2024
AL#152 p.38
Gary Southwell
▪ Bog oak is the ultimate sinker wood. Giant oak trees sank into peat bogs thousands of years ago. Now they are being dug up, sawed into planks, and carefully dried. Innovative traditionalist Gary Southwell loves the stuff.
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#148 p.62
John Calkin
▪ The Lutherie Curmudgeon casts his eye on the lutherie scene, and speaks his truth. He’s kinda grumpy, but you know you love him.
2022
AL#146 p.14
Max Mclaughlin
▪ Here’s a story that will sound familiar to a lot of us old farts of the Lutherie Boom generation for the decades-old echoes that it evokes. A bold young person wants to do unusual and arty things with guitars, and they find an older mentor in the crowded back room of a New York City guitar store. That takes you back, don’t it Gramps?
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!
2020
AL#140 p.56
Geoff Needham
▪ Bamboo is kinda like wood, right? Ever wonder if you could make a guitar out of it? Nowadays it comes in large panels of edge-laminated strips that are about the right thickness. The author made two nice classical guitars with bamboo sides and backs, and gives the material a big thumbs-up for workability, appearance, and sound. Mentions Miguel Rodriguez and Domingo Esteso.
2020
AL#139 p.2
Dean Coss John Calkin
▪ Does a solid body lap steel guitar need a truss rod? No. Plus a discussion of alernative woods and some appreciation of the virtues of quick-and-dirty lutherie.
2019
AL#138 p.6
Michael Bashkin
▪ Michael Bashkin’s lutherie cred is unimpeachable, and it turns out that he previously had a career in forestry, with years of experience in many places from the tropics, to the temperate zone, to the arctic. So he knows a lot about trees and about wood. How should we feel about using the earth’s dwindling supplies of fine traditional woods to make our wonderful, precious guitars? And will our clients give us less of their wonderful, precious dollars if we don’t? Let’s ask Michael. This fascinating article is based on his 2017 GAL Convention lecture.
2019
AL#136 p.36
Mike Gluyas Shaun Newman
▪ Although he had fallen in love with the classical guitar the first time he heard one as a teenager, Shaun Newman was already well along in a career as a language teacher when he first tried to make one. He was lucky enough to find a mentor in his corner of England, and he has been making and restoring an impressive variety of fine instruments for the last thirty years.
2018
AL#134 p.52
Chris Herrod
▪ You’ll often read article in American Lutherie where scientists explain the sound of guitars in terms of resonant frequencies and onset transients. On the other hand, longtime wood merchant Chris Herrod is here to give the metaphoric pendulum a big old shove back to the right-brain tradition of using evocative adjectives like “dry,” “creamy,” and “poignant.” He also discusses psychoacoustics research and how confident we should be about our “ears.”
2018
AL#133 p.6
Federico Sheppard
▪ There are luthiers way up in the tributaries of the Amazon River. They have wood galore, and they are teaching large numbers of local kids to make their own instruments. But they are short on good sharp tools and modern information. Our intrepid adventurer Federico Sheppard sets out to address that lack by bring in donated tools and holding master classes. He was multi-tasking; on the same trip he researched and commemorated the 1931 visit of Agustin Barrios to the remarkable Teatro Amazonas, which you might recognize from the Werner Herzog movie Fitzcaraldo. And he got in some fishing.
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.
2017
AL#132 p.58
Lee Herron
▪ Take a break from building that replica Joachim Tielke Baroque guitar and step up to this lutherie challenge. Build a fully-functional Dobro from a sheet of 3/4″ construction plywood, a few parts from the plumbing department, and various stuff from the thrift store. OK, you can also have a fretboard, a real set of tuners, and a set of strings. But when it comes to finding a resonator cone, you’ll have to punt. Or Bundt.
2017
AL#130 p.68
Robert Ruck
▪ Is ipe a good guitar wood?
2017
AL#129 p.68
John Calkin R.M. Mottola
▪ There is no company offering a torrifying service, but maybe you can do something similar in a home oven. I said maybe. Don’t blame the GAL if you make a stinking mess. Or worse.
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.
2017
AL#130 p.60 read this article
Tom Bednark
▪ Tunquist ran the huge circular saw on which most of the wood for Martin guitars was cut in the 1940s, ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. He is remembered by Tom Bednark, an early GAL member.
2017
AL#129 p.64
John Calkin
▪ Calkin’s manifesto of outlaw lutherie. He says real lutherie can be fun, spontanious, quick, and cheap. Relax. It’s good for you.
2017
AL#129 p.68
Mark Dalton Andy Powers John Calkin
▪ Torrified wood has been baked at similar temperatures as baking potatoes, usually in a reduced-oxygen atmosphere. Seems to make the wood lighter in weight, darker in color, and stiffer across the grain.
2017
AL#129 p.12
John Calkin
▪ Calkin says real lutherie can be fun, spontanious, quick, and cheap. He makes a uke from a lumber-yard 2×4 to drive home the point.
2009
AL#99 p.3
Thomas Johnson
▪ Johnson’s letter introduces us to English uke maker Ray Cowell, who began his career by making instruments from wood retrieved from the ocean liner RMS Olympic, sister ship to the ill-fated Titanic.
2008
AL#96 p.50
Bob Gleason
▪ A low key (not to mention fun) description of how uke making varies from guitar making. Gleason also describes some of the varieties Hawaiian wood he likes to work with, a slick method for removing lacquer from the bridge foot print, and some of the construction tricks he has come up with. Owning a shop in Hawaii must surely take the lutherie life to another level. With 15 photos.
2009
AL#97 p.4 read this article
Joseph Curtin
▪ It turns out that virtually every aspect of the violin can be altered to make it more playable, more visually interesting, and perhaps better sounding. What a relief! There’s life in the old girl yet. Are players brave enough to get on board?
2008
AL#95 p.57 read this article
Mike Brittain
▪ Brittain is a Florida luthier obsessed with hunting down the tonewood trees that came to his home state either as infestations or introduced ornamentals. It turns out there’s lots of Indian rosewood growing in Florida, and many trees that have to be removed due to “progress” or storm damage. We can’t let them go to waste, can we Mike? With 5 photos.
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#93 p.10
Jonathon Peterson Robert Ruck
▪ Ruck has been one of the bright lights among American classical guitar makers for a long time, and this lengthy interview not only shows him to be a fascinating individual with an interesting history, but dwells at some length on the development of his guitars and the bracing patterns and other features he has evolved. Among his influences are Juan Mercadal, John Shaw, Hart Huttig, Neil Ostberg, and Manuel Barrueco. With 24 photos and a bracing diagram.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2007
AL#92 p.54 read this article
Bruce Creps
▪ Creps’ business is dealing wood to luthiers. He gives advice on dealing with the mills that process your log, how to store and dry the planks, and (in AL #91) how to resaw it into useful instrument wood. Perhaps most interesting is the number of ills that can befall wood, both as a tree and while curing. Laying out boards for the prettiest sets and the greatest yield is also covered. With 18 photos and a drawing.
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#90 p.16 read this article
Barbara Goldowsky Douglas Martin
▪ Martin is the guy who’s turning the violin world upside down with his balsa wood fiddles. They look pretty bizarre but critics and musicians seem to agree that he’s on to something. He’s also a very interesting guy. With 20 photos.
2007
AL#90 p.51
Rodney Stedall
▪ With all the wood varieties in the world it’s criminal that so few are accepted in lutherie. Have a look at kiaat, a wood used by South African luthiers. With 2 photos.
2007
AL#90 p.51
Ron Bushman
▪ Another look at two varieties of wood used by South African luthiers. With 2 photos.
2007
AL#90 p.52
James Condino
▪ Condino’s mandolin is made from recycled materials, mostly Douglas fir and katalox. It is unique and beautiful, and the story behind it is pretty cool, too. With 7 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#88 p.8 ALA3 p.90
Randy Reynolds
▪ Double-top guitars utilize a top made of two thin layers of spruce separated by a honey-comb material called Nomex. So few people have heard such guitars that the jury is still out (way out) concerning double-top benefits, but here’s how they are made and why. One thing seems sure—the guitar market is large enough to absorb every idea, so no facet of guitar evolution is likely to die out before its time. With 13 photos.
2006
AL#88 p.13 ALA3 p.96
Brian Burns
▪ This is a more scientific look at what the double-top might have to offer. With 2 photos.
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#81 p.26 BRB7 p.286 read this article
Cyndy Burton Kevin La-Due
▪ A high school teacher coaches entire classes through guitar making. Think kids can’t do it? You’ll be surprised. Some well-made and easy-to-use jigs make the process faster and friendlier, and the use of local wood makes it affordable. Pretty inspirational, and with 21 photos.
2004
AL#79 p.63 BRB7 p.469
Cyndy Burton
▪ Cautionary tidbits for bending African blackwood for the first time with a Fox side bender.
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#74 p.36 BRB7 p.62
R.M. Mottola
▪ A tight-fisted and humorous look at buying select tools, wood, and strings without draining your bank account. With 4 photos and a drawing.
2003
AL#74 p.58
Harry Fleishman
▪ Long-time AL contributor Fleishman takes to task contributing editor John Calkin for being a closed minded so-and-so, referring to statements made in Calkin’s “A Heretic’s Guide to Alternative Lutherie Woods” in AL#69. Fleishman’s plea for tolerance is well made.
2003
AL#73 p.57 BRB7 p.20
R.M. Mottola
▪ Does plywood have a place in the luthier’s bag of tricks? The author thinks it may, and gives us some examples to think about. With 2 photos.
2003
AL#73 p.65 BRB7 p.13
John Calkin
▪ Bending bubinga and other woods.
2003
AL#73 p.68 BRB7 p.486
David-B. Hawley
▪ Building a guitar entirely out of toothpicks for $127.
2002
AL#71 p.68 BRB6 p.248
Bob Woodcock
▪ Spalted wood toxicity.
2002
AL#69 p.13 BRB6 p.288
John Calkin
▪ This is an examination of 17 varieties of wood not usually associated with guitars, their bending characteristics, and how they look. Calkin’s opinions about tonewood have proven to be pretty controversial, but this article may help if you are tired of the same old look on your instruments. With 19 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2002
AL#69 p.64 BRB6 p.248
Mike Collins
▪ Potentially deadly mold in spalted maple wood.
2000
AL#64 p.6 BRB6 p.118
Jeffrey-R. Elliott Greg Byers Eugene Clark Gary Southwell
▪ Four note-worthy builders of the classical guitar talk about their influences, their building philosophies, and some of the their construction techniques in a panel discussion that should inspire anyone interested in the instrument. With 26 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#57 p.62 BRB5 p.479 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ The reviewer finds that this technical tome about how wood vibrates may have a lot of value to any luthier who wants to work out the math, but that its high price will make it unavailable to most.
1998
AL#56 p.44 BRB5 p.285
John Calkin David Hurd
▪ David Hurd’s classical guitar drew accolades at the ’98 convention’s listening session, but he’s better known for his ukes and his info-jammed ukulele website. He’s also had the opportunity to build instruments from species of Hawaiian wood that most of us have never even heard of. Life is different in Hawaii. Still. With 3 photos.
1998
AL#56 p.4
Tim O’Dea
▪ Australian O’Dea gives an enthusiastic description of Australian blackwood and its use in lutherie Down Under. The wood is similar to koa, to which it is related. With 1 photo of 2 finished acoustic guitars.
1998
AL#53 p.62
Cyndy Burton
▪ Ms. Burton has rounded up almost two pages of wood suppliers. If you can’t find it here you may have to go cut it yourself.
1997
AL#51 p.24 BRB5 p.84
Don Musser
▪ Musser offers a peek at varieties of top wood you may never have considered, and finds them promising. The varieties are white fir, sub-alpine fir, Colorado blue spruce, and one that may be a hybrid. Includes four photos of sectioned logs.
1997
LW p.23 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ Where to look for objective information about trees and wood.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1997
LW p.39
Jim Williams
▪ If guitars had been invented in Australia, we’d be struggling to get Sitka to sound like celery top pine.
1996
AL#47 p.20 BRB4 p.350
Carol Ventura
▪ When these Guatemalans decide to build an instrument they begin by hacking a tree out of the jungle. Read this and you may never bad-mouth your suppliers or instruction books again. With 32 step-by-step photos of the birth of a guitarria.
1996
AL#46 p.3 BRB4 p.263
Ronald-Louis Fernandez
▪ More information about South American instruments and tonewoods (and toneshells from armadillos). This refers to Suran’s article in AL#45.
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.
1996
AL#46 p.47 BRB4 p.330
Carl Kaufmann Laurie Williams Nicholas Emery
▪ New Zealanders Laurie Williams and Nicholas Emery build innovative instruments for the homelanders, though export may be in their futures. They have access to wood varieties that most of us have never even heard of.
1996
AL#46 p.54
Cyndy Burton
▪ A new column is born, kicking off with 2 pages of places to buy tonewood.
1996
AL#45 p.4 BRB4 p.258
Debbie Suran
▪ On the trail of S. American luthiers, strange instruments, and unusual wood varieties, in a land where travel is difficult but the people are friendly. Ask your tonewood supplier to start stocking armadillo shells. With 24 photos.
1995
AL#43 p.18 BRB4 p.198
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ Both of these woods have recently become available as body wood for stringed instruments. Robison offers a technical look at two beautiful woods, and tries to predict their futures.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1995
AL#42 p.22 BRB4 p.184
Keith Hill
▪ A maker of classical guitars harvests some strange local trees to try out as instruments.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1995
AL#42 p.48 BRB4 p.194
Cyndy Burton Des Anthony
▪ An Australian guitarmaker talks about Australian wood, his instruments, and the Australian vacation system.
1995
AL#41 p.38 BRB4 p.152
Nicholas-Von Robison Lara Espley
▪ Espley is a Canadian maker of wonderfully distinctive instruments. Here she talks about her favorite woods (purpleheart, koa), her training, and the gender gap.
1994
AL#39 p.46 BRB4 p.458
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ The reviewer finds the book to be accurate and that the authors and editor did their best to escape the dry, technical aspects of wood science.
1994
AL#39 p.51 BRB4 p.463
Marc Worsfold
▪ This book only concerns itself with wood varieties that grow large enough to harvest for lumber. In that light, the reviewer finds it to be an “excellent, well-researched book that gives a different view of New Zealand resources other than sheep.”
1994
AL#39 p.18 BRB4 p.65
Jonathon Peterson Eric Myer
▪ Meyer’s current gig is the manufacture of violin fittings. He describes his peg making process in detail.
1994
AL#38 p.48 BRB4 p.59
John Calkin
▪ How to make hardshell, vinyl-covered, fur-lined cases for instruments that won’t fit into a stock case.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
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?
1993
AL#36 p.50 BRB3 p.420 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison Debbie Suran
▪ Two luthiers examine an alternative wood and find that their samples do not match each other, and that their research texts don’t match descriptions, either. Two chunks of wood point to a common problem for those who are driven to be different.
1994
AL#37 p.5
R.E. Brune
▪ If you attempt to move across international borders any artifact containing wood from a CITES tree (which includes Brazilian rosewood) you may risk confiscation if first you don’t fill out the right forms and pay the proper fees. It’s a slow and expensive process, and Brune’s forecast for the future is even scarier.
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.26 BRB3 p.372 read this article
Tom Ribbecke
▪ Ribbecke gathered information from across the country for this talk, an introduction to the woods that may eventually—like it or not—change the look of the instruments we make and play.
1993
AL#35 p.30 BRB3 p.376 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ Alternative Lutherie Woods List.
1993
AL#33 p.6 BRB3 p.272
Cyndy Burton Roberto Gomes
▪ A Brazilian guitar maker comments upon his situation in Brazil and his first trip to America as a luthier.
1993
AL#33 p.9 BRB3 p.275 read this article
Roberto Gomes
▪ Straight from the horse’s mouth—a Brazilian guitar maker talks about Brazilian tonewood. Ever wonder what a living rosewood tree looks like? Well, wonder no more. With 6 photos and a range map.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1992
AL#31 p.27 BRB3 p.235 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪ Those Latin tongue twisters actually mean something. Scholars actually find joy and amusement in many of the scientific names. You might, too.
1992
AL#29 p.38 BRB3 p.174
Gayle Miller Ken Sribnick
▪ Visit a water-powered French sawmill that supplies tonewood to 350 luthiers. With 7 photos. Mentions George Miller.
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#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#26 p.5 BRB3 p.42
Todd Brotherton Myles Gilmer
▪ Gilmer buys wood from all over the globe and sells it to a number of special interests in the woodworking field. He’s been around, he’s concerned about the forests and ethical harvesting, and he’s articulate. Without the Gilmers of America there would be very few independent professional instrument makers.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#26 p.26 BRB3 p.60
Ken Warmoth
▪ Most in-the-know electric guitar folks consider Warmoth necks and bodies to be the best going. Here’s how they’re made. With 22 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#26 p.33 BRB3 p.53
Lynn Ellsworth Ken Warmoth Jay Hargreaves
▪ Hargreaves interviews two giants of the Strat compatible parts industry.
1991
AL#25 p.14 BRB2 p.430
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman continues his crusade for a low-cost, high performance bass viol. Part 1 was printed in the previous issue.
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.60 BRB2 p.504
Nicholas-Von Robison
▪
1990
AL#24 p.56 BRB2 p.469
John Calkin
▪ Calkin encourages the use of alternative tonewoods. He offers advice about choosing cherry boards and methods of finishing cherry instruments that he has found attractive.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1990
AL#24 p.30 BRB2 p.430
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman builds a bass with a lauan body and a top of quartersawn 2x4s, and is quite pleased with the outcome. There are only 2 photos, but a lot of text. Lyman’s conventional basses are in the hands of many well-known musicians. He certainly knows the difference between good and bad instruments. Part 2 follows in the next issue.
1990
AL#23 p.24 BRB2 p.414
Roberto Blinder Jose Yacopi
▪ Blinder interviews an Argentine instrument maker about his career, his guitars, wood, and strings. With 4 photos.
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.
1988
AL#14 p.50
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman forges ahead in his quest for a cheap but satisfying substitute for the traditional solid wood bass viol. This segment describes an experimental bass made of lauan plywood and 2×4 studs. The results leave him hopeful that he is on the right track.
1988
AL#13 p.44 BRB2 p.24
George Manno
▪ Manno points out there is a difference between wood that is dry and dry wood that is well seasoned, and offers a test for both. He maintains that only dry, well-seasoned wood is worth using.
1987
AL#12 p.54 BRB1 p.464
Harry Fleishman
▪ These three articles augment Tim Olsen’s initial bass offering in American Lutherie #9, and as a collection they still offer the largest fund of information on the creation of the acoustic bass guitar to reach print.
1987
AL#12 p.56 BRB1 p.468
William McCaw
▪ These three articles augment Tim Olsen’s initial bass offering in American Lutherie #9, and as a collection they still offer the largest fund of information on the creation of the acoustic bass guitar to reach print.
1987
AL#12 p.58 BRB1 p.470
David Freeman
▪ These three articles augment Tim Olsen’s initial bass offering in American Lutherie #9, and as a collection they still offer the largest fund of information on the creation of the acoustic bass guitar to reach print.
1987
AL#11 p.24 BRB1 p.432 read this article
Dave Schneider
▪ Don’t take that repair job without this article! One question remains unanswered: why does sanding the finish of a sitar release such a strong smell of tobacco?
1987
AL#10 p.60 BRB1 p.202 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman’s quest is to build an inexpensive but musically useful string bass. In this episode he tries to improve a Kay plywood bass. The results leave him ambivalent but hopeful.
1987
AL#11 p.7 BRB1 p.429
Michael Parsons
▪ Parsons relates his history of building instruments from salvaged wood.
1987
AL#9 p.46 BRB1 p.338 read this article
John Jordan
▪ Jordan catalogs and describes nine rosewoods from Africa, and nine false rosewoods. Some max out too small for instruments but are of interest to wood collectors. Others should interest the open-minded luthier.
1987
AL#10 p.5 BRB1 p.467
Richard Ennis
▪ Ennis’ letter describes a flattop bass guitar he recently completed, accompanied by 2 photos.
1987
AL#10 p.30 BRB1 p.382 read this article
Nasser Shirazi
▪ The tar (or Persian banjo) is a classical Iranian instrument, the body of which is carved from a mulberry log and covered in lambskin. The neck traditionally incorporates rams horn and camel bone. Exotic, fascinating, wonderfully politically incorrect. Some alternate materials are listed for those who can’t wait for their camel to die. With 6 photos, 2 sketches, and a scaled down version of GAL Plan #14.
1987
AL#10 p.32 BRB1 p.385
Nasser Shirazi
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
1986
AL#8 p.6
Richard Ennis
▪ Ennis defends the plywood bass (and plywood in general in its application to instruments) and goes on to mention a few particular problems with the instrument that need to be addressed.
1986
AL#6 p.19 BRB1 p.196 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman likens the physical properties of a stringed instrument to those of the earth’s atmosphere (our great spherical friend), and advises us that an understanding of science should underlay our intuitional sensitivities.
1985
AL#4 p.27 BRB1 p.126 read this article
Nasser Shirazi
▪ Shirazi offers a history of the Persian bowed instrument as well as plans and construction advice. The kamanche is a four-stringed neck attached to a gourd. The plans are a reduced version of our full-scale Plan #9.
1985
AL#4 p.28 BRB1 p.131
Nasser Shirazi
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
1985
AL#4 p.31 BRB1 p.132 read this article
John Jordan
▪ Jordan describes 14 varieties of rosewood, and 14 varieties of false rosewood. Some max out as large shrubs, and only offer interest to wood collectors. Others are of high interest to luthiers, or should be.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#4 p.48 BRB1 p.148 read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.
▪ Lyman champions the use of common materials and low sophistication in the production of serviceable, affordable bass fiddles. Mentions Kay basses and the Richard Ennis design in AL#3.
1985
AL#3 p.42 BRB1 p.92 read this article
Richard Ennis
▪ Rough sketches help describe a fast and cheap substitute for a bass viol. It has no scroll or waist, and a flat top and back.
1985
AL#2 p.3 read this article
Tony Pizzo
▪ Where to get gourds and gourd seeds for building ethnic instruments.
1985
AL#1 p.44 BRB1 p.44
Gregory Jackson
▪ Jackson comments on the basic principle upon which electronic moisture meters work, use of the meters, and why you should not try to cobble together your own.
1984
GALQ Vol.12#4 p.28 LW p.41 read this article
Ted Davis
▪ Hard North American wood also called bois d’arc.
1984
DS#271 BRB2 p.400
Graham Caldersmith
▪ The “Young’s Modulus” of any piece of wood can be calculated, giving a result measurable in frequency. Comparing the Young’s Modulus of a wood species with unknown qualities with a chart of other species of known characteristics can tell you what to expect before any instrument work is commenced. Here’s how to calculate the Young’s Modulus of any piece of wood you have on hand. With 1 drawing and a sample wood chart.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.25
Ted Davis
▪ Hard North American wood also called bois d’arc.
1984
DS#268 LW p.42 read this article
Roger Sperline
▪ This is one of the first descriptions of this fine wood as a tonewood.
1979
GALQ Vol.7#1 p.29 LW p.39 read this article
Lindsay Hewson
▪ If guitars had been invented in Australia, we’d be struggling to get Sitka to sound like celery top pine.
1978
GALQ Vol.6#2 p.28 LW p.38 read this article
Des Anthony
▪ Tonewood is where you find it, even if you find it in another instrument.