Posted on January 11, 2010May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Passing of Hart Huttig Letter: Passing of Hart Huttig by Tom Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #35, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Dear Tim and gang, I came into contact with Hart Huttig through Charles Fox when I attended his guitar making school in 1976. I can still see those typed price lists of Allied Traders of Miami with the freighter or the Casa fundada en 1792 crest in the upper right corner. In ’76 or ’77 I went to see him at his daughter’s house south of San Francisco. I sought the advice of a winemaker friend on the best bottle of sherry, and headed off. I soon learned that I needn’t have worried about bribing him or ingratiating myself in order to pick his brain, for his warmth and generosity were immediately evident as we spent a delightful afternoon bantering about everything from Maccaferris to Martins while he kept his family waiting for him to come to dinner. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 11, 2010May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Thoughts on Bow Hairing Letter: Thoughts on Bow Hairing by Dale Randall Originally published in American Lutherie #92, 2007 Dear Tim: American Lutherie #91 is one of the best in years. Lots of good, useful, informative articles with great pictures. I especially liked the one on rehairing bows. I’m seventy-one and have been into lutherie for forty years. Rehairing can go like clockwork or drive you to drink. I must take exception with a few of Paul Hill’s methods. He is not the first to recommend starting at the tip and working toward the frog, but this is contrary to what I have learned. The hardest work the bow hair does is nearest to the frog end, therefore the thicker base end of the hair should be on that end. I have read that the finest violinists want the hair mixed end for end so half is in one direction and half in the other, assuming that hair takes rosin better in one direction. I also believe that one should never use hardwood for plugs and never use any glue on either end plug or wedge. I do use Paul’s method of tying and supergluing the hair to keep it together. I give mine a squeeze with opened-up pliers to make it sort of flat before it sets up, and dip the end in a little baking soda to speed the hardening. This is not to criticize Paul’s methods but to try to clear up the concept of which way the hair should be mounted. I like the way Paul shared his procedure with words and pictures.
Posted on January 11, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Acquired of the Angels by Paul William Schmidt Review: Acquired of the Angels by Paul William Schmidt Reviewed by Linda Manzer Originally published in American Lutherie #59, 1999 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 Acquired of the Angels Paul William Schmidt Scarecrow Press, 1998 ISBN 1578860024 In the fall of 1983 I had the good fortune to be invited to study in the shop of James D’Aquisto. I confess that while I knew James D’Aquisto was a respected and famous archtop builder, I didn’t know the half of it when I walked through those doors the first time. As I worked side by side with him, listening to his stories, watching him work, and watching various characters in his life come through the doors of his workshop, I realized I wasn’t just at a workshop but I was witness to a very magical moment in guitar history. The tools, the woods, the layout of the shop, the music we listened to, the stories he told, and most of all his guitars, all were another world for me. These impressions were the groundwork for my own path as an archtop builder and for many other builders. So when I learned that Paul William Schmidt had written Acquired of the Angels: The Lives and Works of Master Guitar Makers John D’Angelico and James L. D’Aquisto I was very curious to see how his impressions would compare with mine. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 11, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Mandolin Magazine Review: Mandolin Magazine Reviewed by Randy Allen Originally published in American Lutherie #60, 1999 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 Mandolin Magazine www.mandolinmagazine.com The premiere issue of Mandolin Magazine announces that this is a quarterly magazine for mandolin players and enthusiasts, welcome news to be sure! There has been much renewed interest in the mandolin of late, and editor Ginny Hollon has done a fine job of presenting us with this new magazine. The magazine is full of articles that are of interest to mandolin players and builders. Luthier Ken Cartwright, whom I met at Wintergrass several years ago, writes a regular column called MandoMedic. This issue had a very informative installment on mandolin bridges. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 11, 2010May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Violin String Tension Letter: Violin String Tension by Ernest Nussbaum Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 Dear Tim: I’d like to point out that the article “Fiddle Facts” contains at least two non-facts. 1) The author says that raising the pitch of a violin’s “A” string to 442 (presumably from 440) is an increase of 0.05%. Wrong: it’s 0.5%. 2) More serious: He says that string tension is thereby increased by 10%. He should have said 1%. (Raising the frequency increases tension according to the square of the raise, i.e., (442/440)2 which is 1.009 or about 1.01 — therefore 1% higher. Maybe it’s bad for old violins to replace gut strings with steel. On ’cellos it seems to do no harm in most cases.
