Posted on January 12, 2010May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Benedetto Archtop Plans Review: Benedetto Archtop Plans Reviewed by Dave Riggs Originally published in American Lutherie #66, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Benedetto Archtop Plans Drawn by Skot Koenig Stewart-MacDonald Any veteran writer knows it is probably not a good idea to gush praise upon a product which he is reviewing, and I always want to seem professional in the eyes of good writers in case one of them reads this. Therefore, knowing I may go to hell for it, I must warn you all to get ready for the gush. Although plans have been published of a classic Epiphone by Scott Antes as well as D’Angelico New Yorkers by both Steve Andersen and Tom Ribbecke, the ones recently published by Bob Benedetto are unique among all such plans and are deserving of special mention. Forget that these new drawings are of guitars currently in production by a living luthier and that archtops may not be of interest to all guitar makers. The drawings are worth buying for several reasons, whether or not this particular instrument is of significance to you. 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 12, 2010May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound; An Introduction to Psychoacoustics edited by Perry R. Cook Review: Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound; An Introduction to Psychoacoustics edited by Perry R. Cook Reviewed by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #67, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Music, Cognition, and Computerized Sound; An Introduction to Psychoacoustics Edited by Perry R. Cook The MIT Press, 2001 ISBN 978-0262531900 Wisdom, like beauty, is where you find it, and a beautiful bit of wisdom is tucked into AL#42. Here is found a thought, presented in a letter by Pamela Stanley-Rees. On the topic of the frequency response of instruments, Ms. Stanley-Rees opines that it is wise to always consider the response characteristics of the human ear and auditory system when evaluating the response characteristics of an instrument. She states: “Without the man in the loop, all of our instruments are just trees that have had a bad day.” This thought as presented by Ms. Stanley-Rees is axiomatic, to me at least, and I try to let it inform my own design work. There is little sense in putting effort into working on aspects of the tone of an instrument that, although measurable and therefore present, cannot be perceived by human beings listening to that instrument. The problem this presents to the designers of musical instruments of course is that in addition to what we know and learn about instrument design, we must also learn something about how the human auditory system perceives musical sound. 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 12, 2010May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Custom Guitars: A Complete Guide to Contemporary Handcrafted Guitars edited by Simone Solondz Review: Custom Guitars: A Complete Guide to Contemporary Handcrafted Guitars edited by Simone Solondz Reviewed by Benjamin Hoff Originally published in American Lutherie #66, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Custom Guitars: A Complete Guide to Contemporary Handcrafted Guitars Edited by Simone Solondz String Letter Publishing, 2000 ISBN 978-1890490294 The creators of Custom Guitars had the opportunity, the resources, and the talent to bring into existence a ground-breaking book heralding today’s revolutionary age of guitar building. But.... Despite the claim of its hyperbolic subtitle, Custom Guitars is an incomplete and occasional guide that can’t seem to decide what it wants to be. It consists of eight skimpy chapters by various authors that could be (and possibly were) magazine articles, stretched out and separated by more than 200 color photographs of varying quality, followed by a list of 209 custom builders, a good many of whom — such as Guild, C.F. Martin, and Ovation — are manufacturers, not custom builders. The resulting assembly is a flashy but insubstantial piece of work, the literary equivalent of a factory guitar. 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 12, 2010May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Dangerous Curves: The Art of the Guitar by Darcy Kuronen Review: Dangerous Curves: The Art of the Guitar by Darcy Kuronen Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #67, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Dangerous Curves: The Art of the Guitar Darcy Kuronen MFA Publications, 2000 ISBN 978-0878464784 It’s getting harder to write reviews of guitar picture books. I’ve nearly passed through my third decade of playing, building, and heavy reading about guitars, and I have seen the elephant and heard the owl. When confronted by yet another hip coffee-table volume, my first thought is, “Go ahead, impress me. I dare you.” Dangerous Curves is sort of up to the challenge. Photos of 110 guitars (from an exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) illustrate the evolution of the guitar as objet d’art while the text attempts — succinctly and entertainingly — to track the changes to the instrument as cultural phenomena. The book is a good thumbnail refresher course in the history of the guitar with a new twist. Guitar nuts tend to think of a few guitars as important and the rest as also-rans. Within the context of art there are no important guitars, only artistically interesting guitars. Art is dynamic. The strongest art has led its culture. With the possible exception of the Stratocaster (my own judgment), no guitar has been artistically that important. Guitar art has followed cultural trends, not led them. 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 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: François Pistorius In Memoriam: François Pistorius November 10, 1969 – June 23, 2002 by Rodney Stedall, Stuart Deutsch, Larry Baeder, and Anne Ludwig Originally published in American Lutherie #73, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Seven, 2005 Born in Pretoria, South Africa, François Pistorius spent his childhood in the town of Bethlehem in the Eastern Free State. He attended high school in Pretoria and was interested in the creative arts, including pottery and sculpture. François started playing guitar at fourteen. After military training, he and his older brother traveled in Europe for a few years, and when he got to Galway, Ireland, he fell in love with the musical culture and the people. He stayed for four years, apprenticing with luthier Paul Doyle. He returned to South Africa and started his own shop at his farm called Kayuta, twenty kilometers east of Pretoria. He was also the leader of a band called Baraka, which played Afro-Celtic music. François was a perfectionist. He worked on his own to produce a few detailed, high-quality instruments. His designs were innovative and his instruments were far from typical. He was confident in his abilities (in an unassuming, nonarrogant way) and did not rate himself second to any other luthier in the world. François Pistorius died tragically in a motor car accident. I have fond memories of visiting him on Lynnwood Road and how much he taught me in the short period I knew him. I will always remember him for his unconventional and original approach, and for the fine instruments he crafted. I can still see him tapping his foot to those Celtic rhythms. — Rodney Stedall I thought the world of Fran’s instruments and was certain that he would be one of the great luthiers of this century. Now all I have to remember him by is a 000, an archtop, and a 12-string. I met Fran while doing sound for a documentary in Jo’burg and Cape Town. His friend Gideon worked with me as an assistant cameraman. When he heard that I collected and played guitars, we were introduced. I bought a small flattop, which quickly became my favorite instrument, then ordered a 12-string, an archtop, a classic, and a dreadnought. Unfortunately, the very day that the director of the film, Lee Hirsch, was to meet Fran and bring the last two instruments to me, fate stepped in. It’s sad that he’s gone so soon; I had been working on creating a market in the U.S. for him. His instruments blew away anything in my collection, and I have a 1936 D’Angelico archtop and 1920s and 1940s Martins and Gibsons to compare them to. — Stuart Deutsch Both photos courtesy of Rodney Stedall. I will never own one of François’ instruments, and for that I will forever be at a loss. I did not meet him, but on the phone he was articulate, insightful, and gracious. I did, however, play several of his instruments and knew that I had to have one. They are truly remarkable in every way. The line between art and craftsmanship is fine and difficult to tread. To produce something practical, superbly made, and with a higher aesthetic is to create something for the ages. François has left us with far too few instruments, but no doubt, they are for the ages. — Larry Baeder One of the highlights of my time with Guitar Talk was the article that I did on François Pistorius. His workshop was amazing and very organized. He tapped some wood for me so I could hear the difference between a good piece and one that would not perhaps make such a good guitar. His life story was fascinating to hear while I saw the many different instruments in his workshop. I was fortunate to hear his band rehearsing at his cottage in the country east of Pretoria, and also hear him play his double-neck guitar/bouzouki at a Tárrega club meeting. I was very impressed with his music, which was mainly Celtic in style. I feel very fortunate to have met him. Having known him, even very briefly, has added more color to my life. In the words of his friend Irma Wouters, “He’s making harps for the angels now.” — Anne Ludwig
