José Romanillos: On the Path of Utter Dedication by José Romanillos
A dedicated person lives a life of joy and frustration. Finding a suitable balance is the tough part. Romanillos aims his thought at the guitar and strikes a much larger target.

An Interview with Bowmaker Michael Yeats by Cyndy Burton
Training, ethics, money---all luthiers face the same dilemmas, but it's possible that those who face the field of professional classical musicians are tried a little harder. Yeats offers straight talk about all three issues.

The Multiple Scale Fretboard by Ralph Novak
Novak's patented fretboard uses slanted frets that alter the scale length from string to string, growing longer toward the bass side. He lists a series of improvements over the normal fretboard.

The Elizabethan Connection by John Bromka
It seems that some 17th century Elizabethan luthiers beat Novak to the punch with a multiple-scale fretboard.

Historical Lute Construction: Practicum Part Three by Robert Lundberg
Lundberg builds the treble bars and the bridge in this segment of his series. Fifty-two photos and several drawings are accompanied by detailed captions. This series is 19 episodes long.

Ren-Shape Precision Molding Material by Ed Beylerian
Luthiers try lute molds of a new synthetic material. Its stability is pleasing but its strength may make it of limited use for some.

Reflections on Segovia's Guitars at the Metropolitan by Jeffrey Elliott and Cyndy Burton
The authors make a cross-country pilgrimage to examine two world famous classical guitars. The wonder is that there are riddles there yet to be solved.

Heelblock Hank: His Story, Part Three by Louis "Buddy" Hale and Michael H. Price
The GAL's own comic book hero signs off. Parts One and Two were printed in American Lutherie #19 and #20.

Who Made Marie Antoinette's Guitar? by Robert Lundberg and R.E. Brune
Lundberg says that perhaps he's tracked down Marie's own luthier. Brune examines the evidence and decides he's not prepared to jump on board.

Wood Treatment and Sizing Materials by Rick Rubin
The goal is to preserve instrument wood for centuries, or make it stiffer. Either or both will do. Rubin examines a list of wood additives and lets the reader decide what to do.

The Mandolin Orchestra in America, Part Three by Joseph R. Johnson
A number of non-mandolins were considered to be intrinsic parts of the mandolin orchestras. This installment of the series looks at all the boys in the band (and some girls, too).

Opinion by Nicholas Von Robison
Robison is concerned about the plight of the world's tropical forests, but pleads that a boycott of rain forest wood will backfire on the would-be conservationists.

Questions edited by Cyndy Burton
Topics include dealing with paint strippers, books about the violin, unwarping rosewood, and parts/plans for zithers and harps.

Wonders of the Lutherie World: Great Guitar by Bob Banghart
Lutherie humor. We've heard of guitars in a museum, but a museum inside a guitar?

Review: Musical Acoustics - Selected Reprints. Reviewed by Steve Newberry.
The reviewer decides that the physics of sound has general usefulness that should appeal to all instrument makers, and specific usefulness (such as the acoustics of bells) that may be of interest only to specialists. This book offers both, but the guitar-making reviewer finds it to be generally valuable. "When an expert holds forth on the subject he loves it can be a treat, even if you are not yourself involved with that subject.

This issue is no longer available individually. Its contents are
included in The Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Vol. 2.
(excluding any of the Historical Lute Construction articles by
Robert Lundberg which are available in a book by the same name)