Posted on June 6, 2024May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Patents and Acknowledgement Letter: Patents and Acknowledgement by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #81, 2005 Dear Tim, GAL members, and anyone else, Largely because of my involvement in GAL, I have some visible presence in the lutherie community. Because I have always been interested in solving the problems, imagined or real, that I saw in conventional instruments — whether that meant developing a more repair-and-adjust-friendly neck joint or trying to wring a stronger low end from my basses without introducing too much “twang” — I've preferred to take risks, accept failure, and appreciate occasional success. Additionally, and most importantly, I have worked hard over the thirty years I have been designing and building to maintain my integrity as a luthier, if nowhere else in my misbegotten life. (Bear with me, I’ll get to the point.) It is, therefore, with some consternation and much sadness that I have heard rumors questioning the legitimacy of my use of some of these unusual features. To be blunt, I’ve heard accusations that I have ripped people off for their ideas and not given appropriate credit, either in the form of acknowledgment or, in some cases, in the form of required licensing fees. 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 June 6, 2024May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Parlor Guitar Plans Questions: Parlor Guitar Plans by Walter Carter Originally published in American Lutherie #90, 2007 ■ Robert W. from the Internet asks: I have been looking on the web for plans for a parlor guitar with floating bridge and tailpiece rather than a pin bridge. Can’t find them. Any ideas? Could you tell me the names of some of the instruments that used this construction so I can look them up? Walter Carter of Nashville replies: I don’t know of any published plans for parlor guitars with floating bridges. Haynes would be the most commonly seen vintage examples, although they are rare. I came across some others in catalogs from Lyon & Healy, from the early 1900s. One catalog is for distributors. It says nothing about L&H but the guitars are clearly theirs, under such models/brands as Jupiter, Columbus, Lakeside, and Marquette. All are cheap ($7–$13) and all have a simple stamped metal tailpiece. From the same general period, another catalog has Lyon & Healy brand College Line guitars with the same cheap tailpieces, priced $3.50–$10. ◆ Christopher D. Tallon provided this picture of the body of an 1856 Haynes guitar with the back off and the center reinforcing strut removed. Photo by Christopher D. Tallon. A catalog illustration of a Jupiter guitar by Lyon & Healy.
Posted on June 6, 2024May 27, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter to the Editor: Domino Guitar Article in AL#85 Letter to the Editor: Domino Guitar Article in AL#85 by Scott van Linge Originally published in American Lutherie #88, 2006 Hi Tim, I read with interest the article on resurrecting the ’30s Regal Le Domino guitar in AL#85. On p. 48, the second picture from the top shows the body with the back removed and the remaining two lower bout back braces still in place. What caught my eye is that they were — (drum roll) — parabolic both lengthwise and possibly in cross section, although that aspect is hard to discern. Similarly, the remaining upper transverse brace on the top is also parabolic, lengthwise. While rounded, it is not parabolic in cross section. The replacement back braces, are instead, fashioned after the heavy ones used by Martin in the ’50s, and appear noticeably taller than the original parabolic ones. From my viewpoint, they inevitably will dampen the back, preventing it from having the reinforcing capability that the original parabolic braces would have afforded. In addition to using parabolic braces on the back, Martin used some on the top, specifically the short side braces and the arms of the X brace, during their “golden era” — a fact that most luthiers and companies who copy what Martin did then (including Martin, now) seem to have missed. In fact, I have only revoiced one guitar (a Collings) that had side braces perfectly parabolic and balanced to the forces on them, so that I did not have to reshape them to bring out the highs. Apparently in lutherie, as in politics, certain lessons from the past are sometimes lost or deemed unimportant. ◆
Posted on June 6, 2024May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Book on Acoustics Questions: Book on Acoustics by Tim White Originally published in American Lutherie #73, 2003 Lee Parks from cyberspace asks: I just need to know a good book that teaches fundamentals of acoustics for guitar construction. Tim White of New Boston, NH responds: The GAL has published many articles over the years but the only “book” I know of is the one I put together — Journal of Guitar Acoustics, from seven issues of the Journal of Guitar Acoustics, originally published between 1979 and 1982, which includes the complete collection with addenda, 700+ pages. The Evan Davis thesis bibliography alone makes it worthwhile as an entry portal to the strange world of guitar acoustics. The republished single volume has an updated bibliography and additional material. It can be ordered from me at: 146 Lull Rd., New Boston, NH 03070; 603-487-2696; tpwhiteco@aol.com; www.chrysalisguitars.com/JGA_Page.html. ◆
Posted on June 6, 2024May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Clarification of DVD review in AL#97 Letter: Clarification of DVD review in AL#97 by Ronald Louis Fernández Originally published in American Lutherie #99, 2009 Greetings, I thank Tom Harper for his review of my DVD, French Polishing for Guitarmakers 2.0 in AL#97. I wish to make a few clarifications. My family’s Spanish guitar business in the 1960s never involved Manuel Rodríguez. Rather, we had dealings with Miguel Rodríguez of Cordoba as well as Manuel de la Chica (Granada), Arcángel Fernández, Marcelino Barbero, Felix Manzanero, Hernández y Aguado, Juan Alvarez, and José Ramírez III. My article “Miguel Rodríguez: Some Notes on his Family Tree and Correcting the Historical Record” in AL#68 (Winter 2001) tells about the Miguel Rodríguez family and mentions my dealing with them. In a footnote of that article, I specifically mention the difference between Miguel Rodríguez of Cordoba and Manuel Rodríguez of Madrid. 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.
