Tag Archives: Monteleone¸ John

John Monteleone

John Monteleone

Like lutherie itself, John Monteleone has been greatly influenced by Italian men, working with Jimmy D’Aquisto in the ’70s and Mario Maccaferri in the ’80s. He was recently featured in an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And he’s been a GAL member for a total of thirty-six years.

▪ bio current as of 2014

Elliptical Legacy

2014
AL#117 p.52               
James Condino   John Monteleone                                                                                       

▪ A history of the ellipse soundhole cutter device in lutherie and it’s lineage from D’Angelico to D’Aquisto to John Monteleone.

D’Aquisto’s Wedge Bridge

2013
AL#113 p.45               
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ D’Aquisto’s changes to his traditional New Yorker and Excel models in the late 1970s included the adjustable sliding wedge bridge design concept.

Letter to the Editor: Clarifying Details of D’Aquisto Wedge Bridge Article in AL#113

2013
AL#114 p.3               
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ John Monteleone clarifies the details of his D’Aquisto wedge bridge article in AL#113 by giving additional credit where credit is due.

Sideways

2007
AL#91 p.8               read this article
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ Ace archtop builder Monteleone is an advocate of side soundports (holes in the sides, in addition to the front soundhole) and has employed them for over a decade. His article includes personal background, developmental work on his sideported instruments, and construction techniques. With 3 photos.

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

Designing the Archtop Guitar for Sound

2000
AL#62 p.6   BRB6 p.32            
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ No one in the field of archtop guitars is more respected than Monteleone. This article represents his full thoughts on the instrument as of 1998. With 12 photos and 4 drawings.

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

It Worked for Me: Mandolin Side Heights

1999
AL#58 p.58   BRB5 p.501            
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ A good method for finding the height of mandolin family sides using a violin soundpost height gauge.

Three Decades of Innovation captions

1998
AL#53 p.14   BRB5 p.172            
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ A photo-essay of 8 D’Aquisto archtops formerly owned by Paul Gudelsky, set up to show the progression of Jimmy’s designs. With 8 photos.

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

D’Aquisto’s Design Development: Another View

1998
AL#53 p.18   BRB5 p.176            
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ A world-renowned maker of archtops who knew D’Aquisto well offers a more technical examination of Jimmy’s design evolution. With 3 photos and a drawing.

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

In Memoriam: Mario Maccaferri

1993
AL#35 p.63   BRB3 p.503            read this article
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ Remembering Mario Maccaferri, creator of guitars made by Selmer of Paris and made famous by Django Reinhardt, major contributor to the field of injection molding plastic, and overall self made man.

A Survey of Seventeen Luthiers

1990
   LT p.114            
Steve Andersen   Chris Brandt   R.E. Brune   Ted Davis   Jeffrey R. Elliott   James Flynn   Bob Gleason   Hideo Kamimoto   Robert Lundberg   Frederick C. Lyman Jr.   John Monteleone   Robert Ruck   Richard Schneider   Ervin Somogyi   Al Stancel   Robert Steinegger   Janet Toon                           

▪ Seventeen established luthiers were asked to list ten hand tools, five power tools, and five supplies used as tools. This info was used to determine the most essential tools, including specifics, model and size, source, and any special uses.

A Modern Builder Interprets the Archtop

1986
AL#6 p.34   BRB1 p.227            
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ Monteleone’s lecture covers personal background, after which a question/answer segment gets to the specifics of archtop design and construction.

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

Monteleone: The Artist Behind the “Grand Artist”

1986
AL#6 p.38   BRB1 p.222            
Ted Davis   John Monteleone                                                                                       

▪ This lengthy interview sheds more light on the archtop maker’s background and furnishes information about his mandolins.

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