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.
Posted on January 11, 2010May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: George Majkowski In Memoriam: George Majkowski 1929 – 2002 by Jay Hargreaves Originally published in American Lutherie #72, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 It saddens me to inform you of the passing of my good friend, colleague, and mentor, George Majkowski, on August 5th, 2002. Due to complications from treatments he was receiving for kidney disease, he succumbed to an infection that quickly overcame his already weakened heart. He died peacefully with family at his side. George was born in Poland. While in his teens during World War II, he was captured by the Germans and sent to a labor camp. Upon liberation by American troops, he was adopted by them and learned to speak English in three months. He then went to France, quickly learned the language, and was hired as an interpreter. He also worked repairing electrical motors. He enjoyed visiting the cabarets and hearing Django play. Guitar music became one of his joys in life. He immigrated to the U.S. during the Korean War and was drafted into the army. After the war he was given U.S. citizenship. He began his career at IBM and soon became involved in the installation of mainframe computers throughout the world. His reputation as a brilliant troubleshooter gained him the nickname “Magic.” It was during his travels for IBM that he met his lovely wife, Anna. Photo by Jay Hargreaves Always with him was his guitar. He studied flamenco and would play semiprofessionally, backing singers and dancers. After he retired from IBM, he turned his attention to building harpsichords and guitars. He attended Richard Schneider’s Lost Mountain Seminar for the Guitar in 1991, and built his first Kasha guitar within a year’s time. George became one of Richard’s assistants, bringing with him new ideas in construction and jig design. After Richard passed away in 1997, George was instrumental in a project which involved building ten guitars in tribute to Richard. George and I worked closely together, completing the last three of Richard’s commissioned guitars. When his health prevented him from being at his workbench, he continued to provide ideas and insight into his love of guitar making. George ol’ buddy, you’ll be missed.
Posted on January 11, 2010May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Installing Pegheads Letter: Installing Pegheads by David Golber Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 Dear American Lutherie, A couple years ago a customer asked me about installing Pegheds/Knilling Perfection Planetary Pegs in his instrument. I read the instructions, sent by Mr. Herin, for installing them: he said to use Gorilla Glue. Now I get nervous. I’m being told to glue something into a $5000 instrument with Gorilla Glue. Hmm. I wrote to him asking how to remove them. I got no reply. These are mechanical devices. What lifetime do they have? Ten years? Twenty? Thirty? (Thirty years is a good lifetime for industrial products.) Does the manufacturer put a warranty on them? For how long? Will the manufacturer even be in existence thirty years from now? 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: Making and Playing Musical Instruments by Jack Botermans, Herman Dewit, and Hans Godefroy Review: Making and Playing Musical Instruments by Jack Botermans, Herman Dewit, and Hans Godefroy Reviewed by David Riggs Originally published in American Lutherie #58, 1999 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 Making and Playing Musical Instruments Jack Botermans, Herman Dewit, and Hans Godefroy University of Washington Press ISBN 0295969482 This book is primarily for hobbyists. Not that one could not find buyers for the kalimbas, alpenhorns, and talharpas made from descriptions to be found in its pages, as such instruments are staples at craft fairs, weekend markets, and other venues for ethnic and folk art. But it just might be of greater use to professionals than is apparent. The urge — or summons — to make something special for a musically inclined friend or relative will eventually strike anyone known to make instruments. Explaining the economic realities of instrument making is embarrassing at best. I have sat in the homes of luthiers in several countries and listened as they played a cheap offshore instrument. Believe me, you are not alone. This book may help provide a solution. 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: The Art of Modern Violin Making by Ricardo B. Flores Review: The Art of Modern Violin Making by Ricardo B. Flores Reviewed by Ken Goodwin Originally published in American Lutherie #82, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The Art of Modern Violin Making Ricardo B. Flores CD-ROM www.modernviolins.com I’m a longtime woodworker who has built a few guitars and knows next to nothing about violins. I can’t offer an expert’s analysis of the procedures presented here, but I can give you my opinion of the clarity of the instruction as well as some thoughts about the CD as a medium of information exchange compared to a book. Mr. Flores has set up his CD as a large website. No need to connect to the Internet — it’s all self-contained on the disc — but you view it in your browser and you move around by clicking on links. The typical page has a link at the bottom to move to the next page in sequence or to return home to the index page from where you can get to any section you wish. Within the text of each page various phrases are highlighted. When you click on them you are taken to a photograph illustrating the item being discussed. You go back and forth between photos and text by toggling the “back” button. 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.
