Category Archives: humor

Electric Guitar Repair: Setups, Frets, and Inspiration

2024
AL#152 p.6               
Evan Gluck   Larry Fitzgerald                                                                                       

▪ Gluck is a beloved repeat presenter at GAL Conventions. This time, he brought along veteran New York repair guy Larry Fitzgerald. In addition to demonstrating fret-leveling techniques, they tell war stories of maneuvering their businesses to survive the recent global pandemic. Mentions Matt Brewster, Sam Ash, John Suhr, Rudy Pensa, Mandolin Brothers, Dan Erlewine, John Patitucci, Flip Scipio, LeRoy Aiello.

Finding Inspiration in Early 20th-Century Instruments

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; it’s 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.

My First Twenty Years

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. It’s 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.

A Posthumous Interview with Seymour Drugan

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.

Letter to the Editor: No Golden-Age Martin Duds

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.

Remembering the Master’s Last Class

2022
AL#146 p.6               
Flip Scipio                                                                                           

▪ Ten years ago, Flip Scipio attended the last of the summer seminars given by José Romanillos at his base in Sigüenza, Spain. Now, after the recent passing of the Maestro, this review is both informative and poignant.

Meet the Maker: Matt Brewster

2022
AL#145 p.25               
Evan Gluck                                                                                           

▪ Imagine you were a guitar repair guy, and there was another guitar repair guy in your same town. What would you do about it? If you were Evan Gluck, or any other enlightened, right-thinking luthier, you would march right over there and make him your best friend. These guys have a blast “competing” in the same market, sharing stories, customers, tools, and techniques. And yes, it does help if your hometown has over eight million people in it. Mentions Brian Moore, Dan Erlewine, Michael Bashkin, Ian Davlin, Jimmy Carbonetti.

Seeking the Holy Grail: Torres’ FE08

2021
AL#143 p.6               
Federico Sheppard                                                                                           

▪ It is a story of mystery, dedication, and destiny. The wide-eyed young novitiate is mentored by oracles, sorcerers, and craftsmen until he finds his great quest and pursues it against all odds. To put it more plainly, but no more truthfully, it is the story of Federico Sheppard constructing a copy of FE08, the astonishingly elaborate early opus of the master luthier Antonio Torres Jurado. Mentions Nick Kukich, Ray Jacobs, Shel Urlik, Jose Romanillos, Richard Brune, Robert Ruck, Robert Lundberg, Abel Garcia Lopez, Nicolo Alessi.

Vise on a Stick

2021
AL#143 p.54               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Start with the cheap half of one of those little bench-top drill presses. Add a small piece of plywood with some holes drilled in it. Bolt on a vise. Now you have Vise on a Stick, which can clamp to any bench top and can swivel and tilt all over the place. It’s especially great for bringing a good solid vise up to eye level.

Remembering Julian Bream

2021
AL#142 p.6               
Cyndy Burton   Jose Romanillos   R.E. Brune   Jeffrey R. Elliott   Kevin Aram   Gary Southwell   Simon Ambridge                                                                   

▪ The great classical guitarist Julian Bream was well known for supporting and encouraging contemporary composers and promising young players. Less noticed by the public, but of special importance to luthiers, was Bream’s work with a handful of classical guitar makers from whom he commissioned the fine instruments that he played. In this article, those luthiers offer memories of their interactions with Julian Bream. Mentions Hermann Hauser Sr.

If You Want to Build Guitars, Build Guitars

2020
AL#139 p.56               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry has been a lot of places and made a lot of instruments in a lot of shops. Now, after fifty years as a luthier, a lutherie teacher, and a hired-gun designer, he’s right back where many folks started: in a spare bedroom. He encourages us (and himself) not to let a humble shop space be an excuse for inaction. Just do it (registered trademark)!

Review: McDonald’s The Ukulele: An Illustrated Workshop Manual and Weissenrieder and Greenbaum’s The Uke Book Illustrated

2020
AL#139 p.63               
Pat Megowan                                                                                           

▪ Our reviewer compares, contrasts, and waxes eloquent about The Ukulele: An Illustrated Workshop Manual by Graham McDonald and The Uke Book Illustrated by John Weissenrieder and Sarah Greenbaum. In addition to a lot of thoughful and practical analysis, he uses the metaphore of different ice-cream eating experiences to explain their complex relationship.

Guitar Maker Without Borders

2020
AL#139 p.6               
Federico Sheppard                                                                                           

▪ Here’s a lutherie carreer so wide-ranging, so full of amazing travels and fortuitous connections, that you might be thinking of Baron Munchausen or Forrest Gump. But this is a true adventure, and he left a lot of it out in order to pack the story into a 75-minute lecture. Must read to believe. From his 2017 GAL Convention lecture. Mentions Torres, Simplicio, Garcia, Leo Kottke, Bozo Podunavac, Ray Jacobs, John Fahey, Peter Lang, Norman Blake, Robert Larson, Agustin Barrios, Ray Whitely, Sanfeliu, Enno Voorhorst, Jeffrey Elliott, Cyndy Burton, Richard Brune, Jorge Morel, Pepe Romero, Shel Urlik, Romanillos, Dmitry Zhevlakov, Paracho, Abel Garcia, Antigua Casa Nunez, Cecilio Lopez, Fernando Sor, Francois de Fossa, Cite de la Musique, Santos Hernanadez, Domingo Esteso, Antonio Marin, Eugene Clark, Michael Partington.

Less Than a Thousand Guitar Repair Tips

2020
AL#139 p.42               
Erick Coleman   Evan Gluck                                                                                       

▪ Erick and Evan (the two Es) are back with more helpful hints for the guitar repair shop. Some of the things they show are nicely developed professional tools, like for leveling frets while the guitar is still under string tension. Then there’s a diagnostic tool that is just a stick, a guitar string, and a salvaged tuning machine. If you think that’s gronk, how about the tool that Evan calls “my string.” It’s just a string. Not even a guitar string. Mentions gluing frets, DeoxIT, WD40, tri-Flow, slotting bridge pins, regluing bridges, fret nipper, notching fret tang, Matt Brewster, fret leveler bar, StewMac, Stewart-MacDonald, bridge removal, shark skin, fret rocker, fret leveler. From their workshop at the 2017 GAL Convention.

Let’s Catch up with Harry Fleishman

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.

What Were They Thinking?

2018
AL#133 p.56               
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ We’ve all seen bad repairs. They can be frustrating, or maybe enraging. But sometimes they are just dazzling in their spectacular daring and ignorance. Here’s a couple of those.

The Pretty Good Setup Tailpiece

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.

Reviews: Building the Selmer-Maccaferri Guitar by Michael Collins

2008
AL#96 p.66               read this article
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer enjoyed this 14-hour DVD set but advises that it’s not the last word in the construction of a fine guitar.

Product Review: Stewart-MacDonald Fret Scale Rules

2006
AL#85 p.59               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman is at his humorous best here, hunting the past for how frets used to be laid out, why they were often wrong, and why the new Stew-Mac rules are tools worth having. Did you know there are at least three ways to calculate fret spacing? Did you know they vary in their results? Can musicians hear the difference? With 1 photo and a chart.

Diagnosis: Lutherie

2005
AL#82 p.51               
Ervin Somogyi                                                                                           

▪ So you’ve made a guitar but it’s not all you hoped for. You have the opportunity to discuss it with your peers and they all have a cure. Unhappily the methods of correction don’t jibe. Somogyi finally got a response he could live with. It saved his guitar and eventually turned into an unexpected sale. The whole trick is in lucking into the right guy to talk to.

Is Guitar Design an Oxymoron?

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.

Meet the Maker: John Greven

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.

Guitar Tattoos: Inlay Harry’s Way

2003
AL#74 p.8   BRB7 p.36            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman’s perspective on guitar design and construction is all his own, so it’s no surprise that his brand of inlay should also be unique. He has a philosophy of inlay (and of working, and living in general) that guides his pursuit of guitar decoration that is just as important as how the work is accomplished. This lecture is Harry at his best, shedding light on a deep subject while flooring us with laughter. Great stuff, with 30 cool photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Meet the Maker: Steve Grimes

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.

Stop Giving Your Guitar the Finger

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.

Lutherie Trivia

2002
AL#69 p.46               
Ervin Somogyi                                                                                           

▪ The wry Somogyi presents some little-known information that may not improve your work but will nicely occupy your mind as you carve a neck for the 50th time, or whatever. The meaning of many words has drifted so far from the roots of those words that, in the strictest sense, we no longer know what we are talking about, even though we continue to communicate very nicely. Mostly. A fun piece.

Product Reviews: Livos Oil Finish

2000
AL#63 p.56   BRB6 p.471            read this article
Fred Carlson                                                                                           

▪ Mr. Fred spins a tale about new finish products, then reviews the orange oil-based finish products from Livos.

Product Reviews: Fretless Bass Strings, Coconut Cup, Duct Tape Lutherie

1998
AL#56 p.58               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The Guild’s toolin’ fool bows out as a regular columnist by reviewing tools that could only exist in an Ideal World. Or Funnier World. Pure satire from a man who knows about purity. With 4 photos.

Hangin’ with Augie

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.

NCAL Awards Concocted, Awarded, Reported

1995
AL#43 p.65               
Ervin Somogyi                                                                                           

▪ Recognizing the accomplishments of the volunteer work of NCAL (Northern California Association of Luthiers) with a special award, the Swiss Army Banjo.

Floyd

1994
AL#37 p.42               read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Local color and good humor are key ingredients of this peek at an independent-minded violinmaker. Arizona rosewood? Manzinita tuning pegs?

Big Blue Ladder

1993
AL#33 p.39   BRB3 p.309            read this article
Harold Turner                                                                                           

▪ Turner thinks you might like to try white pine as a tonewood. But you’ll have to harvest it yourself. Here are some suggestions about how to go about it.

Hellfire! or How Not To Build A Banjo

1992
AL#32 p.47   BRB3 p.257            read this article
Harold Turner                                                                                           

▪ Build a banjo and scare the congregation, and not with music. Luthier humor, and more good local color. Turner was there when the banjo bomb was invented. A shrinking calf skin head was the culprit.

Heelblock Hank: His Story, Part Three

1990
AL#21 p.35   BRB2 p.311            
Louis-“Buddy” Hale   Michael-H. Price                                                                                       

▪ The GAL’s own comic book hero signs off. Parts One and Two were printed in AL #19 and AL#20.

Wonders of the Lutherie World: The Feral Balalaika

1989
AL#19 p.61               
Francis Kosheleff                                                                                           

▪ The well known fact that domestic animals abandoned in the forest will revert to their ancestral state, as applied to stringed instruments.

Heelblock Hank: His Story, Part Two

1989
AL#20 p.55   BRB2 p.310            
Louis-“Buddy” Hale   Michael-H. Price                                                                                       

▪ The informational comic strip continues. Part One was in AL #19. The final part follows in AL#21.

Heelblock Hank: His Story Part One

1989
AL#19 p.51   BRB2 p.309            
Louis-“Buddy” Hale   Michael-H. Price                                                                                       

▪ American Lutherie tries an informational comic strip.Parts Two and Three follow in AL#20 and AL#21.

The G-String Market

1988
AL#15 p.62               
Tom Rossing                                                                                           

▪ This is a humorous comparison of a G string force waveform to a Dow Jones Industrial Average graph.

Harvey Thomas and the Infernal Music Machine

1987
AL#11 p.44   BRB1 p.440            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ A rollicking, good-time account of a era gone by and a free-spirited maker of outrageous electric guitars who was pretty much unknown outside of his own territory. It’ll make you feel good.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Embarrassing Moments in Lutherie

1985
AL#1 p.53               
Carl McFarland                                                                                           

▪ McFarland drilled up through the face of a finished tamburah when drilling holes for string anchors in the tail area of the sides.