Posted on June 6, 2024May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Gibson Firebird Plan Questions: Gibson Firebird Plan by David Riggs Originally published in American Lutherie #76, 2003 See also, Questions: Gibson Firebird Plan by Mike Doolin David Riggs of Joplin, MO answers Marc Vermeiren's question regarding acquiring a plan of a Gibson Firebird: I have several templates, having made a few Firebird-style instruments before Gibson started making reproductions in the ’70s. Anyone interested may e-mail me: titanicslim@yahoo.com.
Posted on June 6, 2024May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Metal Dobro Questions: Metal Dobro by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #82, 2005 Richard Davis from cyberspace asks: I would like to find a source for plans to build a metal Dobro, and the parts that I cannot make. Cyndy Burton of Portland, OR answers: The GAL doesn’t have a Dobro plan, but Stew-Mac does: www.stewmac.com/shop/Books,_plans/Plans.html. They carry parts, too. Also, you might check out www.beardguitars.com/blueprints.html for plans and parts. The Guild has published several articles on making Dobro or resonator guitars. Go to www.luth.org, select abstracts, and search for “\guitar\resophonic.” ◆
Posted on June 6, 2024May 27, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Experimental Stringed Instruments Questions: Experimental Stringed Instruments by Bart Hopkin Originally published in American Lutherie #87, 2006 J.B. from the Internet asks: Do you have articles on “experimental” string instruments? I’ve been playing with guitar and bass strings stretched across different resonating bodies of various salvage materials. I knew a man in Montana that made a thing called the wind wagon; it was an old pioneer wagon frame made into a 50-string banjo. The resonator/body was an old dredge pipe reducer about 6' in diameter and the head was thin stainless stretched with a million bolts. It had a huge wooden bridge. He parked it on a windy hillside and it played itself, making an eerie Zen soundtrack oscillating sound that could be heard for miles. I was present when a guy from the Smithsonian recorded the maker playing it with hammers, bows, and other percussion implements. Have you heard of other artists doing similar research? Bart Hopkin of Point Reyes Station, CA answers: There are many people in the USA and abroad making strange and wonderful musical instruments, stringed and otherwise, but it’s not always easy to find them. There are some good resources, though. I’ll plug my own first: If you go to www.windworld.com, you will have entered the world of Experimental Musical Instruments. For many years EMI was the home of a quarterly journal by the same name and devoted to just that topic. The journal is no longer active but back issues are still available along with books and CDs on unusual instruments and their construction. The other great resource is Oddmusic (www.oddmusic.com), a discussion group for unusual instruments and creative instrument making with a large and active following. And if you join Musical Instrument Makers Forum (www.mimf.com) you’ll find a section devoted to “Wind, Percussion, and Miscellaneous and Experimental Instruments” with lots of fertile ideas and good information.
Posted on June 6, 2024May 27, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: 17″ Scale Length String Questions: 17" Scale Length String by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #87, 2006 Rob E. of Lexington, MA asks: Does anyone know of a string that can be put on a 17" scale length instrument, with an after length to the tailpiece of about 6", that is strong enough to reach a mandolin E tuning without breaking? “Questions” editor R.M. Mottola answers: A string with a small enough diameter to be tuned to this pitch at this scale length will have a breaking tension that is too close to its static tension to be of much practical use. When specifying the scale length for a new type of instrument, use a length similar to that used by existing designs with the same pitch range. For high-pitched instruments with long scales (such as the instrument in question) the issue is finding a string with high enough breaking tension to be useful. Unfortunately there are no simple solutions short of having strings custom-made of high-tensile-strength materials. For low-pitched instruments with short scale lengths the issues are tone and, for fretted instruments, intonation. Short, fat bass strings don’t behave much like ideal strings and their partials tend to skew way sharp as they are further shortened by fretting. There is a mathematical relationship among scale length, pitch, tension, and mass per unit length of a vibrating string. Download the paper entitled “Catalog Supplement / String Tension Specifications” from the D’Addario website. The paper (in PDF format) can be found at www.daddariostrings.com/Resources/JDCDAD/images/tension_chart.pdf. It contains comprehensive info on the string formulae as well as mass-per-unit-length (unit weight) data for every string D’Addario makes. Unfortunately, breaking strength data is not available in this paper as the issue of specifying the tension at which a real string will break is more complicated than it might appear. Tensile strength data is available from wire manufacturers but the best bet is to design high-pitched instruments using short enough scale lengths.
Posted on June 6, 2024May 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Banjo Fifth Peg Press Banjo Fifth Peg Press by John M. Colombini Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #207, 1982 and Lutherie Tools, 1990 Procedure: Make a bushing from a 3/4"×3/8" piece of steel or brass round by drilling a 7/32" hole and countersinking one end. Round off the bottom of a 4" C clamp screw so it seats in teh countersunk hole in the bushing centering the clamp. Cut a hardwood block 2"×1 5/8"×1 5/8" cutout to fit the banjo neck. I use a contour gauge or my actual size templet. Apply 1/16" piece of leather to the cutout using contact cement. The drawing should explain the usage. The important part is to be sure the bushing is longer than the shaft of the tuning peg. Add spacers between the bushing and the peg shaft if you should come across a longer shaft or make a slightly longer bushing. ◆
