In Memorium: Jimmy D'Aquisto
One of the world's best luthiers passes on.

Tailoring Sound in Classic Guitars by Robert Ruck
Ruck spends most of his time in this lecture talking about top design and finishing. With photos and several drawings, plus a detailed list of his finish materials and procedures.

A Walk in the Suburban Woods by Kenny Hill
A maker of classical guitars harvests some strange local trees to try out as instruments.

Museum Collections as Resources for Musical Instrument Makers by John Koster
Koster explains what you can hope to gain by examining museum instruments, how to approach a museum, and what to do when you get there.

HD-28 Soundboard Replacement by Al Carruth
Carruth ran mode and frequency tests on the old top and the replacement top. The goal was to reproduce the quality of the old airlines-damaged top.

Prepare to Meet the Makers: Klaus and Peppe Reischel by Davids Riggs
The Reischels make Landstrofer tuners, high-quality German gears for classical guitars.

Dedicated Drill Press for Hammered Dulcimer Production by Chris Foss
Foss describes his permanent set up for drilling tuning pin and hitch pin holes in dulcimer pin blocks.

Fretboard Radius Sander by Duane Heilman
Heilman offers plans for a drum sander that has a radius built into the drum.

Prepare to Meet the Maker: Des Anthony by Cyndy Burton
An Australian guitarmaker talks about Australian wood, his instruments, and the Australian vacation system.

Electronic Answer Man by Rick Turner
Turner's system of tuning an acoustic guitar pickup is elaborate. He also talks about amps for the acoustic guitar.

Questions by Cyndy Burton
Burton updates the list of schools, classes, individuals, organizations, and journals that will help you learn lutherie.

Product Reviews by Harry Fleishman
Fleishman examines the Highlander acoustic guitar pickup and decides it's pretty good, but not perfect. He has never met the perfect pickup, so far.

Review: Electric Guitars and Basses, a Photographic History by George Gruhn and Walter Carter, reviewed by John Calkin
The reviewer is enthusiastic about this picture book but decides that it may have no relevance to the life of a typical luthier.

Review: The Physics of Musical Instruments by Neville H. Fletcher and Thomas D. Rossing, reviewed by Don Bradley
The reviewer finds that the authors have made an invaluable reference for studying the vibration of all types of musical instruments.

Review: The Conservation and Technology of Musical Instruments, A Bibliographic Supplement to Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts, Vol. 28 edited by Cary Karp, reviewed by Robert Lundberg
The reviewer finds that although the abstracts are clear and well-written, the quality and usefulness of the abstracted material is not judged. The unwary may be sent on a long search for information of little, or dangerous, use.

Violin Q&A by Michael Darnton
Why can't I get the proper degree of polish from my varnish? How high should a saddle be? Why do my violins come apart during varnishing? What stylistic mistakes are most common? Why is oil varnish so nasty?

It Worked for Me
A column of helpful hints and timely tips
Readers offer info about a string tension simulation jig, sanding ribs and bridge feet on the same sander, adding an oven thermostat to a bending iron, and refretting some Japanese guitars.

This issue is no longer available individually. Its contents are
included in The Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Vol. 4.