Posted on May 12, 2026May 12, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Rick Turner Meet the Maker: Rick Turner by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #64, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 One of the great pleasures of my job here at the Guild is that I get to meet and talk with luthiers I’ve admired from afar. As the 1999 Healdsburg Guitar Festival was winding down, I approached Rick Turner and asked if he would be willing to be interviewed for this journal. Rick’s name will be familiar from his work with the Alembic company and the Grateful Dead; from his writing in American Lutherie, Guitar Player, and other magazines; and from his attendance at various instrument shows and conventions, including our own. I first heard him speak at the 1980 GAL Convention in San Francisco and have been a great admirer ever since. Rick graciously agreed, and we sat on the veranda outside the display hall and talked while the last tables were being folded and put away. We were the very last ones to leave. Rick spoke about the winding path of his career, the rock-and-roll world of the ’60s and ’70s, his approach to pickup and instrument design, and his current work, which includes a totally cool acoustic steel string and his Renaissance series of “amplicoustic” guitars. It was so much fun! Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on May 11, 2026May 11, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Ted Megas Meet the Maker: Ted Megas by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010 Tell me about your life. Start from the beginning. I was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I lived there until I was five, when my father got transferred to Buffalo, New York. He was a metallurgist at Bethlehem Steel. When you were growing up, Bethlehem was a working industrial town. It had Lehigh University, where my father graduated. That is a prestigious engineering college, and then they had the steel mill, so it was pretty industrial, but now that the steel mill is gone it is actually a really scenic place. Because it’s Bethlehem they have a Christmas festival with lots of music, and there are other things going on. I guess I was an independent kind of kid. I remember playing, and I remember getting stung by bees. I remember the house we lived in, which my father built. I have gone back to visit it, but I don’t remember too much from those years. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on May 8, 2026May 8, 2026 by Dale Phillips V Joint à la Géza V Joint à la Géza by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #63, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Six, 2013 The elegant V joint was once the usual way of joining the head to the neck of the guitar. Early guitars made in Spain, such as those of the Pagés family in the 1700s, French guitars including René Lacôte’s in the 1800s, Italian makers like Panormo (even Stradivari), and so on, all typically used the V joint. C.F. Martin brought the tradition with him to this country in the mid-1800s, but its use on steel strings never really caught on beyond the early Martins. The father of the modern classical guitar, Antonio de Torres, did not use a V joint, and I think it’s fair to say that a majority of makers since Torres, in Spain and worldwide, have not. However, things may be changing back. Two very notable makers of the 20th century, Hermann Hauser Sr. and José Romanillos use it, and a large number of highly respected makers (Kevin Aram, Richard Bruné, Géza Burghardt, Greg Byers, Hermann Hauser III, Robert Ruck, Gary Southwell, and Gernot Wagner to name a few), use it today. I first saw a V joint in the flesh on a Romanillos guitar and heard its maker speak about it at the Toronto Guitar Festival in 1981. It struck me as beautiful, but beyond my woodworking skills. Although I’ve seen many since then, it wasn’t until my visit to Géza Burghardt’s shop (American Lutherie #61) that I met someone with such unabashed enthusiasm both for the joint and for sharing with others the exact process he uses to achieve perfect results. He calls it “foolproof.” His jigs and templates are what make precise work relatively easy and certain. (Sharp chisels help, too.) The point Géza makes is that anyone with reasonable woodworking skills can do a perfect V joint every time. He inspired me; I hope he inspires you, too. Géza’s tools, jigs, and templates are made for permanence and work equally well for steel string and classical necks, both of which are seen in the photos. It is certainly possible to use his ideas to make tools which will serve well without having to take out a bank loan. Proponents of the V joint cite its beauty and strength, very nice qualities to find together! ◆ Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on May 8, 2026May 8, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Jayson Bowerman Meet the Maker: Jayson Bowerman by Tom Harper Originally published in American Lutherie #120, 2014 few years ago at the Northwest Handmade Musical Instrument Exhibit held at Marylhurst University near Portland, Oregon, I was drawn to the workmanship and aesthetics of Jayson Bowerman’s instruments. I did not get a chance to talk with him until the following year. When we finally talked, I found Jayson to be a friendly, easy-going guy who is quick to pick up an instrument for an impromptu jam with anyone who is willing. His relaxed friendliness belies his strong drive and ability to come up with a well-considered plan to achieve his dreams. Jayson’s directed approach has gotten him into the arena of world-class professional kayaking and surfing, made him a very effective and respected community activist in his town of Bend, Oregon, and helped him rise from an intern at Breedlove Guitars to their Head of Research and Development. In 2010, Jayson launched out on his own and started Bowerman Guitars. In spite of running a one-man shop, Jayson still carves out time to ski, bike, stand-up paddleboard, and play fiddle and mandolin with his band, Pitchfork Revolution. I got to talk with him again in his shop about life and lutherie earlier this year. As we talked, Jayson demonstrated his prowess and efficiency by continuing to work at the bench without missing a beat. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on May 7, 2026May 11, 2026 by Dale Phillips Traditional Lutherie Techniques for Violin and Guitar Making Traditional Lutherie Techniques for Violin and Guitar Making by Charles Rufino and Stephen Marchione from their 2014 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #127, 2016 Charles: Necks are where the musician interacts with the instrument, and they have to be absolutely right. A musician brought me a cello with a neck so warped that the high action rendered the instrument unplayable. They had taken it to a well-respected shop in New York. They said, “We just had it fixed, and it’s acting up again.” So I took the fingerboard off and planed the neck, which had a very convex shape. When I applied glue, something told me to check it with a straightedge, and the convex shape was back. Improvising, I grabbed a very flat reference board, just a 2˝×4˝ that I keep planed up very flat, put a couple of pieces of paper in the center of the length to force it into a concave shape, and clamped it up. Later I observed the grain of the neck was straight until 3˝ from the bottom end, where 5MM down from the gluing surface it shot up at a 45° angle. It changed direction remarkably. The next day I realized that this process of sizing the neck and holding it until it took a proper shape might be a simple solution. When I glued it again, I found that it held its shape. The customer was in again a year later, and the neck was still fine. That made perfect sense because hide glue is mostly water, and as it penetrates, the wood reacts and changes shape. By sizing and drying the neck in a controlled shape, I can get it to hold that shape after the sizing glue dries. Later the glue for assembling the joint will penetrate only until it hits that sizing; the shape will not change in gluing, and it’s very stable. I now do this to all my instruments and prefer it to using carbon-fiber rods, which I think make a neck too strong. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
