 p.68
John Calkin
▪ Graham McDonald has written books about mandolin-family instrument construction as well as speaking at GAL Conventions and writing for AL. Now he has written a book about mandolin history, and long-time GAL member GD Armstrong likes it. John Calkin gives a good review to a recent addition to Robbie O’Brien’s large and deep online lutherie instruction catalog. This one focuses on Kent Carlos Everett’s fret work techniques.
2017
AL#129 p.6
Cyndy Burton Linda Manzer
▪ The prolific maker of high-end flattop and archtop guitars talks about her mentors Jean Larrivee and Jimmy D’Aquisto, the lutherie biz, her collaborations with guitarist Pat Metheny, and a recent project in cooperation with other Canadian luthiers. Also mentions Paul Simon.
2016
AL#128 p.8
Alan Perlman
▪ Perlman runs though a restoration job on a Torres guitar, replacing a side and copying fancy purflings. Then he builds a replica of a Stahl Style 6 flattop. So when you are copying a century-old American guitar, how far do you go in the name of authenticity? Do you match the faded tones of the purfling, or use the nice bright colors that the Larson Brothers liked? Do you let the glue blobs roam free like they did, or get all tidy like a nervous modern maker? From his 2014 convention lecture.
2012
AL#111 p.32
R.M. Mottola
▪ A study of the geometric relationship between the fretboard of the flattop guitar and the top of the instrument.
2011
AL#108 p.58 ALA2 p.72
Roger-Alan Skipper
▪ The plywood Simpson neck angle jig: simple, versatile and inexpensive, and the aluminum Klumper self adjusting neck jig: accurate, more complex, costly, and allowing for centerline adjustment. Both result in perfectly matched joints.
2010
AL#101 p.71 read this article
Tom Ribbecke
▪ Tom Ribbecke mourns his friend and respected colleague Taku Sakashta, maker of world class guitars. (1966-2010).
2009
AL#100 p.14
Brian Michael Alex Glasser
▪ Michael and Glasser on how to install a pickup system in an acoustic guitar using a Fishman Matrix blend. From their 2008 GAL convention workshop.
2009
AL#98 p.58 read this article
Graham McDonald
▪ The author rounds up a collection of acoustic guitar making manuals currently available to help us separate the wheat from the chaff. The serious student will no doubt end up with several of these books, but McDonald will help you decide which ones to buy first. Includes jacket photos of all the books discussed.
2009
AL#99 p.7 ALA4 p.52
David Freeman
▪ Some features of guitar construction make the instrument functional for normal humans and tuneful music making, and getting them wrong can/will destroy the guitars usefulness. Other features aren’t necessary but may make the instrument more comfortable to play or offer extended musical capabilities. Freeman addresses both aspects in this article taken from his 2008 GAL convention workshop. He’s not the least bit shy about reconfiguring the guitar’s shape or features to make musicians better and happier. Whether or not you wish to make such alterations, much of this stuff you better know if you wish to make musical instruments rather than guitar-shaped objects. With 5 photos, 3 charts, and a drawing.
2009
AL#99 p.11 ALA1 p.2
John Calkin
▪ It sounds pretty high-falutin’ to talk about the geometry of the guitar, but in the lightest sense it’s a useable conceit. If the angles of the top design and neck joint aren’t right you won’t get an instrument that anybody wants to play, or can play. The author uses a mechanical, rather than mathematical, system to lay out the neck in relation to the body. You don’t have to know the angle involved, you just have to be intelligent. This, if you are a GAL member, is a given. With 6 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2009
AL#97 p.48
Roger-Alan Skipper
▪ Skipper decides to save the life of a Martin D-28 that most of us would use for spare parts and firewood. A new top is made and severely cracked sides and back are restored to usefulness by interesting techniques that offer strength and renewed life rather than cosmetic perfection. In other words, a repair that mere mortals can afford. Good job! With 12 photos.
2008
AL#96 p.42
James Condino Ted Davis
▪ Davis’ lutherie exploits goes back to the ’70s. He was one of the first of the recent red spruce believers, and he harvested many trees to supply himself and a few others who were lucky enough to key into his business. He made guitars, mandolins, and dulcimers to support his hotrod automobile habit. He had strong opinions about wood that run counter to modern beliefs, and had the experience to back them up.Davis died before the interview was published. He will be missed. With 15 photos.
2008
AL#96 p.65 read this article
Don Overstreet
▪ The book is about the Banjo, Mandolin, and Guitar Movement that ended with the Great Depression. While the reviewer admits that there is little here for luthiers, there is a ton of interesting material for the musical history buff. This time is where many of the instrument icons we all copy came from.
2009
AL#97 p.18 ALA4 p.42
Jonathon Peterson Michael Dunn
▪ Canadian Dunn studied guitar making in Spain but ended up specializing in Maccaferri-style guitars. He uses an internal soundbox similar to the original design. His use of wood inlay and marquetry, as well as his choice of body woods is original, playful, and stunning. He is also a lutherie teacher of note. Read this and have fun. Mentions Bill Lewis, George Bowden, Jose Orti, jose Pepe Ferrer, Shelley Park, Chuck Shifflet, Bill Rivere, Patrick Olmstead, Sonny Black, Ray Nurse, ted Turner, Tim Hobrough, Bob Brozman.
2008
AL#95 p.59
John Calkin
▪ Mike Brittain (see previous article) sent a set of Florida rosewood to the GAL office, and the office staff looked around for someone to build a guitar out of it. Calkin answered the call. Well, someone had to scarf up the free wood, didn’t they? That Mike Brittain’s a swell guy, isn’t he? So this is the story of one particular guitar. By the way, the Florida rosewood in question is Dalbergia sissoo, not the Dalbergia latifolia most often used for guitars. But it looks great, works great, and sounds great. With 5 photos.
2008
AL#96 p.18 ALA1 p.60
Cyndy Burton Kathy Wingert
▪ Wingert has as extensive a lutherie background as anyone, and even does Chladni glitter tests on her guitars (which, by the way, look exquisite). Her daughter Jimmi has a growing reputation as an inlay artist. How rare is a mother/daughter team in lutherie? Mentions Bob Mattingly, Larry Robinson and Harvey Leach. With 12 photos.
2008
AL#94 p.63 read this article
John Mello
▪ The reviewer finds this book to be a useful addition to the beginning luthier’s library, but that it falls short of being a stand alone teaching text.
2008
AL#93 p.35 ALA1 p.90
Jeff Liverman
▪ No size designation is given to this Martin, and no dimensions are printed on the scaled down plans reproduced in the magazine. The author’s guess is that the guitar was made in the 1840-1850 period. Though we automatically assume that a flattop guitar uses steel strings, Martin guitars of this period invariably were intended for gut strings and reproductions intended for use with steel strings should use very light strings indeed. With 4 photos. Complete full-size plans for this guitar are available as GAL Instrument Plan #57.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2008
AL#93 p.36
Jeff Liverman
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
2007
AL#92 p.20 ALA4 p.36
Steve Wiencrot Scott Baxendale
▪ Baxendale has lived a hyperactive life as a repairman and builder in several parts of America, including a stint working for Stuart Mossman and then as owner of the Mossman company, and repairman for the Hard Rock Cafe chain and Gruhn Guitars, before opening his own shops in Denver. Few luthiers live as hard or cover as much territory. With 14 photos.
2007
AL#91 p.6 read this article
Cyndy Burton
▪ Burton’s micro history of sideports (holes in the sides, in addition to the front soundhole) in stringed instruments serves as an introduction to the next three articles. Luthiers she mentions include John Monteleone, Robert Ruck, Alain Bieber, Gennero Fabricatore, Kenny Hill, Alan Carruth, Roger Thurman, and Augustino LoPrinzi. With 9 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2007
AL#91 p.11 read this article
Mike Doolin
▪ The author found that a sideport (hole in the side, in addition to the front soundhole) in his guitar changed its voice in an undesirable way. Adding a bass reflex tube to the hole returned the guitar to a tonal range he liked. He remains luke warm to the benefits of side ports. With 5 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2007
AL#91 p.14
C.F. Martin-IV
▪ The author is the current chief of the venerable family business. He provides a candid look at Martin Guitar company history as well as a short examination of alternative wood varieties. Highly entertaining, with 5 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2007
AL#91 p.19 ALA1 p.5
Rob Hoffman
▪ This is a detailed examination of a parlor guitar by Martin that pre-dates the company’s famed X bracing. With 15 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2007
AL#91 p.35 ALA1 p.46
Kerry Char
▪ Char presents a hasty but interesting look at Gibson’s L-series guitar while zeroing in on the L-00, probably the most desirable member of the family. Learn how it was made, why they failed structurally, and examine the 2-page version of GAL Plan #55. With 8 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2007
AL#91 p.36 ALA1 p.46
Kerry Char
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2007
AL#90 p.22 ALA1 p.72
Mark French
▪ Taylor Guitars started out as the sort-of-goofy new kid on the block and has grown into the largest production steel string guitar facility in the country. Maybe you’ll learn something from this factory tour and maybe you won’t, but it’s always fascinating to see how the big guys do things. It’s the state of the art in large production. With 25 photos.
2007
AL#90 p.28 ALA1 p.78
Mark French Kendall Brubaker
▪ The authors measured frequency response of dozens of similar Taylor guitars using a hammer and a noncontacting laser displacement sensor. The big surprise was that guitars made of various woods didn’t differ very much. Well, some people were surprised. With 4 photos and 7 graphs.
2007
AL#89 p.18 ALA4 p.32
Steve Kinnaird Chris Jenkins
▪ Texas luthier Jenkins has become an inspiration to those who have seen his work, though he drew his own inspiration and instruction from Charles Fox, Harry Fleishman, Ervin Somogyi, and Fred Carlson. He’s a classic example of what can be accomplished by seeking out talented instruction rather than fiddling one’s own way up the learning curve. With 12 photos.
2006
AL#88 p.42 ALA1 p.68
R.M. Mottola
▪ Have you got design ideas that are radical or just untried? Perhaps you should toss together a trial instrument before you risk squandering valuable time on a master work that doesn’t work. Here’s how, with an emphasis on building with plywood and even Formica. With 10 photos and a drawing.
2006
AL#86 p.24 ALA1 p.28
Harry Fleishman Mike Doolin
▪ This neck joint should eliminate neck resets. Its pretty complex but within the grasp of any guitarmaker. With 23 photos and a drawing.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2006
AL#85 p.46
John Calkin
▪ Some instruments aren’t valuable enough to warrant extensive repair work but are too interesting to throw away. Enter the resurrectionist. In this case the subject is a ’30s tenor guitar by Regal. Cracks are fixed, braces are replaced, a new bridge is made, and the neck is refitted. With 21 photos.
2005
AL#84 p.18 BRB7 p.402
Mark Swanson Del Langejans
▪ Langejans is a resourceful guitar maker with a big-time clientele. Many of his designs are unique, as is his finishing material and some of the wood he uses. He has strong opinions about how to get started and survive in the business, which have apparently worked for him very well. With 9 photos.
2005
AL#84 p.60 BRB7 p.536 read this article
John Calkin
▪ Though the reviewer found fault with this CD-ROM he decides that for the beginner it is better instruction than any book on the subject.
2005
AL#84 p.61 BRB7 p.537 read this article
John Calkin
▪ This 70 minute video demonstrates building an acoustic guitar from a Stew-Mac kit, and may be a bit misleading in it’s title.
2005
AL#83 p.14 BRB7 p.358
Michael Finnerty Bradley Clark
▪ Cole Clark Guitars is an Australian company specializing in computer designed and manufactured flattop and electric guitars. Rather than use CNC machines to duplicate old guitar styles of construction they have modified their designs to suit the potentials of the machinery, which in the end reduces expensive hand labor by as much as half. A sidebar mentions the lutherie uses of 3 Aussie wood varieties. With 10 photos.
2005
AL#83 p.36
Harry Fleishman Mike Doolin
▪ Two experts in the field of acoustic amplification discuss available equipment as well as why few of them seem to work as well as we might wish. They do not dumb down the technical talk, so be prepared to expand your vocabulary and your mind. With 2 photos and 4 diagrams.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2005
AL#81 p.64 BRB7 p.496
Keith Davis
▪ Removing and replacing bridge plates in dreadnought guitars the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) way.
2005
AL#81 p.8 BRB7 p.274
Steve Kauffman
▪ Kauffman and friend Steve Klein have used carbon fiber (graphite/epoxy) in as many guitar applications as anyone, stopping short (I think) of an entirely graphite instrument. If you’ve only dabbled with graphite truss rods and such you have no idea how hotly some others are pursuing synthetic materials to make wood guitars sound better and last longer. “All natural materials” has been a battle cry for decades, but perhaps the time is ripe for making natural materials better than nature had in mind. You be the judge. With 36 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2005
AL#81 p.22 read this article
John Calkin Steve Kinnaird
▪ Two luthiers decide to build guitars for each other, a straight across trade and with a minimum of rules. Its wonderful fun if the anxiety doesn’t kill you. With 5 photos.
2005
AL#81 p.36 BRB7 p.296
Jon Sevy
▪ All those cool pre-war Martins not withstanding, many luthiers believe that domed guitar tops are the way to go. But they can complicate construction in unforeseen ways. Sevy offers a mathematical cure, a set of formulas for predicting neck pitch and saddle height. Probably not for the math challenged, but give it a look before you abandon this path. With 4 charts and 5 diagrams.
2004
AL#80 p.48 BRB7 p.260
John-C. Moore
▪ Spectroscopy turns instrument noise into pictures, or graphs. As the author points out, the equipment for accomplishing this has now left the lab and is available to the home user. It may take some time to find out if these graphs are useful to the builder of instruments, but as Moore states, the only way to find out is to get started. With 12 graphs and 2 photos.
2004
AL#80 p.38 BRB7 p.262
Alain Bieber
▪ The author offers a nice history of guitars built with adjustable and/or removable necks and states a variety of reasons why we should build our guitars with this feature today. The benefits of adjustability are pretty irrefutable, and modern adjustable systems are easier to incorporate than the dovetail joint so commonly seen. The effect upon instrument tone seems to be minor or nonexistent. This is a very convincing article. With 10 photos and 5 diagrams. Mentions Fabricatore, Staufer, Scherzer, Lacote, others.
2003
AL#76 p.8 BRB7 p.110
Steve Klein
▪ Klein delivers a lecture that asks as many questions as it attempt to answer. Why has guitar design seemed to stall when so many other fields are jumping into the future? What do musicians really want? How can we make musicians want what we want to build? Is there any more to improve on the steel string guitar? A thought-provoking piece, indeed. With 13 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2003
AL#76 p.16 BRB7 p.116
Mike Doolin John Greven
▪ This wonderful interview has the kind of depth that only happens when friends talk. It takes familiarity to know what to ask and how to answer. Humor permeates this discussion of alternative woods, business ploys, the Internet, and in general living the life of a successful luthier. Greven has been in the business as long as anyone and is generous with his advice and experience. With 22 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2003
AL#76 p.52 BRB7 p.132
Larry Mills Chris Jenkins
▪ Replacing the conventional guitar tail block with an access panel is an appealing idea whose time has come. Why you should use it and how it is made is the focus of this article. This may be the first article of its kind. Pretty humorous, too. With 15 photos.
2003
AL#75 p.60 BRB7 p.104
John Calkin
▪ The emphasis of this little article is a Jeff Huss jig for quickly producing bridge plates on the tablesaw. With 7 photos.
2003
AL#74 p.48 BRB7 p.538
John Calkin
▪ The oversize nature of the parts in this kit offers the ability to build guitars that are wider and/or deeper than the standard Martin OM. The author builds one he calls the magnum, a normal OM shape that has the depth of a dreadnought. He finds it to be a thoroughly top-flight instrument. With 18 photos and a sidebar about the author’s Ferrari OM, an attempt to build the lightest possible instrument that will still thrive in the real world.
2003
AL#73 p.68 BRB7 p.486
David-B. Hawley
▪ Building a guitar entirely out of toothpicks for $127.
2003
AL#74 p.20 BRB7 p.48
Jonathon Peterson Steve Grimes
▪ Grimes is one of the premier archtop builders of our times. His flattops aren’t bad, either. He worked for years in the Northwest before moving to Hawaii, where the slack-key guitar scene has impacted his flattop designs.
2003
AL#73 p.40 BRB7 p.2
John Calkin
▪ Everyone develops little work habits or adopts minor tools that together make a big difference in their work and the pleasure they find in it. This is one man’s collection of odds and ends that changed the quality and quantity of his work. With 15 photos.
2002
AL#72 p.46 BRB6 p.433
Michael Bashkin Michihiro Matsuda
▪ Changing countries and cultures to enhance one’s skills must be a daunting and exhilarating experience. Matsuda came from Japan to learn lutherie in Arizona, then apprenticed in California. His designs are innovative and his guitars lovely to behold. With 9 photos.
2002
AL#71 p.58 BRB6 p.510
Dana Bourgeois
▪ Drawing the neck in CAD continues with the headstock design.
2002
AL#70 p.58 BRB6 p.510
Dana Bourgeois
▪ This segment begins instruction in drawing a neck using MasterCam Draft, Version 8. If you stumble onto the perfect neck and wish to have it machine reproduced you may have to know this stuff. With 3 drawings.
2002
AL#69 p.59 BRB6 p.510
Dana Bourgeois
▪ How to use Mastercam’s Scale function to generate a fret pattern. With 1 diagram.
2001
AL#68 p.62 BRB6 p.510
Dana Bourgeois
▪ Previous columns saw the creation of a 3D wireframe computer image of a dreadnought guitar body. In this installment a 2D profile of a side is extracted from the software, from which the side set can be cut to shape before bending. With 6 diagrams.
2001
AL#67 p.51 BRB6 p.510
Dana Bourgeois
▪ In the last installment we learned how to make a computerized outline of a guitar body using Mastercam software. In this installment we learn how to make a wireframe image that suggests three dimensions. With 5 diagrams.
2001
AL#66 p.60 BRB6 p.510
Dana Bourgeois
▪ In this segment the author instructs how to get Mastercam Draft software to draw the outline of a particular guitar body. The one you want, that is, not just any old outline.
2001
AL#65 p.48 BRB6 p.510
Dana Bourgeois
▪ No doubt many of us pursue lutherie as an escape from an ever-escalating technology that the rest of the world imposes upon us. If that’s you, skip this new column. If, however, you see yourself entering lutherie as a business you may find yourself shut out of future developments if you can’t speak CAD (Computer Aided Design). Bourgeois’ arguments for getting involved are strong, and you may even find a degree of fun in the pursuit. Working with Mastercam software to design guitars and parts will be the focus of future columns.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2001
AL#66 p.6 BRB6 p.186
Ken Goodwin Harry Fleishman
▪ Fleishman has been a guitar and bass designer/builder, a teacher of lutherie and writing, a longtime member of the GAL, a frequent contributor to AL and its current product reviewer. Harry is as well-known for his outrageous sense of humor as for the outrageous instruments he creates. With 10 photos.
2000
AL#64 p.20 BRB6 p.140
Jonathon Peterson Rick Turner
▪ Not frequently is one person so often in the right place at the right time with the skills to take advantage of the situation. Turner has “been there and done that” as an inventor and designer of instrument electronics as well as a repairman, designer, and manufacturer of Alembic guitars and basses and Turner-brand electric and acoustic guitars. His story is as colorful as it is informative. With 21 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2000
AL#64 p.58 BRB6 p.493
John Calkin
▪ The author enjoyed building this kit and decides that it is a fine value as well as a good way to enter guitar making. With 14 photos.
2000
AL#62 p.63 BRB6 p.532 read this article
Woody Vernice
▪ This video is used to explain the design of the new Taylor neck. The reviewer likes it as more than the selling aid that Taylor envisioned, that for him it opened the discussion for the future role of the handbuilder.
2000
AL#63 p.34 BRB6 p.108
John Calkin
▪ OK, so you’ve got all the parts for your flattop guitar body prepped for construction. How do you get all the pieces to fit together? The author details the construction methods used at the Huss & Dalton Guitar Co, all of which should prove useful to any small shop.With 21 photos.
2000
AL#61 p.14 BRB6 p.68
Robert Painter
▪ How to cut, bevel, and buff a pickguard using celluloid flat stock. With 6 photos.
2000
AL#61 p.28 BRB6 p.18
Dana Bourgeois
▪ Ten years after the GAL convention lecture that made him a guru to most of the steelstring clan, Bourgeois has new information to offer about the construction and voicing of the flattop guitar. With 2 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2000
AL#61 p.38 BRB6 p.26
Kevin-B. Rielly
▪ The P-1 is a funky plywood guitar intended for the lowest end of the handmade market. That’s a real tough slot to fill, but Rielly seems curious about the possibilities and not too concerned about staking his livelihood on the little devils. There’s a moral here, though: there is someone hungry for almost anything you can make. Finding that guy may be the hard part. With 5 photos.
1999
AL#60 p.6 BRB5 p.422
Fred Carlson Harry Fleishman William Eaton Saul Koll
▪ The market for flattop guitars probably isn’t evolving away from tried and true designs at all, but individual luthiers are working on instruments that would baffle (and hopefully intrigue) Orville and old C.F. These four groundbreaking guitarmakers got together to discuss their work in front of an audience at the 1998 GAL convention, and if their work and philosophies don’t show you anything you must be hopelessly lost in the nostalgic past. This article is a condensed version of that discussion. With 24 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#59 p.18 BRB5 p.386
David Melly Steve Kauffman
▪ Kauffman had been a luthier for sometime before he apprenticed to Steve Klein. Today he builds Klein acoustics in his own shop as well as his personal line of guitars. He’s a thoughtful and thought-provoking man, and you’ll be glad you met him. With 6 photos.
1999
AL#59 p.39 BRB5 p.402
Gordon Gray Grit Laskin
▪ Laskin is a well-known maker of masterful guitars and a groundbreaking artist in inlay concept and design. He’s also a novelist and a recording artist. If the 9 photos of his guitars and inlay work don’t inspire you, you’re certainly from an old school of lutherie.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#59 p.46 BRB5 p.396
Jeff Huss Mark Dalton
▪ Hand carved and compensated bone saddles are a mark of finesse. Fine work is all about the details, and Huss and Dalton discuss a detail that is often overlooked but easy to make. With 8 photos.
1999
AL#57 p.11 BRB5 p.297
John Calkin
▪ Calkin was hired by Huss and Dalton to take over their guitar binding. His story includes a description of how to make wood binding, and covers the hand tools he uses during the binding procedure. With 6 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#57 p.53 BRB5 p.327
John Calkin Steve Kinnaird
▪ Kinnaird is a minister, luthier, blues guitarist, and all-around nice guy. You’ll be glad you met him. With 4 photos.
1999
AL#57 p.6 BRB5 p.292
Jeff Huss Mark Dalton
▪ The H&D Guitar Company builds about 100 guitars per year, the great majority of them bound in wood. Here’s how they do it. With 13 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#56 p.16 BRB5 p.256
Cyndy Burton Linda Manzer
▪ Through her artistic merit, dogged determination, and sheer grit, Manzer has risen to the top ranks of her profession. This interview covers her background and training, work ethic, favorite woods, and other lutherie intimacies. With 10 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#56 p.54 BRB5 p.290
Kent Everett
▪ So you hate the way pickguards look but like the job they do? Everett shows how to apply a clear pickguard without bubbles or fingerprints coming along for the ride.
1998
AL#55 p.65 read this article
Woody Vernice
▪ These are two picture books of guitars made by luthiers who attended the Healdsburg Guitar Festivals in 1996 and 1997. The reviewer finds that the pictures are too little, but that luthiers looking for new ideas may browse through them endlessly.
1998
AL#54 p.21 BRB5 p.204
Cyndy Burton Judy Threet
▪ Threet is a Canadian builder who specializes in fingerstyle guitars. Her guitars often display an artistic flair that few can match. This interview takes a decidedly philosophic turn, and appropriately so, since Threet used to be a professor of philosophy. With 4 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#53 p.22 BRB5 p.164
Cyndy Burton Shelley Park
▪ Park plays jazz guitar and builds Selmer-style guitars like those designed by Mario Maccaferri and played by Django Reinhardt. She furnishes some interesting thoughts about alternative woods and different finishes. Are women luthiers who survive long enough to become professionals really more interesting than many of the men, or do they just give better interviews? You decide. With 9 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#53 p.32 BRB5 p.108
John Calkin
▪ In AL#52 we looked at the tools and jigs Charles Fox uses to build acoustic guitars. In Part 2 we examine how that equipment is put to use as Fox takes us through the procedure of building a classical guitar at his American School of Lutherie. Most of this info will be just as useful to the steel string builder, as well. With 55 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1997
AL#52 p.3
Joe-D. Franklin
▪ Many builders maintain that a guitar top that varies in thickness offers better tone than a uniform top.Franklin offers technical reasons for why it is so.
1997
AL#52 p.12 BRB5 p.108
John Calkin
▪ The main thrust of Fox’s American School of Lutherie lies in teaching lone guitarmakers to make better instruments through more accurate tooling and in helping them become more commercially viable by increasing their production. Calkin attended one of Charles’ week-long Contemporary Guitar Making seminars and documented much of the hard info for American Lutherie readers. This segment concentrates on nearly 3 dozen jigs and fixtures that anyone can add to their lutherie arsenal, most of them adapted to power tools. With 57 photos. Parts 2 & 3 to follow.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1997
AL#52 p.50 BRB5 p.138
Jonathon Peterson Augustino LoPrinzi
▪ Augie LoPrinzi has made or overseen the construction of over 8000 guitars. He went from a one-man shop in the back of his barbershop to a factory that employed 30 people and made 80 flattops a month. Now back in a small-shop setting, his enthusiasm for the guitar is as high as ever. Come along for one of the wilder rides in the annals of lutherie.
1997
AL#52 p.53 BRB5 p.141
John Calkin
▪ Augie LoPrinzi has been an accessible luthier who taught or influenced dozens of people as they entered the business. Calkin “knew him when,” back in the ’70s at a time his small shop churned out 25 guitars a month. This is a different look at a man who was also a barber, pool hustler, amateur magician, wannabe classical guitarist, and a storyteller deluxe. Fun.
1997
AL#51 p.38 BRB5 p.100
Fred Carlson
▪ Inspired by his fiddle-building partner, Suzy Norris, Carlson has created a guitar that utilizes a large number of sympathetic strings. The obstacles that had to be overcome were significant, but “angel voices” never come easy to us Earth folks. With 10 photos and a pair of drawings of how things work.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1997
AL#51 p.42 BRB5 p.104
John Calkin Jeff Huss Mark Dalton
▪ Virginia luthiers Huss and Dalton show off their shop and talk about the business of going into business. They make 7 high-end acoustics per month, and they make it sound easy. With 11 photos.
1997
AL#51 p.48 BRB5 p.472
Woody Vernice
▪ The reviewer especially raves about the photography included in the book, though his assessment of its value to the working luthier is not so hot.
1997
AL#50 p.40 BRB5 p.68
Tim Olsen Michael Hornick
▪ Hornick has become renown as the creator of Shanti guitars. In this interview he discusses the road to the top of the lutherie profession as well as tonewood and guitar design. With 3 photos.
1997
AL#50 p.50 BRB5 p.38
John Calkin Kent Everett
▪ Everett is one of those monster craftsmen who can knock out 50 fine instruments a year, alone. This interview not only covers his lutherie background but also explains the shop schedule that keeps the guitar flowing at such a prodigious rate. Featuring five photos and one of Everett’s comic strips.
1997
AL#50 p.4 BRB5 p.60
Frank Ford
▪ Ford has been a preeminent repairman for years, but has recently emerged as a fine teacher of repair topics. Everyone’s refretting tricks are a little different. Even if you have a handle on the general principle you may find that Frank Ford has something to offer you. With 29 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1997
AL#49 p.20 BRB5 p.12
John Calkin
▪ How to make thin-body guitars intended to be plugged in on stage. The bodies are hollowed from solid stock. Design considerations are emphasized. Production jigs are described, as are a set of jigs for making bridges. With 14 photos.
1997
AL#49 p.28 BRB5 p.18
Tim Olsen Fred Carlson
▪ Carlson grew up on a New England commune and never outgrew the philosophy of sharing. He would rather let his uniqueness bloom than give in to commercial considerations. You’ll be glad you met him here. With 16 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1997
AL#49 p.40 BRB5 p.26
Richard Beck
▪ Beck’s theme is to keep the quality but cut the time involved in building acoustic guitars. He shares his jigs for shaping headstocks and arching braces using a router table and heavy aluminum jigs. You may have to get a machine shop in on this job. With 13 photos and a drawing.
1997
LW p.68
Don Gallagher
▪ Just like it says. With 4 photos and a drawing.
1997
LW p.103
Harry Fleishman
▪ Perhaps Harry didn’t invent the guitar top made from two varieties of wood, but he has certainly made it a trademark of his instruments. The text explains the why of it, and the single photo offers a peek at one of Fleishman’s unique designs.
1996
AL#48 p.28 BRB4 p.408
Cyndy Burton John Mello
▪ Mello is a repairperson, guitarmaker, restorer, and instrument dealer. He apprenticed under Richard Schneider and worked with Jeffrey R. Elliott before opening his own shop.Much of the interview dwells upon the restoration of an 1862 Torres guitar. With 11 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1996
AL#48 p.36 BRB4 p.404
Frank Ford
▪ Ford built an elaborate jig for resetting the necks of valuable and delicate guitars where a slip of the chisel can’t be risked. The contrary nature of guitars may dictate that some hand fitting is required after the jig is used, but much of the danger is removed. With 8 photos.
1996
AL#48 p.42 BRB4 p.400
Phillip Murray
▪ Even in this age of the bolted on neck, there are plenty of guitarmakers who’d rather use a dovetail. Murray’s well thought out jigs cut both the male and female portions of the joint. With 14 photos and 7 diagrams.
1996
AL#47 p.6 BRB4 p.332
Jonathon Peterson
▪ So you’ve got a guitar that ought to sound better than it does. What can you do to it to perk up the punch? Experts Marc Silber, Scott van Linge, Robert Steinegger, Dana Bourgeois, Frank Ford, and T.J. Thompson describe how they shave braces, and show that brace shaving isn’t your only weapon.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1996
AL#47 p.46 BRB4 p.364
Colin Kaminski Marc Silber
▪ Silber is a musician, nomad, repairman, musical historian, guitar designer, dealer, collector, and all around keeper of the flame. How can a man have so much fun and make a living at the same time?
1996
AL#47 p.50 BRB4 p.358
Harry Fleishman
▪ Fleishman has worked with all the commercial piezo pickups and has made a bunch of his own. Shop-brewed pickups can be cheap, useful, and instructive, but finding the best use for any piezo can be complicated. Adding microphones or magnetic pickups to the mix can be more confusing than helpful. Fleishman takes a look at all the angles. From his 1995 convention lecture.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1996
AL#45 p.59 BRB4 p.469
Robert Lundberg
▪ This is a thorough and glowing review of an important book, by a reviewer who is best known for his work in early instruments.
1996
AL#46 p.6 BRB4 p.298
Bill Collings Ren Ferguson Richard Hoover Jean Larrivee Bob Taylor
▪ Steel string company honchos Bill Collings, Ren Ferguson, Richard Hoover, Jean Larrivee, and Bob Taylor discuss the development of their guitars, current production techniques, tonewood, amplification, and the immediate future of the instrument. From the 1995 convention panel discussion moderated by Joseph R. Johnson.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1995
AL#44 p.17 BRB4 p.236
David Hill Michael Gurian
▪ Gurian knows much more than he tells in this interview, but it’s good to know he’s still actively part of the guitar scene. He has worked alone, started an informal school of guitarmaking through the apprentices he has trained, owned guitar factories, invented tools, and is currently a supplier of parts and accessories.
1995
AL#44 p.32 BRB4 p.242
Jonathon Peterson Saul Koll
▪ Koll has fashioned a living by creating unique, often bizarre, guitars, both acoustic and electric. For many, ideas often come easy, it’s selling them that’s hard. Koll has found a niche. With 23 photos.
1995
AL#42 p.54 BRB4 p.431
Harry Fleishman
▪ Fleishman examines the Highlander acoustic guitar pickup and decides it’s pretty good, but not perfect. He has never met the perfect pickup, so far.
1995
AL#42 p.51 BRB4 p.416
Rick Turner
▪ Turner’s system of tuning an acoustic guitar pickup is elaborate. He also talks about amps for the acoustic guitar.
1995
AL#41 p.47 BRB4 p.416
Rick Turner
▪ Turner discusses solder, and a pickup pan pot.
1994
AL#40 p.42 BRB4 p.116
Bryan Galloup
▪ Detailed captions for 36 photos explain how to cook the neck out of a flattop and put it back on the way it ought to be.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1994
AL#40 p.54 BRB4 p.416
Rick Turner
▪ Have you got a new idea about wiring a guitar or bass? Turner helps you decide if it may be worth the effort of trying it out. The fact that a new wiring system will work doesn’t mean anyone will want to hear it. Or buy it. Or care at all.
1994
AL#40 p.56 BRB4 p.427
Harry Fleishman
▪ Fleishman tests the L.R. Baggs Micro Drive preamp and the MEQ-932 preamp available from Martin. Both units are for acoustic guitars, and the reviewer found them both to be a good value but not necessarily interchangeable.
1994
AL#39 p.56 BRB4 p.416
Rick Turner
▪ Turner updates the membership on some wire work he has done lately in his own shop.
1994
AL#39 p.10 BRB4 p.52
Bryan Galloup
▪ Here’s the whole story, with some tools for heat removal of the parts not seen in the magazine before. Pull those worn parts and make your own replacements. With 38 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1994
AL#38 p.30 BRB4 p.36
Jonathon Peterson Nick Kukich Jeanne Munro
▪ The folks from Franklin Guitars are outspoken and articulate. Are steel string makers really the “bottom feeders” of the guitar world? Kukich was there at the rebirth of the OM guitar.
1994
AL#38 p.44 BRB4 p.48
Mike Doolin
▪ Anyone willing to dismantle their first guitar deserves a lot of credit, especially if it came out cosmetically pristine the first time. Doolin replaced the top of his first guitar to bring the bass response up to spec. With 9 photos and a lot to think about.
1994
AL#38 p.52 BRB4 p.424
Harry Fleishman
▪ Fleishman has made himself an expert in the field of amplifying the acoustic guitar. Here he examines the Transducer/Mic Combo, from Dana Bourgeois Guitars, and decides that it is a “real bargain.”
1994
AL#37 p.56 BRB4 p.416
Rick Turner
▪ Turner’s column is all about the essential electronic measuring instruments for the guitar shop.
1993
AL#36 p.16 BRB3 p.396
Ervin Somogyi
▪ Somogyi delves into many of the technical considerations of guitar design and construction. With a large number of drawings.
1993
AL#35 p.24 BRB3 p.370
Nicholas-Von Robison Tom Ribbecke
▪ As an adviser to the trade, a builder of high quality guitars, and teacher, Ribbecke has had a strong influence on the work of many luthiers. This interview sketches his beginnings in lutherie.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1993
AL#35 p.63 BRB3 p.503 read this article
John Monteleone
▪ Remembering Mario Maccaferri, creator of guitars made by Selmer of Paris and made famous by Django Reinhardt, major contributor to the field of injection molding plastic, and overall self made man.
1993
AL#34 p.52 BRB3 p.426 read this article
Rick Turner
▪ This column is dedicated to combining magnetic and piezo pickups.
1993
AL#33 p.60 BRB3 p.312
Bill Garofalo
▪ An impromptu tour of a guitar factory in Buenos Aires, mainly making solidbody electrics.
1993
AL#33 p.50 BRB3 p.426 read this article
Rick Turner
▪ Turner talks about building pickup/microphone systems into an acoustic guitar.
1993
AL#33 p.54 BRB3 p.437
Harry Fleishman
▪ Fleishman tests the Dean Markley SST acoustic guitar pickup (saddle/transducer) and decides that it may fit certain needs but it doesn’t offer faithful reproduction of the guitar’s acoustic sound.
1993
AL#33 p.57 BRB3 p.471 read this article
Dave Maize
▪ Videos begin to get their due in the review department. The reviewer decides this tape is a valuable aid for the first-time builder.
1992
AL#32 p.8 BRB3 p.242
Jonathon Peterson Ren Ferguson
▪ The shop honcho of Gibson West relates some personal background. Ferguson moved to Montana long before Gibson did. Did Gibson really build a factory there just for him? Probably not. Mentions Rob Ehlers, Steve Carlson, Henry Juszkiewicz.
1992
AL#32 p.11 BRB3 p.244
Jonathon Peterson
▪ As a maker of fine acoustic instruments Gibson was reborn in Montana. The man in charge of creativity and efficiency leads the GAL team through his domain. With 17 photos.
1992
AL#31 p.30 BRB3 p.224 read this article
John Decker
▪ This alternative to wood is outside the reach of most luthiers. It’s interesting to know how hard some are working to make graphite sound like wood. Graphite might have its own sound to offer, but once again inventors have to deal with what humans are used to, rather than with what they might have if they were more open minded. With 7 photos.
1992
AL#30 p.52 BRB3 p.435
Harry Fleishman
▪ Fleishman wrings out the line of Mini-flex guitar mikes and finds them wanting. He also tries out the Radio Shack electret condenser mike #33-1063 and likes it.
1992
AL#30 p.56 BRB3 p.469 read this article
Lloyd Zsiros
▪ The reviewer finds that although the book offers no information on playing or building guitars, it is otherwise an excellent resource and a pleasure to read. The photos are excellent and the book covers a lot of ground.
1992
AL#29 p.59 BRB3 p.468 read this article
Lloyd Zsiros
▪ The reviewer likes this video at first, but after repeated viewing finds it comes up short. If you have all the books and still can’t get motivated, perhaps this tape will help.
1992
AL#29 p.62 BRB3 p.434
Harry Fleishman
▪ Harry reviews the Acoustech Dynamic Field Pickup.
1992
AL#30 p.6 BRB3 p.196 ALA4 p.20
Paul Hostetter
▪ AL is one of the few available resources that examines the foreign instrument scene in any detail. Hostetter’s chief interest lies in the Selmer Django guitars designed by Maccaferri, but he peeks into every nook that offers a glimpse of strange instruments. Along the way he meets Francois Charle and Maurice Dupont. With 5 photos of Selmers.
1992
AL#30 p.7 BRB3 p.197 ALA4 p.21
Francois Charle Paul Hostetter
▪ Get the straight skinny about Maccaferri/Selmer guitars from a French expert.
1992
AL#30 p.10 BRB3 p.200 ALA4 p.24
Paul Hostetter Maurice Dupont
▪ Meet a French guitar maker whose specialty is the recreation of Selmer guitars. Dupont even mills his own spruce. He is one of the more accessible foreign luthiers, and his guitars are available in the States. Mentions Maccaferri, Django Reinhardt.
1992
AL#30 p.16 BRB3 p.136 read this article
Alan Carruth
▪ Accessibility and usefulness are the keys to this segment of Carruth’s study. He addresses the archtop, flattop, and classical guitars, and even builds a flattop out of oak to compare its tuning modes to conventional tonewoods. With many mode diagrams and plate graduation charts. Too many scientific studies leave the luthier asking, “So what do you want me to do?” Carruth offers some real-world suggestions. Parts One and Two were in AL#28 and AL#29.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1992
AL#29 p.42 BRB3 p.136 read this article
Alan Carruth
▪ Carruth tries to keep it light as he describes the glitter dances that should improve your violins, and even sheds light on cello plate tuning. If you feel threatened by the dryness of science just relax and give it a try. Carruth is on your side. Really. With a whole bunch of drawings. Part One was in AL#28. Part Three follows in AL#30. The entire series appears in BRB3.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1992
AL#29 p.54 BRB3 p.426 read this article
Rick Turner
▪ A new column is born. What is pickup phase and polarity? Why do positions 2 and 4 on a 5-way Strat switch sound funky? Turner knows and tells all.
1991
AL#28 p.60 BRB3 p.466 read this article
Gary Frisbie
▪ Books from the 70s written by an Englishman and intended to provide a wealth of info on Gibson guitars built from 1950 to the end of the 70s. Book 1 covers all the major lines of solidbody and hollowbody electrics, jazz and flattop acoustics. Book 2 covers omissions and inaccuracies in book 1, plus Epiphones, Kalamazoos, and Dwight guitars
1991
AL#28 p.34 BRB3 p.126 ALA4 p.10
Phillip Lea Bob Taylor
▪ Few people in Guitarland are as outspoken and clear-headed as Bob Taylor. Others might say he’s just opinionated. He believes a good guitar is a good guitar, no matter if it was whittled by Gepeto or cranked out by a dozen computer-guided milling cutters. This article offers a peek into the Taylor factory and a guided tour through one man’s thoughts about the contemporary guitar. With 28 photos.
1991
AL#26 p.58 BRB3 p.463 read this article
David Riggs
▪ The reviewer finds that this book offers good, solid instruction to the person building their first guitar.
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#27 p.46 BRB3 p.118
Joseph-R. Johnson Hideo Kamimoto
▪ The famous repairman/author discusses his book, his history as a luthier, and his expectations for his own future.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#25 p.52 BRB3 p.30 read this article
Michael Keller
▪ Silicon heat blankets are good for more than bending sides. Keller touches upon other uses, but his instructions for making forms and putting them to use is the focus here, and they cover about all you need to know. Once you have the blanket, the forms are cheap to make.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#26 p.8 BRB3 p.37 ALA4 p.28
Jean Larrivee
▪ Larrivee has overseen the creation of 15,000 acoustic guitars and 12,000 electrics. Much of what he has to say pertains as strongly to the one-off builder as it does to another industry giant, and he doesn’t hold back on anything.
1991
AL#25 p.6 BRB3 p.16
Steve Banchero David Freeman Larry Kirmser David Vincent Donald Warnock
▪ A panel of lutherie teachers talks it over at the 1990 GAL Convention.
1991
AL#25 p.48 BRB3 p.24
Bill Colgan Greg Bernd
▪ Like many of his generation, eighty-year-old Summerfield led a hard life. He didn’t turn to professional instrument making until he reached what many would call old age, but after that he didn’t waste any time. There’s quite a few Seth Summerfields out there, and their story is always a good one.
1990
AL#24 p.16 BRB2 p.470
Dana Bourgeois
▪ This is perhaps the strongest article ever published in American Lutherie about voicing the top and bracing of the steel string guitar. The fallout from this piece has been very wide spread.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1990
AL#24 p.19 BRB2 p.476
Gila Eban Dana Bourgeois
▪ Dana discusses his favorite top woods and how they compare.
1990
AL#24 p.38 BRB2 p.460
Bob Gleason
▪ A Hawaiian guitar maker passes on some of his tricks for the successful use of an indigenous wood. With 4 photos of his sidebending procedure.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1990
AL#23 p.8 BRB2 p.386
Gila Eban Dana Bourgeois
▪ This interview took place while Bourgeois was designing acoustic guitars for Paul Reed Smith, an enterprise that never came to fruition but which led to Bourgeois starting his own company in Maine. He talks about his early days as a luthier and his association with Eric Shoenberg.
1990
AL#22 p.28 BRB2 p.384
Rion Dudley
▪ Dudley adds a 1/10″ layer of spruce between the instrument top and the bridge plate of a 12-string guitar, and under the bridge of a flattop mandolin. He likes the results, but is uncertain what the operation actually does to the performance of the top.
1990
AL#21 p.44 BRB2 p.262
Joseph-R. Johnson
▪ A number of non-mandolins were considered to be intrinsic parts of the mandolin orchestras. This installment of the series looks at all the boys in the band (and some girls, too). With 16 photos and a few drawings.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1990
AL#22 p.3
Ralph Novak
▪ An old Harmony guitar may not be a wonderful instrument, but it is well worth rebuilding.
1989
AL#19 p.3
Brett Borton
▪ Borton sends 2 photos updating his work on crank tops (American Lutherie #17), and an X brace substitute.
1989
AL#19 p.34 BRB2 p.262
Joseph-R. Johnson
▪ Mandolin mania in America was a social phenomenon that was inflated to the max by the Gibson Company advertising propaganda. This portion of the series details the rise of the mandolin orchestras and mandolin clubs. With 9 photos and a Gibson cartoon. Part Two and Part Three follow in AL#20 and AL#21.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1989
AL#18 p.38 read this article
Phil Banks
▪ Banks, like many before him, attempts to display on paper the movements of an excited guitar top.He is uncertain of his results, but his illustrations are certainly foxier than a normal graph or oscilloscope printout.
1989
AL#18 p.42 BRB2 p.238
Jonathon Peterson Wes Brandt
▪ Peterson offers a short interview with a luthier who makes small-bodied steel string guitars from alternative woods.
1989
AL#17 p.44 BRB2 p.198
John Morgan
▪ Bridge setup must be done after the bridge is glued to the guitar in Morgan’s system. It also requires many little operations, but the intonation should come out perfect and the saddles remain individually adjustable for height. The finished bridge looks pretty cool, too.
1989
AL#17 p.46 BRB2 p.208
Brett Borton
▪ Have you ever seen a mandolin with an intentional crease or sharp bend to the top behind the bridge? That’s a cranked top. Borton describes how to add a cranked top to the steel string guitar, though he’s not too specific about why we should try it.
1989
AL#17 p.52 BRB2 p.495
David Thormahlen
▪ The reviewer has reservations about the repair chapter of this book, but otherwise finds it to be “accessible, innovative, and valuable.”
1988
AL#16 p.52
John Morgan
▪ Morgan uses braces that seem to taper the wrong way, but reports good results. They also stop short of the lining. He lists other distinctions in his design that complement the new bracing system.
1988
AL#16 p.54 BRB2 p.493
Mark Humpal
▪ The reviewer finds that if you just like to look at guitars, and don’t demand art quality photos, you’ll like this book and its 1200 pictures.
1988
AL#15 p.69 BRB2 p.492
Joseph-R. Johnson
▪ The reviewer is enthusiastic about the research potential of this updated book, and believes it will be of use to the repairman who may face Larson instruments on his bench.
1988
AL#14 p.60 BRB2 p.490
Cyndy Burton
▪ This book, which has since become sort of the Bible of guitarmaking, is described by the reviewer as “the book we’ve all been waiting for.”
1988
AL#13 p.16 BRB2 p.12
Tim Olsen Jean Larrivee
▪ Life inside the Larrivee guitar shop during its electric/acoustic phase. With 19 photos.
1988
AL#14 p.17 BRB2 p.37
Dana Bourgeois
▪ Where did Martin buy their spruce from year to year during their vintage days? Bourgeois discovered that there is no way to know, and that guitar experts are forced to guess.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1987
AL#12 p.26 BRB1 p.460 ALA4 p.4
Tim Olsen
▪ Enhanced with 6 photos, this is the tale of one luthier’s connection to famous musicians, the Everly Brothers. Have you ever made a guitar with solid gold frets and binding? Robert Steinegger has.
1987
AL#11 p.32 BRB1 p.474
Max Krimmel Jean Larrivee Bruce Ross Ervin Somogyi Robert Steinegger
▪ Such panel discussions are always interesting, but this one especially so, mostly because three of the five panelists run one-man shops. The questions (and even many answers) don’t seem to change much from year to year, but it’s good to hear from some smaller voices in the industry for a change.
1987
AL#11 p.14 BRB1 p.427
Fred Carlson
▪ Carlson makes a case for less conformity in lutherie. Only 1 photo of one of his dramatic, asymmetrical guitars, but it’s quite inspiring.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1987
AL#10 p.44 BRB1 p.398
Joseph-R. Johnson
▪ This is a checklist of what to look for when you get there. Also, a reason to go.
1987
AL#10 p.62 BRB1 p.500 read this article
Cyndy Burton
▪ Workbook format, large, 160 photos and diagrams, and spiral binding are great advantages of this nuts and bolts straight method book.
1987
AL#11 p.8 BRB1 p.416
Steve Klein
▪ Klein’s lecture outlines his aesthetic concerns about the contemporary steel string guitar, and many of the details of his ever-evolving, iconoclastic instruments. With several nice drawings and 2 photos. Mentions Richard Schneider and Michael Kasha.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1987
AL#11 p.8
Steve Klein
▪ The following four articles demonstrate how innovation and individual flair can lead to instruments that don’t resemble the rest of the pack.
1987
AL#9 p.44 BRB1 p.201
Tim Olsen Robert Steinegger
▪ Here’s the low down on a trick Washburn bridge from 1897. A photo and drawing explain the plot line, but the mystery remains.
1986
AL#7 p.56 BRB1 p.181
Sam Sherry
▪ Sherry claims his “bridge plate” style caul is a universal tool that makes bridge regluing easier.
1986
AL#7 p.29 BRB1 p.256 ALA6 p.8
Mario Maccaferri
▪ Maccaferri speaks about his life as a musician, luthier, and inventor. Mentions the Selmer company and Django Reinhardt.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
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#6 p.22 read this article
Ted Davis
▪ Davis interviews the great flatpicker about (mostly) nontechnical matters.
1986
AL#6 p.45
Carl Margolis
▪ Margolis defends the Kasha guitar system, using the Kasha-influenced instruments of Steve Klein examples.
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.
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.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#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.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#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.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#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.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.
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.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
DS#264 LW p.60
Ted Davis
▪ New top, fingerboard, and headstock veneer. GAL plan #6.
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#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
DS#202 LW p.90
Eric Berry
▪ Florentine cutaways are the pointy kind. This instruction is for adding the cutaway to your basic design as construction progresses, not for adding a cutaway to an already completed guitar. With 3 drawings.
1981
GALQ Vol.9#1 p.8 LT p.106
John Judge
▪ This depiction of life in the Guild guitar factory in the ’60s may open some eyes.
1980
GALQ Vol.8#2 p.10 LW p.66
Richard Irwin
▪ Irwin found a small gold-painted guitar in a junk shop that turned out to be an 1850 2-24 Martin. Removing the gold paint revealed a nearly pristine guitar marred only by some pick wear. With 3 photos and a diagram of the pyramid bridge.
1980
DS#138 LW p.118
Larry Stevens
▪ The author borrowed this dovetail system from Max Krimmel. The routing jigs are fully described, and it is recommended that the head block be routed before the body is assembled, Martin-style.
1977
DS#45 BRB1 p.288
Ian Noyce
▪ ‘Bet you thought you knew how to tune a guitar. Some are fussier than others, right? Noyce explains that fussiness, and by examining the fussiness it can in part be designed out of the guitar. On the other hand, part of the problem is psycho-fussiness, meaning that you have to tune to suit the peculiarities of human hearing. They say that horses have perfect pitch, so tuning up must be much less of a chore for them.
1976
DS#34
John Thierman
▪ The tops of many older flat-top steel string guitars will bulge up at the bridge due to the high tension of the steel strings.