Category Archives: reviews

Review: Violin Set-Ups and Adjustments by Dan Erlewine and Paul Newson

1987
AL#11 p.50   BRB1 p.502            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds this video to be a wise investment, especially for one new to the craft.

Review: The Manuscript on Violinmaking by Giovanni Antonio Marchi

1987
AL#11 p.50   BRB1 p.502            read this article
Don Overstreet                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be of mild interest for the violin historian, but seems to have been generally disappointed in its usefulness to the luthier.

Review: A Guitar Maker’s Manual

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.

Review: Jose Oribe: The Fine Guitar

1987
AL#9 p.56   BRB1 p.498            
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer believes that the book may help an experienced luthier adjust his “attitude” toward his craft and thereby make a better instrument. The beginner may not find it so useful.

Review: From the Pages of Experimental Musical Instruments, Volume 1 by Experimental Musical Instruments

1987
AL#9 p.56   BRB1 p.500            read this article
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer is enthusiastic about the mind-opening possibilities of this booklet/cassette combination.

Review: Guitar and Vihuela: An Annotated Bibliography by Meredith Alice McCutcheon

1987
AL#9 p.56   BRB1 p.499            read this article
Joseph-R. Johnson                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that the book “falls short of being a thorough international bibliography, but will prove valuable to guitar and vihuela teachers, students, and luthiers.”

Review: The New Yorker Special by Frederick Cohen

1987
AL#9 p.57   BRB1 p.500            read this article
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer has high praise for this 28-minute film about famed archtop builder Jimmy D’Aquisto. As well as being a “valentine” to D’Aquisto, this film offers a tasty repast for information-hungry luthiers. (AL#9 p.57).

Review: A Catalogue of Pre-Revival Appalachian Dulcimers by L. Allen Smith

1986
AL#7 p.60   BRB1 p.497            read this article
James Flynn                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer doubts the book’s conclusions and finds it of no value to the serious luthier. He states, however, that dulcimer enthusiasts may find it interesting.

Review: Italian Violin Varnishes by George Fry

1986
AL#7 p.60   BRB1 p.498            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be a worthwhile investment for anyone seriously trying to duplicate antique violin finishes.

Review: Physics And Music by Neville H. Fletcher

1986
AL#7 p.61   BRB1 p.498            read this article
Tom Rossing                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer is enthusiastic about this booklet for the nonscientist, finding it useful and accurate.

Review: SMAC83: Proceedings of the Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference

1986
AL#6 p.52   BRB1 p.496            read this article
Tom Rossing                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that this collection of scientific papers will be of value to instrument builders, though it offers no “how to” advice.

Review: The Early History of the Viol by Ian Woodfield

1986
AL#5 p.53   BRB1 p.495            read this article
Christopher Allworth                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be “important and useful” to builders who wish to pursue the early viols.

Review: Julian Bream: A Life on the Road

1986
AL#5 p.53   BRB1 p.496            read this article
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be of interest to the luthier, even though it offers little technical information about guitars.

Review: The Luthier’s Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers by Luthier’s Mercantile

1985
AL#4 p.52   BRB1 p.492            read this article
Frederick Battershell                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer examines what has become one of the main-stay catalogs of lutherie and finds that it’s not only chock full of wood, supplies, and tools, it’s a nearly encyclopedic source of lutherie information.

Review: Violin-Making As It Was, And Is by Ed. Heron-Allen

1985
AL#4 p.52   BRB1 p.494            read this article
Kirk-A. Janowiak                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that this book is a necessary addition to any luthier’s library, but especially to one who may not yet be equipped with power tools.

Review: Geometry, Proportion, and the Art of Lutherie

1985
AL#4 p.53   BRB1 p.492            read this article
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that this book about Renaissance and Baroque stringed instruments is “the most intense 178 pages of treatise on the art of lutherie. . . . Lots of math, and “exquisite” drawings of 33 instruments.

Review: The Technique of Violin Making by H.S. Wake

1985
AL#3 p.48   BRB1 p.489            read this article
Frederick Battershell                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be poorly organized and under-illustrated, making it a poor text for the beginning violinmaker.

Review: The Science of Sound by Tom Rossing

1985
AL#3 p.48   BRB1 p.491            read this article
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be a complete text on the basics of acoustics that is relatively free of math and technical jargon.

Review: 1/1 The Quarterly Journal of the Just Intonation Network by The University of Iowa, School of Music

1985
AL#3 p.49   BRB1 p.490            read this article
Edward Kottick                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the journal interesting, yet is nevertheless critical of its informational accuracy.

Review: Guitars and Mandolins in America Featuring the Larsons’ Creations by Robert Hartman

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.

Review: The Strad Facsimile — An Illustrated Guide to Violin Making by Edwin John Ward

1985
AL#2 p.51   BRB1 p.487            
Frederick Battershell                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer praises the concise approach of the book as it describes one builder’s construction of a violin.

Review: Lutes, Viols and Temperaments by Mark Lindley

1985
AL#2 p.52   BRB1 p.488            read this article
Edward Kottick                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer calls the book a brilliant overview and analysis of all that can be said about the complex issue of temperament on string instruments between 1520 and 1740.

Review: Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock by Tom and Mary Ann Evans

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.

Review: Classic Guitar Making by Overholtzer

1985
AL#1 p.54   BRB1 p.486            
William McCaw                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer praises the book as the most logical of the construction methods he has read, but takes issue with some specific techniques.

Review: The Modern Harpsichord by Wolfgang Joachim Zuckerman

1973
GALNL Vol.1#1 p.4               read this article
J.R. Beall                                                                                           

▪ The Modern Harpsichord by Wolfgang Joachim Zuckermann is a large, well illustrated, intelligently written and edited volume that lists and comments of most of the known makers of today.