Posted on September 25, 2026October 7, 2026 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: Charles Fox In Memoriam: Charles Fox 1943 – 2026 Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, September 2026 Photo by Mark French. Today we say goodbye to a true icon in the guitar-making world, and a friend of mine for over thirty years, Charles Fox. My thoughts are with Denise and his daughters during this terribly difficult time. Few people have had as much of an influence as Charles on the renaissance of guitar building in the US. He was a superb designer, a legendary inventor of guitar-making tools (the jigmeister!) but perhaps he will be best remembered as a talented teacher who so skillfully brought the craft to thousands over the years. Erudite, artistic, philosophical, clever; Charles was blessed with a hearty laugh and baritone speaking voice that will live inside us as we continue our remembrance of him. Personally, there was really no one in this business who was kinder, more demonstrative, and more supportive of me, professionally and personally, than Charles. I will miss him fondly and am grateful for his long life and his friendship. — Chris Herrod (Posted on Facebook, September 10, 2026) Charles Fox was one of the young, self-starting, maverick luthiers who got going in the 1960s, and by sharing what they were learning, brought about the American lutherie boom. He became a legend in the field, due to his long and productive career of building, teaching, and invention. He was already running one of the earliest guitar-building schools in the US when he joined the GAL in 1974, back when we were just getting started. Charles was a true believer in the information-sharing goals of the Guild and he was one of our most loyal and encouraging supporters over the decades. Starting in 1995, he attended every one of our GAL Conventions and was a featured lecturer or workshop presenter at seven conventions between 1995 and 2014. He has sixteen GAL author credits including several extensive and detailed process pieces. (His detailed building method is currently posted for members on our Articles Online.) There is a lot to be learned from these articles, including how to think coherently about the process, which he often stressed, urging us to take a wider view than just the how-to of a particular task. Charles was deservedly and universally loved and respected in our field. His influence and personality will resonate far into the future of American guitar building. He will be greatly missed. — Tim and Deb Olsen My life as a luthier changed the day I met Charles Fox. I took his acoustic guitar-making class some years ago, not knowing what to expect. I knew I needed to grow as a builder and guessed that a short course from a master would help. At the time, I didn't know who he was, but friend in the guitar industry described him as a “heavy hitter.” That sounded promising. In Charles, I found a skilled and creative luthier who was also a natural teacher. After the class, my son told me, “I don't know what happed, but you just got a lot better.” I got to see everything from the details of how a skilled maker approaches specific problems to how a master thinks broadly of his craft. The picture above shows him working on my guitar - after I accidentally glued the rim to one of the blocks in the assembly fixture. He was the picture of patience and care as he corrected my error without judgement. Working on the series of articles describing his building method was deeply rewarding. I got to learn more about how he thought and how it was reflected in his instruments. I found that he was as much tool maker as luthier. His shop was filled with creative, well-designed jigs and fixtures. Central among this was his side bender. The version we used in the class was a refinement on his original that we have all seen. I don't think Charles ever considered a design truly finished - he was always looking for improvements. If half the stories I've heard about Charles are true, he led a colorful life, filled with creative adventures. He clearly made many friends along the way. We will all miss him. His teaching is reflected in every instrument I make. — Mark French I am very sad about the news that Charles Fox has passed away. I became friends with him in the 90's when I was invited to teach a fretting class at The American School of Lutherie in Healdsburg, CA. His factory was next door. I remember a wonderful hang at his home with Rick Turner, where we reminisced and talked guitars all day long. Charles was brilliant at jigging up for small builders to increase consistency and productivity. He taught and mentored many over the last 50 years. We most recently spent time in 2023 at the Northwoods Week at the Galloup School. He was both a colleague and a mentor to me. Rest in peace, my dear friend. Condolences to his wife, Denise. — Roger Sadowsky Rather than recount Charles' numerous accomplishments, I thought to add something of a more personal and humorous nature. Some years ago whilst visiting his school in Healdsburg, Charles made note that my voice was quite deep, such as was his. With a wry smile he suggested that if he ever lost his voice, he planned to call on me to be his “voice double.” I would be to tasked to read his lines from behind the curtain, while he “lip synced” out front. That was a bit of a running joke between us when our paths would cross. A good and kind man who will be missed. — Michael McCarten So very sorry to hear of Charles’ passing. He was a big influence on my building and his use of jigs. I heard him at the 1995 GAL Convention in Tacoma. Sad news...my condolences to his family and friends. — Jeff Scott If you would like to add a story or memory of your own, contact the GAL.
Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Charles Fox Meet the Maker: Charles Fox by Fred Carlson Originally published in American Lutherie #52, 1997 I had the opportunity (blind luck, you might call it) to study with Charles Fox in 1975 at the beginning of his School for Guitar Research and Design’s rise to prominence as one of the premier guitar-building schools in the country. Much more recently, in August of 1995, I attended a session of The American School of Lutherie, Charles’s updated take on lutherie education. I had been asked by the GAL to interview Charles, but our schedules made it difficult to connect. We finally sat down and had a fine, rambling phone conversation in late fall of ’95. What follows here is my notes from that conversation, organized into this interview format with a bit of journalistic license. Charles, I know you have a background in the fine arts; in fact, I remember seeing some paintings of yours back in Vermont. Is that what led you to lutherie? In a way, I still think of myself as a painter who is currently not working. In the mid to late ’60s I was studying flamenco guitar, taking lessons through Sherry-Brenner, who import fine guitars. I found that they had materials for guitar construction, and a British instructional pamphlet; I built a guitar at home, and loved it. I stopped playing, built another and another, a couple of flamencos, a classic, and then a couple of steel strings which sold immediately. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Guitar Making Course A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Hands-On Guitar Making Course by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #136, 2019 See also, The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Three by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six by Mark French Charles Fox started making guitars when I was four. Recently, at age fifty-four, I found myself a student in his acoustic guitar making class at the American School of Lutherie. I’ve been building guitars for a while, but am mostly self-taught, with no formal training before now. I eventually came to realize that I was stuck. I was building using skills I mostly acquired the hard way or from videos and books. My guitars were adequate, but to get better I needed to spend time building with an accomplished luthier. I talked with Charles to determine the class schedule and content which would fit my needs, and signed up for the two-week acoustic guitar class. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #139, 2020 See also, A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Hands-On Guitar Making Course by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Three by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six by Mark French Charles Fox has been making guitars for about fifty years and, as a master luthier will, he has developed a personal approach to his craft. Building on a solid foundation of experimentation, he has developed a set of processes that let him complete tasks quickly, accurately, and repeatably, but with a deeper purpose. This is the first in a series of articles that describe Charles’ building method in detail. There are some good descriptions in print of how to make an acoustic guitar, so it may not be clear why we need another one. Books and extended articles are usually for beginning builders unfamiliar with making instruments, and describe basic processes for making good, traditional acoustic guitars. Some of these works are quite good and a few are iconic. However, this series of articles has a different purpose. It is intended for readers who have basic familiarity with acoustic guitars and guitar-making skills. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #140, 2020 See also, A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Hands-On Guitar Making Course by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Three by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six by Mark French There are four major subassemblies in Charles’ guitar design. The separately completed rim, soundboard, and back are assembled to create the body, to which the completed neck is then fitted and attached. Given that the design process has highlighted and resolved all their relationships, they can each be considered individually, and created either serially, in any sequence, or simultaneously. Starting the Neck At first glance, Charles’ neck follows a fairly standard design, but it incorporates features that make it work better. One characteristic of Charles’ instruments is that many features and dimensions are shared across different body shapes (“Production Techniques for the Custom Luthier,” AL#110). One of these is the neck. Since most of Charles’ instruments share the same 25.5˝ scale, they can use the same 12-fret or 14-fret necks. The only visible difference is their heel depths, as shown in Photo 1. Even then, there are only two different depths. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
