Letter to the editor by Gretchen Weeks Brough
Brough offers her services as a freelance computer drafter to members who would like instrument plans drawn in AutoCAD.

Ecuadorian Diary by Debbie Suran
On the trail of S. American luthiers, strange instruments, and unusual wood varieties, in a land where travel is difficult but the people are friendly. Ask your tonewood supplier to start stocking armadillo shells.

Decorative Techniques in Lutherie by R.E. Brune
This 1995 lecture transcription investigates the history of art applied to lutherie in all its varied forms, and then translates many of them into illustrations of contemporary instruments. Topics include painting, gilding, carving, veneer, inlay, engraving, and varnish work.

Paradoxes in Guitar Acoustics by Alan Carruth
How is it that some makers build consistently superior guitars even though, scientifically speaking, they have no direct control over the thing that makes them superior (high frequency response)? Carruth is a long-time researcher and acoustician. This 1995 lecture transcription is about the design compromises that luthiers face while pursuing the ultimate guitar.

Talkin' Repair by Dan Erlewine and Frank Ford
This wide-ranging lecture transcription from the1995 GAL convention covers some specific repair techniques, professional ethics, customer relations, pursuing a profit, and vintage instrument repair. Strong advice from two of the best known men in the business.

Meet the Maker: Don Overstreet by Jonathon Peterson
Overstreet took formal training in violin construction with Peter Prier in Salt Lake City, then ended up in the shop of Paul Schuback where he builds and repairs the instruments of the fiddle family. It seems that all who trod the same path make a unique journey (a strong theme in the GAL).

Quick and Cheap Peghead Splining Fixture by Richard Beck
Beck is a repairman for some heavy hitters in the music biz. Here he offers a sound method of repairing shattered headstocks using a router.

Questions edited by Cyndy Burton
Members furnish information about learning to make bows, banjo-lins, and keeping bindings pristine during finishing.

More Than a Dozen How-to Videos reviewed by John Calkin
Some videos are worth the money, and some aren't. It depends more on the depth of your experience and interest than on the quality of these videos, which is generally good. Take a look at a batch of tapes (and one book) from Stewart-MacDonald about building or repairing stringed instruments.

Violin Q&A by Michael Darnton
This time the column has but one concern, removing the top plate.

Product Reviews by Harry Fleishman
Fleishman test drives the adjustable fretboard arching planes from Luthiers Mercantile International, and finds that they handle the curves nicely. Also, an update on Highlander pickups.

It Worked for Me
Readers offer tips about cleaning strung headstocks, mixing shellac, finishing fretboards with micro-mesh, sanding disks for covering hollow-radius forms, vise mounts, dismantling white glue joints, and a finishing fixture for banjo resonators.

Review: The Rickenbacker Book: A Complete History of Rickenbacker Guitars by Tony Bacon and Paul Day. Reviewed by Richard Beck
The reviewer finds that this is a "best value in a guitar history and identification book."

Review: The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. Reviewed by Jess Wells.
The reviewer finds that this book is "the one sharpening book on the market today which I find useful as a reference in my library."

Review: Acoustic Guitars and Other Fretted Instruments: A Photographic History by George Gruhn and Walter Carter. Reviewed by Robert Lundberg
The reviewer finds that the book is a valuable document flavored, however, by the biases of collectors and the vintage market which may have a tendency to overlook many important and interesting instruments. The photos are judged to be excellent, superb.

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