Roberto-Venn School of Lutherie
Early GAL member and Convention presenter William Eaton may be the Guilds definitive Renaissance man. He has successfully melded together lutherie, musical composition, musical performance, teaching, and sports into one lifetime, achieving world-class results in all the categories. On top of all that, hes the long-time Director of The Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery.
▪ bio current as of 2024
2024
AL#151 p.67
William Eaton
▪ Frank Ford was an icon of the instrument repair field and an overachiever when it came to sharing information with this fellow luthiers. He had legions of friends and fans. Eaton worked closely with Ford for many years, and takes this moment to praise his name. Mentions Richard Johnston, Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, Joy Imai.
2013
AL#116 p.16
Tom Harper William Eaton
▪ William Eaton (composer, performer, luthier, outdoorsman) on his life and career which has spanned many fields and subject, with particular attention to his work at The Roberto-Venn School.
1999
AL#60 p.6 BRB5 p.422
Fred Carlson Harry Fleishman William Eaton Saul Koll
▪ The market for flattop guitars probably isn’t evolving away from tried and true designs at all, but individual luthiers are working on instruments that would baffle (and hopefully intrigue) Orville and old C.F. These four groundbreaking guitarmakers got together to discuss their work in front of an audience at the 1998 GAL convention, and if their work and philosophies don’t show you anything you must be hopelessly lost in the nostalgic past. This article is a condensed version of that discussion. With 24 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.40 read this article
William Eaton
▪ An early statement of philosophy by William Eaton, who went on to be the key man at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery.