Posted on June 6, 2024May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: 15 String Lap Harp Plans Questions: 15 String Lap Harp Plans by Art Robb Originally published in American Lutherie #98, 2009 Shirley Ward from the Internet asks: I am looking for blueprint plans for a regular triangular shaped 15-string lap harp, also referred to as a plucked psaltery. But not the hognose style. Art Robb from Wiltshire, England responds: The word psaltery covers a range of instruments. The plucked psaltery comes in many shapes, but I have not seen a triangular one. Trapezoids are the shape used most often these days although old paintings and sculpture more often shows the hognose shape. The tuning is usually diatonic. Plucked psalteries are very old, arriving in the west sometime after 1000AD, and they are ancestors of the hammered dulcimer, the harpsichord, and, eventually, the piano. The bowed psaltery is relatively modern. I can find no reference for them before 1890 and certainly no medieval references. It appears to have been invented for school use, and although it looks old, it simply is not. They are usually triangular, as this allows access to the strings with a bow. The tuning is chromatic with a scale on one side and the accidentals on the other. Fancy players will use two or more bows. I used to teach musical instrument making evening classes and developed a range of plans for the students. One plan for both a plucked psaltery and a bowed psaltery can be purchased from my website at www.art-robb.co.uk. ◆
Posted on June 6, 2024May 27, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Round Shouldered Dreadnought Questions: Round Shouldered Dreadnought by Mark Swanson Originally published in American Lutherie #90, 2007 Graeme Hugh Langley from the Internet asks: Does anyone know if there is a set of plans available for a round-shouldered dreadnought guitar such as a J-45 or J-50 Gibson style? Mark Swanson of Grand Rapids, Michigan replies: I assisted Jamie Unden of Guitar Plans Unlimited (www.guitarplansunlimited.com) with a plan for just such a round-shouldered dreadnought guitar. I had an early ’50s Gibson J-45 in my shop, so I measured and detailed as much as I was able and sent the information to Jamie, who drew up the plan. It’s available, along with many others that can’t be found elsewhere, on his website. ◆
Posted on June 6, 2024May 27, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Flying With Guitars Questions: Flying With Guitars by David Freeman Originally published in American Lutherie #85, 2006 Woodley White of Portland, OR asks: What's the best way to travel with guitars? I try to carry my guitar on board, but when that's not possible, I wish I had packed it in a box and checked it. What are the best solutions? What does the pressure differential do to a guitar that is not in a pressurized environment? I loosen the strings, is this enough? David Freeman of Tugaske, Saskatchewan, Canada responds: I have flown with guitars for thirty years. In the beginning I could carry my guitar on, and they would store it in a closet. That didn’t last long. There is a copy of a letter on the Internet (www.local1000.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CATSA-Factsheet-for-Musicians_EN.pdf) that states that musicians can bring their instruments on board as carry-on luggage in addition to one bag and one other personal item. I have not tried to use that letter, so I’m not sure that it works. 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 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: NMM Opens Gudelsky Gallery Letter: NMM Opens Gudelsky Gallery by The National Music Museum Originally published in American Lutherie #82, 2005 GAL members — The National Music Museum on the campus of The University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota, will celebrate the 500th birthday of Andrea Amati, in whose workshop in Cremona, Italy, the form of the instruments of the violin family as we know them today first crystallized, by hosting an international conference — The Secrets, Lives, and Violins of the Great Cremona Makers 1505–1744, Friday–Monday, July 1–4, 2005. The program brings together individuals who have been at the forefront of archival research in Cremona, amidst some of the earliest, best preserved, and historically most important instruments known to survive. Presenters include Carlo Chiesa, John Dilworth, Andrew Dipper, Roger Hargrave, and Duane Rosengard. The event is being coordinated by Claire Givens (Minneapolis), a NMM Trustee. Major underwriting is being provided by four prominent American violin dealers: Chris Reuning (Boston), Jim Warren (Chicago), Bob Bein and Geoffrey Fushi (Chicago), and David Kerr (Portland). Registration forms and housing information are available on the NMM website. 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 Letter: Public School Lutherie Class Letter: Public School Lutherie Class by Glen Friesen Originally published in American Lutherie #91, 2007 Dear Tim, I am a high school industrial arts teacher at Waldheim School Industrial Arts. Waldheim is a small community of about a thousand people located about thirty-five miles north of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the heart of the Canadian prairies. I have constructed electric guitars and basses with students for years, but this year one of my 12th grade students, Trevor Boehm, completed our shop’s first steel string guitar. Traditional woods were used: mahogany, Sitka spruce, and ebony. Trevor added a number of personal touches such as using abalone for the peghead inlays, rosette, and pick guard; cocobolo and poplar purfling and binding; and a Tru-Oil finish. This is not a kit guitar. Each of the pieces was cut from larger dimensional stock. What makes this project even more amazing is that it was constructed in a multi-activity shop environment. Oxyacetylene and plasma cutting, arc and MIG welding, several furniture projects, and two electric guitars were all being done in the same small shop while Trevor was constructing his guitar. This is Trevor’s third guitar. His 10th grade project was a 6-string electric, and in 11th grade he designed and constructed a unique electric baritone guitar. Trevor will be graduating in June and hopes to explore a career in lutherie. Both photos by Glen Friesen Trevor’s steel string guitar marks the culmination of several years of planning and jig construction. We were really excited to hear the first notes from it. In my opinion, he did an exceptional job. The steel string is now a project that students can choose to attempt if they desire. All of this would have been a lot more difficult if I had not had access to your publications. I just felt that I needed to thank you. ◆
