The gorgeous instrument on this issue's cover was part of a display at the 2004 GAL Convention drawn from the collections of Jim Forderer and Jim Westbrook. More on them in this issue. The back cover shows an oud by Peter Kyvelos. More on him in this issue as well.
Constructing the Middle Eastern Oud with Peter Kyvelos, Part One by R.M. Mottola
RM Mottola visited the workshop of Peter Kyvelos over the course of a year to document the construction of an oud. Peter's shop, Unique Strings in Belmont Massachusetts, is a focus of the American Middle-Eastern music scene. Look for the conclusion of the series in American Lutherie #95.
Meet the Collectors: Forderer and Westbrook by Cyndy Burton
They live 5,000 miles apart, but guitar collectors Jim Forderer and Jim Westbrook are close friends and collaborators. We meet them in this issue and talk about a few of their instruments as well as publishing projects and dendrochronology research.
Geometric Design of the Stradivari Model G Violin, Part Two: ƒ-Holes by Robert J. Spear
Violin maker and scholar Robert Spear applies his reconstruction of Stradivari's geometrical methods of to the design of the f-hole. The series concludes in American Lutherie #95 with the design of the scroll.
Meet the Maker: Paul Fischer by Woodley White
English classical guitar maker Paul Fischer began his lutherie career as an apprentice harpsichord maker over fifty years ago, then worked in the shop of David Rubio. Today he is one of the world's most highly-regarded builders. Meet this innovative luthier in this issue.
The Venezuelan Cuatro by Aquiles Torres
The Venezuelan cuatro is a long-necked, 4-stringed instrument descended from the Renaissance guitars brought to the area by Spaniards in the 15th century. See a step-by-step photo essay of the construction of the cuatro by Aquiles Torres, plus a preview of our GAL Instrument Plan #58.
The MacRostie Mandolin Deflection Jig by Don MacRostie
Don MacRostie is the maker of Red Diamond mandolins and a tool developer for Stewart-MacDonald. At our 2004 Convention he demonstrated a machine that measures the deflection of the soundboard of a carved-top mandolin. Don has found the readings of this machine to be highly predictive of the sound of the finished mandolin. We get the full scoop in this issue.
The "Corker" Guitar: A Sideport Experiment by Alan Carruth
There is a lot of buzz out there today about soundports, holes in the sides of guitars intended to improve the sound. GAL stalwart Al Carruth offers the results of his research into the size and placement of soundports, using the "corker" guitar.
Quick Cuts: Chris Pantazelos' 7-String Classical Guitar by R.M. Mottola
Chris Pantazelos has had good results with an all-wood diagonal lattice soundboard bracing plan.
It Worked for Me by Dan Fobert, Terrence O'Hearn, and Fabio Ragghianti
Dan Forbert makes small hitchpins for bouzoukis without the use of a lathe. He builds them up out of brass rod stock and tubing. Clever!
|
