Tag Archives: Grimes¸ Steve

Low Stress Archtop Guitar Design

2010
AL#101 p.6               
Steve Grimes                                                                                           

▪ Steve Grimes has been experimenting with making lighter-built soundboards for archtop guitars and decreasing the breakover angle. Here he describes his low stress archtop method, which produces a superior tone and another option for customers.

The Archtop Guitar: Perspectives on the Present and Future

2009
AL#98 p.6               
Steve Grimes   Ted Megas   Tom Ribbecke   Jeffrey R. Elliott                                                                               

▪ This article is taken from a 2008 GAL convention panel discussion. Seems like these discussions are getting livelier and more interesting, no matter what field of lutherie may draw you the most. The interaction makes the archtop guitar seem more vital and the personal disclosures add depth to the subject. Not that we’re talking about life and death. Well, to the panelists it may be more important than that, and we’ll bet you’ll be drawn in. Perhaps changes are in the air. Nylon strings? Chambered bodies? Oh, they won’t threaten the old jazz box too much, but it’s good to know that nothing remains forever unchanged. With 23 photos.

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.

Talk about Archtops

1990
AL#24 p.6   BRB2 p.422            
Steve Andersen   Steve Grimes   Ted Beringer   Jonathon Peterson                                                                               

▪ This informal roundtable discussion delves deeply into the background, influences, and work of three builders at a time when the archtop guitar was just coming into its own for the second time. With 7 photos.

Archtop Guitars: Is Bigger Better?

1988
AL#14 p.18   BRB2 p.58            
Steve Grimes                                                                                           

▪ A noted maker of archtop guitars offers a detailed description of the method he uses to adjust the tone of his instruments during the carving process. He finds he is willing to sacrifice a little volume in order to attain a precise tonal character.

Arched Plate Copier

1987
AL#9 p.14   BRB1 p.312            
Steve Grimes                                                                                           

▪ Grimes’ pantograph for routing archtop plates is heavy duty and not real cheap if you have to job out the welding, but it accurately removes 90% of the excess wood. Several drawings accompany the detailed description.

The Business of Lutherie: 1984

1985
AL#2 p.8   BRB1 p.58            read this article
Ted Davis   Steve Grimes   Bob Meltz   Matt Umanov                                                                               

▪ This panel discussion from the 1984 GAL Convention features Bob Meltz, Matt Umanov, David Sheppard, Ted Davis, and Steve Grimes. Straight talk on the realities of being a one-man lutherie shop.