Posted on January 19, 2010September 10, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Upright Bass Questions: Upright Bass by James Condino and Randy DeBey Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2013 Dan Poehnelt of Marshfield, WI asks: I have a client who would like me to make him an upright bass. Do you have any idea where I can get some specs or instructions to make one of these? Rhett Runolfson of Springville, UT asks: I mostly work with guitars but the local music store said that if I helped them with setups on their orchestral instruments, which are shipped in from the Orient, I could probably get some of their guitar work too. Well... I’m getting my butt kicked on this bass. I have to remove the fingerboard and shave the neck down to get the proper angle. How do I get the fingerboard off? Heat and a seam knife don’t seem to be doing the job. And what is the proper angle for the neck for a contra bass? Is there a book that I could pick up on orchestral instruments that could tell me these things or would someone know a secret on this Oriental glue that is impervious to heat? 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 January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Violin Ribs Questions: Violin Ribs by Randy DeBey Originally published in American Lutherie #70, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 David K. Kyle of cyberspace asks: I came across a violin made by the JCV Company where the ribs are one continuous piece, and there are no corner or end blocks. The ribs are shaped as if there are corner blocks. It is a little thicker at the end to hold the end pin, the two ends of the ribs are joined to the heel by grooves. The heel protrudes into the body to accommodate the grooves. Is this an unusual method for making a violin? Randy DeBey of Portland, Oregon responds: There was a short discussion of this type of construction in a violin maker’s e-mail discussion group last fall. Apparently, this method was common in Saxony until the mid-1800s and can still be found today in remote places of Finland and Eastern Europe. Not long after the discussion, a violin of this type was brought to me for repair. It had a bottom block and thin wood plates across the insides of the corners to disguise its lack of corner blocks. The base of the neck extended into the top of the body and the upper ribs were wedged into grooves on the sides of the neck base. It was not a well-made fiddle, more of a curiosity. ◆
Posted on January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: String Compensation Questions: String Compensation by Mike Doolin Originally published in American Lutherie #69, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Brett from cyberspace asks: I had always been of the opinion that saddle compensation was to overcome the tendency of a thicker string to be less amenable to vibrate than a thin one. So a high E will be vibrating close to the saddle, and a low E, being stiffer, will start vibrating a bit further away, hence compensation. That idea gave me peace for a while because I really couldn’t see the tiny distance a string gets pushed down to the fret as making any significant difference. The kicker, though, is that if I believe that theory, the string isn’t vibrating at all where it touches the saddle. If that’s the case, how does the vibration actually travel to the body and neck? If I follow my logic further, I’ve got to concede that the vibration is a type of compressive function in which the string compresses the axe as it gets to the widest part of its travel, lets it off as it passes through the resting point, and compresses it again as it zooms out to the widest point of its vibration on the other side, with maybe a slight forward bending of the guitar at the tightest points of the vibration (because the string isn’t lying flat on the fretboard). If a vibrating string’s tension isn’t constant, won’t a strongly-picked string tend to be sharp? Further, won’t it tend to go sharp-flat-sharp as it vibrates in decreasing cycles as it runs out of energy? It’s nano stuff I know, but I’ve always wondered. 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 January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Spalted Wood Toxicity Questions: Spalted Wood Toxicity by Bob Woodcock Originally published in American Lutherie #71, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Bob Woodcock of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania responds. Bob is both a poison information specialist and registered nurse. As to the question about spalted maple being lethal, the writer may be referring to my Dec. 1991 article on wood toxicity in Wood magazine. I mentioned a case of a wood turner with allergic asthma who was found dead in his shop with spalted maple turning on the lathe. The cause of death was acute asthma. Spalting is mostly a result of Cryptostroma corticale, a potent allergy-causing mold. You’d know if you were allergic to it; you would sneeze, cough, or tear up while working with it. These allergies tend to get worse over time, and a period away from the substance will allow the body to increase its sensitivity. Workers with allergies from work exposure find that the first day back after a few days off are the worst. This is referred to as “Monday morning asthma.” Such was probably the case with the turner. After a weekend off, his immune system was primed and ready to go; exposure resulted in death. The take-home lesson is to use common sense. If the wood seems to bother you in any way, avoid it. ◆
Posted on January 19, 2010September 11, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Choosing Top Wood Questions: Choosing Top Wood by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Jerry Tekell of Italy, Texas asks: As a person somewhat new to instrument building I’d like to ask: Why do most builders use spruce or pine for guitar and mandolin tops? Why not maple, for example? I’d love to use maple on the top as well as the back of my mandolins, but I wonder how it would sound. John Calkin, GAL Contributing Editor, responds: Softwoods (conifers) are traditional for instrument tops, which also makes them what customers expect to see. Don’t neglect the importance of this. There are real-world reasons, though, as well. A wood needs to be strong enough to withstand the forces of string tension and compression (if you are talking about an archtop mandolin) and also light enough to be set in motion effectively by string vibration. Quartersawn softwoods seem to fit the bill better than the wood from deciduous trees. I tend to think of softwoods as fluffy, since they have a lot of air trapped in their structures. Hardwoods like hard maple are more like a metal (in my mind, not in reality) since they are very dense. 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.
