Category Archives: selection

Beautiful Bog Oak

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.

The Black British Timber

2024
AL#152 p.41               
Kevin Aram                                                                                           

▪ All the native trees on the British Isles yield light-colored wood. And in the case of guitar-making materials, blondes don’t have more fun. That’s why Kevin Aram was delighted to find that marinating oak for scores of centuries in an all-natural soup of organic chemicals will turn it black, and that nature already did all the work. He also visits a friend and his wonderful old Stennor bandsaw.

Meet the Maker: Mark Goodman

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.

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.

A Day with Luisa Willsher of Madinter

2024
AL#151 p.54               
Federico Sheppard                                                                                           

▪ An Art-school girl from the UK goes to Spain as a flamenco dancer. There she meets a guy who has a business selling wood to local luthiers. Things go well. The business grows and gets bought by StewMac, and now she’s VP of Global Sales. And if you go to their sawmill, you can pick up pelletized fuel of the finest rosewood. Mentions Bob Taylor.

In Memoriam: George A. Smith

2023
AL#150 p.65               
Peter Tsiorba                                                                                           

▪ George Smith was one of that rare breed: A self-starter guitar maker before the American Lutherie Boom. Here’s three fond remembrances by people who were glad to have known him well.

In Memoriam: George A. Smith

2023
AL#150 p.65               
David Franzen                                                                                           

▪ George Smith was one of that rare breed: A self-starter guitar maker before the American Lutherie Boom. Here’s three fond remembrances by people who were glad to have known him well.

Let’s Catch Up With Richard Bruné and Marshall Bruné

2023
AL#150 p.16               
Mark French                                                                                           

▪ Richard “R.E.” Bruné was in the GAL’s very first cohort and was an author and convention presenter from the very beginning. We’ve visited him a couple of times over the decades. His son Marshall was born into the business, and into the Guild. Together they run a large workshop and epicenter of classical guitar making, scholarship restoration, appreciation, and dealing.

Making Solid Linings for Guitars

2023
AL#150 p.60               
Mike Doolin                                                                                           

▪ Doolin shows us how to make nice solid wood linings starting with veneer from the hardware store. They turn out great, and you have your choice of colors: light, or dark.

Lutherie Curmudgeon: A Case of Lucky Accidents

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.

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: Cindy Hulej

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?

An All-American 7-String Guitar

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!

Ruminations on Historic Guitar Restoration

2022
AL#145 p.16               
Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ Elliott is best known for his long career of making classical guitars of the highest quality, but he has also undertaken some major restorations of important historic instruments. Here he reviews three projects and shares thoughts about his approach. Mentions Jose Romanillos, Hermann Hauser Sr., Antonio de Torres, Francisco Tarrega, Francisco Gonzalez, Peter Radcliff.

A 2×4 Twofer

2022
AL#145 p.46               
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ We sometimes hear of a luthier who enjoys the challenge of building an instrument from lumber-yard materials rather than from picked and approved tonewoods. but Casey goes one better when he makes two successful instruments from a single softwood two-by-four. And it had a knot in it, just for extra fun.

Making Control-Cavity Jigs

2022
AL#145 p.52               
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ Using simple, non-dedicated tooling, Calkin steps us through his straightforward, no-nonsense process of routing control cavities in solid guitar bodies.

Lutherie Curmudgeon

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.

Norwegian Spruce

2021
AL#143 p.40               
Leonardo Michelin-Salomon                                                                                           

▪ In AL#141 Leonardo showed us how he was building Romantic-era guitars at the craft school in Norway. This time he is taking a deep dive into building with local spruce. Although the trees are not big, the wood is very good. Mentions Gennaro Fabricatore, Johann Anton Stauffer, Josef Pagés, Coffee-Goguette.

First Build: A Lumberyard Ukulele

2021
AL#143 p.56               
Steve Dickerson                                                                                           

▪ The author hit on an unusual program for building his first uke. He bought a kit, but then set aside the good wood for a later build. He went to the lumberyard to buy cheap wood, then proceeded with reduced anxiety. Makes sense when you think about it. The humble uke came out fine.

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.

The $75 Guitar Challenge

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.

Tuning a Marimba Bar and Resonator

2021
AL#142 p.55               
Max Krimmel                                                                                           

▪ If you are luthier who does not remember the name of Max Krimmel, you might be under age fifty. Max was a pack leader in the early days of the American Lutherie Boom, before he went on to specialize in a few of his many other artistic interests. Anyway, why and article about marimbas? As Max says, “Think of it as deep background learning.”

Beachcombing for Cedar

2020
AL#141 p.38               
Gerry Chicalo                                                                                           

▪ All the guitar soundboards ever made don’t add up to a toothpick in the vast lumberyard of the timber industry. A stray cedar log that washes onto a beach in British Columbia can be lutherie gold, and harvesting it can be a lot of nice fragrant outdoor fun.

The Guitar Woods Experiment

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.

Questions: When is the Sap Down for Tree Cutting

2020
AL#139 p.70               
Tom Thiel                                                                                           

▪ They say to cut lutherie trees when the sap it down. But what does that really mean? Also, that old story about cutting the trees during the right phase of the moon might be more than a story.

Bamboo Laminate for Classical Guitar Back and Sides

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.

Letter to the Editor: Lap Steel Question and Alternative Wood

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.

Meet the Maker: Arie van Spronssen

2020
AL#139 p.38               
Sjaak Elmendorp                                                                                           

▪ Holland had a lutherie boom in the 1970s, too. Arie started out as a carpenter, but moved into lutherie after an injury. Today he makes steel string guitars and a variety of other instruments. Mentions Roger Siminoff, Irving Sloane, Arthur Overholzer, Cees van Loon, Vox Humana, preparing cow bone, humidity control.

Tropical Hardwoods: Global Perspectives and Outlook

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.

Flamenco on the Front Range

2019
AL#138 p.20               
Mark French                                                                                           

▪ Author Mark French is walking the lutherie path in the reverse direction of many makers. As a physics prof trained in the crazy magic of CNC and industrial robot processes, he had made a lot of guitars before he did much in the way of traditional low-tech hand-tool work. As part of an intensive effort to fill in those gaps, he attended an eight-day course at Robbie O’Brien’s shop in Colorado to make a flamenco guitar with Spanish luthier and licensed bloodless toreador Paco Chorobo. O’Brien went to Spain and visited Paco’s shop in 2015. Read all about it in AL124.

Let’s Catch Up with Joshia de Jonge

2019
AL#137 p.22               
Cyndy Burton   Joshia de-Jonge                                                                                       

▪ Joshia de Jonge was a sensation at the 1998 GAL Convention when, as a young female luthier, she brought a nicely-made and fine sounding instrument to the classical guitar listening session. It helped to have grown up in a guitar-making family. And now that she has left her parents’ home and shop, she is raising guitar-making sons. Mentions Geza Burghardt; Linda Manzer; Sergei de Jonge; Eric Sahlin.

Trevor Gore Teaches Modal Tuning

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.

Bob Ruck as I Knew Him

2019
AL#136 p.4               
Federico Sheppard                                                                                           

▪ Robert Ruck was one of the young self-starters who founded the American Lutherie Boom, and he remained a leading light in the movement until the end of his life. Federico Sheppard was an aquaintence and admirer who became closer to Ruck when they spent time together at Federico’s place on the Camino de Santiago in Spain one summer. In this article, Federico presents a photo tour of Ruck’s shop in Eugene Oregon and explains some of the tools and techniques we see. Mentions French polising with hardware-store shellac. Mentions Richard Brune.

Seeking Quality and Consistency in Classical Guitar Sound

2018
AL#134 p.34               
Greg Byers                                                                                           

▪ So you made a classical guitar, and it sounds good. You want your next one to sound good, too. You want your output to be consistently good. How do you do that? After decades of lutherie experience, Byers has developed a method of recording the frequency responses of the soundboard at each major stage of construction. Does the tap-tone of the raw top set tell the whole story? No, but it can help you steer the project to a successful conclusion.

Talking about Tone

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.”

More Stiffness and Density Data for Lutherie Woods

2018
AL#133 p.48               
James Blilie                                                                                           

▪ We all have ideas about the stiffness of brace wood, probably based on a combination of intuition, hearsay, and informal flexing. Blilie aims to accumulate more quantitave data. Here he reports on his latest tests. He also describes his methodology and the reasoning behind it. This is Blilie’s third article on this topic.

More Glue Strength Testing Data

2017
AL#131 p.53               
James Blilie                                                                                           

▪ Unless you are really messing it up, the glue line is stronger than the wood. And here’s more numbers to prove it. Blilie uses real lab gear and standard statistical analysis to drive the lesson home.

Letter to the Editor: Wood species study

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.

Questions: Why would I want to use torrified or heat-treated wood?

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.

Questions: Where can I get my wood heat treated or torrified?

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.

Let’s Catch Up With Linda Manzer

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.

The 2×4 Ukulele

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.

Voicing the Modern Mandolin

2017
AL#129 p.24               
James Condino                                                                                           

▪ Condino has developed a clever process by which he can string and play a new mandolin very early in the building process. This makes voicing much more accurate,a nd it reduces the risk of experimental materials and bracing patterns considerably. Must see to believe. Mentions the work of Lloyd Loar at the Gibson company in the 1920s.

Meet the Maker: Jeff Manthos

2016
AL#128 p.22               
Pat Megowan   Jeff-Lee Manthos                                                                                       

▪ People come to lutherie on many different paths. Some of us were nerdy model-making kids, or spoiled lefty college dropouts. Or maybe the garage band was our gateway into the opium den of guitar making. On the other hand, Jeff Manthos was a helicopter aircrewman and rescue swimmer in the Vietnam era. Then, unexpectedly, he went to the Violinmaking School of America in Salt Lake City. He has made a career of it, first in other shops and now on his own.

Meet the Maker: Gabriel Fleta

2016
AL#128 p.48               
Cyndy Burton   Jeffrey-R. Elliott   Gabriel Fleta                                                                                   

▪ His grandfather Ignacio Fleta was a violin maker who started making guitars after repairing instruments by Torres, and his father Gabriel Sr. made guitars for decades as one of the legendary “hijos” of Ignacio who made guitars for Segovia, John Williams, and many others. Gabriel Fleta Jr. has been making guitars since the 1970s and has now inherited the family business. We visit his shop in Barcelona.

A Large New Set of Stiffness Data for Lutherie Woods and a Proposed Standard Test Method

2016
AL#128 p.58               
James Blilie                                                                                           

▪ We all have ideas about the stiffness of brace wood, probably based on a combination of intuition, hearsay, and informal flexing. Blilie aims to accumulate more quantitave data. Here he reports on his latest tests. He also describes his methodology and the reasoning behind it. This is Blilie’s second article on this topic. The earlier one is in AL128. A third article appears in AL133.

Considerations in Replicating Vintage Guitars

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.

Grading and Curing Lumber

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.

Meet the Maker: C.F. Martin IV

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.

Resawing Lutherie Wood

2007
AL#91 p.40               read this article
Bruce Creps                                                                                           

▪ Just about everything you’ll need to know about setting up a bandsaw for resawing and getting the most yield from your lumber. The emphasis is on the Hitachi CB75F resaw, but much of the info will translate to other bandsaws. Included is a good side bar on resharpening bandsaw blades. With 10 photos and 6 drawings.

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

Mechanical Compliance for Soundboard Optimization

2007
AL#90 p.8               
David Hurd                                                                                           

▪ Hurd believes that the fastest way to great instruments is science, and it’s hard to argue with such a rational man. His jigs measure the deflection of top plates while under tension, and once he carves the top and braces to the numbers he wants he’s done. Period. Sort of makes intuition obsolete. This could also be math heavy if he didn’t offer an Internet spread sheet to ease the pain. With 7 photos and 7 figures/charts.

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

Meet the Maker: Mervyn Davis

2007
AL#90 p.46               
Rodney Stedall   Mervyn Davis                                                                                       

▪ Davis’ South African upbringing inspires a wonderful decorative sense in his instruments. He’s built a ton of different stuff but may end up best known for his wildly unique modular guitars called Smooth Talkers. With 16 photos.

Kiaat

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.

Cricket: A Reclaimed Salvage Recovery

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.

Woodchopper’s Ball

2007
AL#90 p.54               read this article
Bruce Harvie                                                                                           

▪ Specialty woodcutters must be the hardest working people in lutherie, but they also seem to have the most fun. Not just a woodcutter, Harvie is also a treasure hunter supplying luthiers in the trade with wooden jewels. This story is great fun. With 16 photos.

Meet the Maker: Pierre-Yves Fuchs

2005
AL#83 p.10   BRB7 p.362            
Jonathon Peterson   Pierre-Yves Fuchs                                                                                       

▪ Fuchs went through cabinet making school and violin making school on his way to becoming a gold medal bow maker. He is traditional and opinionated, and will make you believe that there might be cosmic influences involved in making an excellent bow. Intuition, that is. Tradition, experience, and a good feeling about your work in progress. Science guys may pull their hair out, but most of us would rather have good intuition than a good grounding in physics. With 3 photos.

The Cole Clark Guitar

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.

Meet the Maker: Kevin La Due

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.

Adirondack Spruce Growth Rates and Accessibility

2005
AL#81 p.40   BRB7 p.302            read this article
Ralph Charles                                                                                           

▪ Man! How come red spruce is so expensive? And how come we can’t find a red spruce top as pretty as a piece of Sitka? Friends, if you look at enough old guitars you’ll realize that Adirondack spruce tops were rarely tight-grained, perfectly straight, and perfectly quartered all at the same time. The big stands of Eastern spruce may have been harvested 60 years ago, but forester Charles is here to say that the trees never grew with luthiers in mind. Man has had a random hand in growing red spruces for generations, and so have beavers. Conditions in the woods can change rapidly. It’s wild out there! To amateur naturalists this is exciting stuff. With 5 photos and a chart.

Meet the Maker: Lester DeVoe

2004
AL#78 p.20   BRB7 p.192            
Cyndy Burton   Lester DeVoe                                                                                       

▪ A maker of flamenco guitars discusses guitarists and instruments. A good interview can be as inspiring as a good how-to, and this is a good interview. Mentions Santos Hernandez, Sabicas, Paco de Lucia.

Meet the Maker: Jeffrey Yong

2004
AL#78 p.46   BRB7 p.200            
John Calkin   Jeffrey Yong                                                                                       

▪ Yong hails from Malaysia, a country not often associated with fine lutherie. Nevertheless, he makes a lot of instruments that look very contemporary and tasty, and he has access to varieties of wood that would make many of us very envious. With 10 photos.

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.

Meet the Makers: Sue and Ray Mooers of Dusty Strings

2004
AL#77 p.8   BRB7 p.142            
Jonathon Peterson   Sue Mooers   Ray Mooers                                                                                   

▪ This is a wonderful story of how a couple began a basement lutherie business and ended up employing 36 people in the creation of fine harps and hammered dulcimers. Everybody in the lutherie trades should be this nice and interesting (and the wonder of it is that so many are!). With 37 photos, including a bunch of the harp assembly shop.

They Eat Linseed Oil, Don’t They?

2004
AL#77 p.28   BRB7 p.160            read this article
Stephen Frith                                                                                           

▪ Frith travels to Austria to mill spruce with Tobias Braun, and suggests that other luthiers might like to treat themselves to such a holiday. See the world, spend time in the outdoors, and collect some European spruce at a remarkable price! With 9 photos of sawmill mayhem to whet your appetite.

Meet the Maker: Dake Traphagen

2003
AL#75 p.42   BRB7 p.76            
Jonathon Peterson   Dake Traphagen                                                                                       

▪ For those who really make an impact in lutherie complete immersion in the craft is the rule, not the exception. Long days, few breaks, and a lot of work. Traphagan is a good example. Floating to the top of the heap isn’t a simple matter. Still, one can get there while maintaining a sense of humor and a continuing appreciation for the mysteries of the craft, and Traphagan is also a good example of that, too. A really good interview with 10 photos and three diagrams of guitar tops.

A Cheapskate’s Sampler

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.

Plywood

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.

Ted’s Excellent Adventures

2003
AL#73 p.46   BRB7 p.18            
Steve Regimbal                                                                                           

▪ Take a quick look at three adventurous instruments by archtop builder Ted Berringer. They are a 12-string octave guitar, a 5-string mandolin, and a 6-string archtop made entirely of spruce. With 12 photos.

Meet the Maker: George Wunderlich

2003
AL#73 p.50   BRB7 p.24            
Nathan Stinnette   George Wunderlich                                                                                       

▪ Wunderlich builds minstrel banjos, recreations of banjos made before the various factories turned them into standardized items that standardized the way we all think about the banjo. With 6 photos.