The Guild of American Luthiers is a nonprofit educational membership organization whose purpose is to facilitate learning about lutherie: the art, craft, and science of stringed musical instrument building and repair. Since 1972, we’ve been the foremost source of information for makers, repairers, and restorers of all kinds of string instruments.

Guild membership and publications are open to all. Whether you’ve been making instruments for years, or have just acquired the lutherie bug; whether you live in Brooklyn or Bangladesh; whether lutherie is your livelihood or your passion or both; we invite you to join the Guild and learn more about the many ways you can benefit from and contribute to our information sharing system!

Membership Benefits

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Member Discounts

Members get discounted prices on our books, back issues, plans, and more.

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American Lutherie

Our respected journal American Lutherie is the main benefit of GAL membership.

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Premium Web Content

Members can read a growing selection of our articles online.

CURRENT ISSUE OF
AMERICAN LUTHERIE

American Lutherie #148 - Spring 2023

Steve Kauffman builds Klein Acoustic Guitars and his own Kauffman Guitars. Steve Klein started his lutherie endeavors fifty-five years ago as a teenager in his parents’ house. Today he’s continuing to make innovative ergonomic solidbodies in his own shop. The Fibonacci Series guitar on this issue's cover is a collaborative project of the two Steves. Karl Hoyt stumbled upon a small and distressed old instrument that turned out to be made by a founding father of the authentic ukulele. Did you know that the famous Helmholtz resonance in string instruments is the note that you don’t hear? Mark French explains. The late Denny Stevens was an early self-taught American Lutherie Boomer. He was also a mentor to Harry Fleishman, who goes back in memory and imagination to interview Denny as he never did in life. January Williams shows us some of Denny's jigs. James Buckland reviews Seven Fine Books About the Romantic Guitar. John Calkin makes uke-sized spherically-radiused sanding dishes powered by a drill press. A 12-hole classical guitar bridge improves on the old-school 6-hole bridge, says Brent Benfield. Bob Gleason's soft side sanders look like rolling-pin sanders, but don't spin. Reviews of a new book of Graham Caldersmith’s collected papers, and Robert O’Brien's online French polish course. Harry Fleishman explains the very basics of using that brown paper binding tape, because it is OK to be a beginner. The "It Worked for Me" column covers a carving table, a brace-tapering jig, cheap and easy sanding wheels for your Dremel tool, and a sturdy electric aluminum bending iron. See more.

Scheduled to ship to all 2023 members in April

New Instrument Plan

1982 Douglas Ching Slack-Key Guitar
GAL Plan #81  Drawn by Tim Olsen

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Resources

Are you just getting started in guitar making, or thinking about becoming a luthier? Or are you an experience builder looking for an event or hard-to-find supplies? See our Resources page with links to lutherie schools, suppliers, organizations, events and more!