Retro Voicing the Flattop Guitar by Jonathon Peterson
So you've got a guitar that ought to sound better than it does. What can you do to it to perk up the punch? Experts Marc Silber, Scott van Linge, Robert Steinegger, Dana Bourgeois, Frank Ford, and T.J. Thompson describe how they shave braces, and show that brace shaving isn't your only weapon.
The Jacaltec Maya Guitarria by Carol Ventura
When these Guatemalans decide to build an instrument they begin by hacking a tree out of the jungle. Read this and you may never bad-mouth your suppliers or instruction books again. With step-by-step photos of the birth of a guitarria.
California Meetin', The 1996 Healdsburg Guitar Makers Festival
Healdsburg is quickly becoming Guitar Town, USA. This festival featured displays, lectures, and tours, not to mention fun.
Meet the Maker: Geoff Stelling by John Calkin
A profile of one of the leaders in high-end banjos, featuring a tour of the shop, production techniques, construction methods, and banjo/motorcycle cross-pollination.
Classic Guitar Intonation by Greg Byers
Finding perfect intonation through deep math and jiggling the string length at both ends. For some luthiers the quest for perfection knows no bounds. The rest of us are just jealous.
Meet the Maker: Marc Silber by Colin Kaminski
Silber is a musician, nomad, repairman, musical historian, guitar designer, dealer, collector, and all around keeper of the flame. How can a man have so much fun and make a living at the same time?
Amplifying Acoustic Instruments by Harry Fleishman
Fleishman has worked with all the commercial piezo pickups and has made a bunch of his own. Shop-brewed pickups can be cheap, useful, and instructive, but finding the best use for any piezo can be complicated. Adding microphones or magnetic pickups to the mix can be more confusing than helpful. Fleishman takes a look at all the angles. From his 1995 convention lecture.
Questions edited by Cyndy Burton
Readers to the rescue, with information about amplifying the acoustic bass, buying lacquer in Ireland, finding uke plans, and shaping bass necks.
Violin Q&A by Michael Darnton
Darnton fields questions about slipping pegs and pricing repair work and estimates.
Review: Dobro Set Up & Maintenance by Paul Beard. Reviewed by John Calkin
The reviewer generally likes this video for the specific information it offers about Dobro hardware. He also finds that half the tape is too basic to be of real help to seasoned luthiers.
Review: Como Hacer una Guitarra, by Hernan Rengifo Canas. Reviewed by Kenny Hill
This book, printed only in Spanish, describes guitar making in Ecuador. The reviewer finds that the Ecuadorian guitar as described in this book is crudely fashioned, and that the text is incomplete. Nevertheless, he enjoys it as a look into another culture.
Sources: Tools and Hardware edited by Cyndy Burton
A page of tools especially for the luthier, and a page and a half of tools and supplies of a more general nature. Where to get your tools. Or, at least, where to get your catalogs.
It Worked For Me
Members offer tips about workbenches for repair work, a useful combination rasp/file, and removing guitar necks with a wallpaper steamer.
This issue is no longer available individually. Its contents are
included in The Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Vol. 4.
