Posted on January 10, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Start by Building a Dulcimer Letter: Start by Building a Dulcimer by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #24, 1990 Dear Members, Novice luthiers need a wood that is available, inexpensive, worthy of respect, and that they are not afraid of. A couple times a year would-be guitar makers come to my shop for advice. They have done some homework, so they know the theoretical aspects of choosing wood. They won’t mail-order because this is their first step into lutherie and they want to choose the wood personally. Most find their way to the Martin factory, and when they show up again it is with a box of wood and parts that cost them a half day and at least $350. They view the wood as not only expensive, but irreplaceable. In their minds they can hear the rain forests crashing down. Months later, they want to talk guitarmaking. No, they haven’t quite started yet. They should build a little shrine and place their wood on its altar; better to sacrifice it to the lutherie gods than to splinter their dream in the workshop. 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 10, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Dulcimer Plans Questions: Dulcimer Plans by Owen Couch Originally published in American Lutherie #39, 1994 Owen Couch from Zuni, New Mexico responds to requests for dulcimer plans: In response to your piece on where to obtain plans I thought I’d mention How to Make and Play the Dulcimore by Chet Hines. It has plans for one of the nicest dulcimer designs I’ve ever seen (designed by the author). Mr. Hines calls it the “masterpiece dulcimore” and it is a truly beautiful design. The book includes full-scale drawings in a pullout section in back, detailed descriptions of all phases of construction, and, as the title suggests, instructions on how to play. It also has excellent black and white photos of some unique antique dulcimers. It was published in 1973 by Stackpole Books in Harrisburg PA. (Note: the publisher tells me this book has been out of print for some time, but perhaps copies can be found.)
Posted on January 10, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Sadolin Varnish Questions: Sadolin Varnish Originally published in American Lutherie #32, 1992 George Rizsanyi from Greenbank, Ontario responds to Weldon Kirk’s inquiry about a source for Sadolin varnish: There is a Chemcraft Sadolin here in Ontario, Canada in a town called Port Hope. I buy all my lacquer and sealer there: (416) 885-6388.
Posted on January 10, 2010March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Product Reviews: Acoustech Dynamic Field Pickup Product Reviews: Acoustech Dynamic Field Pickup by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #29, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Acoustech Dynamic Field Pickup Acoustech Orangeburg, NY My first attempt at guitar amplification was an early ’60s DeArmond pickup on my f-hole Gibson acoustic. It attached with little difficulty or damage and sounded great to me at the time. That was 1962 and my expectations were not terribly high. I plugged straight into a portable Wollensak tape recorder and used it as an amp until I got a used Gibson Falcon as a Christmas gift. A few years later, I installed a roundhole DeArmond in my Gibson J-45. Again, it sounded pretty good, all things considered. But all the things I considered didn’t amount to much. What choices did I really have, after all? Those little contact mikes, which stuck on the face of a guitar, weren’t very good; I learned that soon enough. And the good-sounding microphones were expensive, unwieldy, and restricting. Like many guitarists, I wanted the freedom of movement that a pickup could give. When the first piezo transducer came out, I stuck one on and boogied. By that time, however, I was more sophisticated, more discerning, more caught up in the folk boom, and wanting a pickup that sounded like an acoustic guitar, only louder. The first I tried was the Barcus-Berry. Not too bad if you didn’t mind sounding like you were inside a bucket. The similar piezos weren’t much better. The Hot Dot sounded great to me when it came out. Like many technological improvements, its refinements masked its shortcomings for a while. I probably installed a hundred of them while continuing my search for a better sounding, easier installing pickup for myself and the customers I was attracting to my repair and building business. 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 10, 2010February 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Lute Strings Questions: Lute Strings by Robert Lundberg Originally published in American Lutherie #39, 1994 Robert Lundberg from Portland, Oregon responds to the oft-asked question, “Where do I get lute strings?” AQUILA String-Makers S.a.s., Via Costantini 16, 36100 Vicenza, Italy. Gut strings and plain nylon. Boston Catlines (Olav Chris Henriksen), 34 Newbury Street, Sommerville, MA 02144 (716-776-8688). Savarez nylon strings, catlines, and plain gut strings. Donna Curry’s Music, 1780 Fort Union Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501. Pyramid and gut strings. E. & O. Mari, Inc., 256 Broadway, Newburgh, NY 12550. La Bella nylon and gut strings. Gamut Musical Strings (Daniel Larson), 26 N. 28th Ave. E., Duluth, MN 55812 (800-723-8011). Makes many types of gut strings. Pyramid Strings, Saiten und Stimmpfeifenfabrik Junger GmbH, P.O. Box 6, 91088 Bubenreuth/Erlangen, Germany. Overspun and plain nylon strings, gut strings, and frets. Savarez, B.P. 4356, 69242 Lyon Cedex 4, France. Sofracob S.A., Zone Industrielle, 38121 Reventin-Vaugris, France. Plain gut strings and frets.
