Posted on April 7, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Visits to Guitarrerias Visits to Guitarrerias by David Macias Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly Volume 7 #4, 1979 As a young boy, I used to think that for me to one day be able to play authentic Flamenco guitar would be the greatest thing in my life. Now, many years later, I do play authentic Flamenco, and I have discovered another wonderful way to express myself through the guitar... the Art of Lutherie. How I came to this discovery, is the story t hat follows. To set the scene, imagine yourself in Madrid, Spain, in the fall of 1966. After several years of Flamenco guitar study in San Francisco, California, here I was in Madrid. My guitar teacher, Adonis Puertas, a well-known concert guitarist, was leaving San Francisco. He suggested that I go to Spain for advanced study if at all possible. 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 March 4, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips The Piccolo Bass The Piccolo Bass by Frederick C. Lyman, Jr. Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 8 ,#1, 1980 In the last ten or fifteen years there has been a virtual explosion of interest in the string bass. Many bassists now use their instruments in ways that were hardly thought of just a few years ago. Especially, solo playing employing the extreme upper register of the bass is a prominent technique among soloists in the classical and jazz fields. Modern string technology permits a brilliance, solidity, and assurance of sound in this register that was hard to obtain previously. Electronic means of recording and amplification have brought the sounds closer to the consciousness of a large audience. Most existing basses, build in other eras for other not necessarily good( reasons, are not much help to the skilled and ambitious player of today. They are hard to play and hard to hear, except in the limited roles they were designed to fulfill. This situation suggested a new instrument which would fill the large gap between the bass and the ‘cello’ and which could be used in the melodic register but with the tonal density of the bass rather than the thinner sound of the ‘cello. I think many people had this idea, and of course we know of Mr. Hutchins’ work which approached the problem from a scientific direction. However, I had never seen a small bass that had the musical properties which were needed. 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 March 4, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Thoughts on Soundboard Vibration Thoughts on Soundboard Vibration by Paul Wyszkowski Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #200, 1981 The classic guitar, like the harp but unlike the violin, the mandolin or the zither, has its strings attached directly to the soundboard. In the case of a violin, it is pretty clear that the bridge communicates primarily vibrations which are perpendicular to the surface of the soundboard. But it is not so obvious how the strings of a guitar transmit their vibration to the soundboard. However, a few minutes’ thought and a simple experiment can settle that question. Back in 1954, J.K. Sutcliffe stated in an article in Guitar News that the fundamental action linking the string to the soundboard is the rocking of the bridge in response to the longitudinal (along the length) vibrations of the string. That is, the front and back edges of the bridge rise and fall as the string becomes tighter and looser (see Fig. 1). Later, Michael Kasha used this idea in his theory of guitar design. As a consequence, this view was accepted by many luthiers as correct. 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 March 4, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Harpsichords: Reconstructing an Era Harpsichords: Reconstructing an Era by Byron Will Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 5 ,#4, 1977 The music of the renaissance and baroque has undergone a rebirth in the twentieth century, with musicians and makers attempting to rediscover the high level of the art which was reached. A great deal of work has been done in the enormous process of making a musical era live again, with the scholar having to be cautious of falling into preconceptions and making personal assumptions which may be quite false. This long an difficult process has many times changed the musicians and makers outlook on the “correct” approach. Although there are not and never were absolutes, much more is known than twenty years ago and the modern maker has a better idea of what is required of the musician interpreting the great compositions of the past. The most logical approach the modern harpsichord maker may take is to carefully study the old instruments and attempt to understand the old makers methods. There are many antiques that have been restored, although not all with the greatest of care. Many old instruments have been altered, perhaps many times, so not much of the original remains. What can we tell from the antiques which are two or three hundred years old? The antiques play music with the clarity, growth, and beauty that a great instrument has, having a strong character that works with the music and performer to give a completely satisfying performance. The antiques sometimes have a certain ugliness or crudeness to their tone adding charm and incisive character. The modern maker must determine what he hears in the antiques, study how they were constructed and incorporate this information in his work in order to properly approach the old makers’ art. Their need for caution is as important as the scholars’. 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 March 4, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Business Ethics in Lutherie Business Ethics in Lutherie by Lawrence Lundy Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 6 ,#2, 1978 Among the purposes listed in the G.A.L.’s charter is to encourage among luthiers the highest possible standards of ethical business practices in the operation of their enterprises. The questionnaire sent out at the end of last year was intended to acquire a range of ideas on the subject of current business practices as they relate to the customer. The response was surprisingly good with over 90 members responding to the joint questionnaires. In writing this report, I have tried not to set any standards by suggesting what the average policy is, or the one followed most frequently, or by inserting any of my own values. The idea was to make a shopping list by including every idea mentioned by respondents for modifying their own practices. Because such reporting lacks personality (both mine and those of the respondents) and tends, therefore, to be inherently dull, I have also tried to be as brief as possible. 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.
