Posted on April 7, 2026April 7, 2026 by Dale Phillips Classical Guitar Setup Classical Guitar Setup by Kevin Aram from his 2014 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #132, 2017 Thank you for turning out. I appreciate it. I put on this natty little microphone and now I feel like Dolly Parton at Glastonbury — without, of course, the rhinestones. (laughter) Bringing one of my guitars with me wasn’t possible, so a couple days ago I bought a guitar in Seattle for demo purposes. It’s brand new, cost about $300, is mass-produced in China, and has a solid top. Because I want to talk about setup from different angles, I’ll use this guitar, and assume you are interested in building new guitars and repairing older ones as well. To me, setting up a classical guitar means making it play as easily and as in tune as possible, and to make it sound as good as possible. And, most importantly, it must meet the player’s satisfaction. If you’re making a guitar for yourself, you just make it to suit you. Obviously, if you are making guitars for other people, then you have to take into account the way they play. Some people want a guitar that is harder to play. They’ve got a strong technique and they physically need to dig into the strings when they play. No two players are the same, so no two setups are the same. It’s a very personal thing. It’s a balance; on one side is “ease of playing” and on the other “tone” or “quality of sound.” Basically, the higher the action on the guitar, the harder it is to play and the more volume it will produce — all things being equal. The lower the action, the easier it is to play, the quieter it will be, and it will be more prone to buzzing and problems in the sound. 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 February 20, 2026February 20, 2026 by Dale Phillips Torres Guitar Restoration Torres Guitar Restoration by R.E. Bruné Originally published in American Lutherie #33, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 In March of 1986 I received in my workshop an 11-string guitar by Antonio Torres made in Almeria in 1884, and numbered #71. This instrument being perhaps unique in the world today for Torres’ work, it was imperative that it be adequately documented and ideally, restored as close as possible to original playing condition. The owner was quite anxious to pursue this course also, with the ultimate goal of selling it on the open market. Surviving guitars by Torres are quite rare, being limited to fewer than seventy known instruments, and this example is perhaps the only 11-string example remaining, although Prat alludes to two others in his Diccionario under the listing for Torres. It is not clear whether he is referring to the same instrument owned by several different people or different instruments owned by different people. Although Torres numbered his instruments made from 1880 until he died in 1892, apparently there is no surviving record of the details of each instrument nor who the original owners were. (Editor’s Note: After this article was written, José Romanillos published his excellent book, Antonio de Torres, Guitar Maker — His Life and Work. In it he presents photos, drawings, and descriptions of another surviving Torres 11-string, #83. Author Bruné urges all to acquire and study this book.) 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 February 20, 2026February 20, 2026 by Dale Phillips D’Aquisto’s Wedge Bridge D’Aquisto’s Wedge Bridge by John Monteleone Originally published in American Lutherie #113, 2013 James “Jimmy” D’Aquisto’s guitar design development falls into two epochs. The early period, beginning in 1965, is an obvious continuation of his teacher John D’Angelico’s instruments in nearly every aspect, with the exception of the D’Aquisto logo on the headstock. Jimmy’s clients were faithful to D’Angelico, and that’s exactly what they expected. Change would come gradually, even timidly, over a period of time as Jimmy learned his independence. Certain ideas about tradition and expectation expressed by his early clients stood in his way for a number of years, hindering his design development. In the 1950s and ’60s, archtop guitar players were not risktakers, and the market popularity of the archtop was being displaced by solidbody guitars and the new music of the day. Unlike the quick-changing shiny sheet metal of Detroit automobiles, annual adjustments to mainstream guitar designs for the annual trade shows were small and predicable. The few independent luthiers of the day would watch this market closely to see what they would need to offer in order to compete. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on February 1, 2026March 3, 2026 by Dale Phillips Respacing the ‘Badass’ Bridge Respacing the ‘Badass’ Bridge by Philip Mayes Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #83, 1978 I was asked to recut the saddle slots on a “Badass” adjustable bridge fitted to a Gibson SG. The string spacing on the bridge was narrower than the fingerboard, and the adjustable metal saddles had had slots filed in to hold the strings. These were causing the strings to wear and break very easily. Instead I filed the saddles to remove the existing slots and cut grooves as shown, using fretsaw, triangular and round files. The grooves lead the strings into the correct position before they finish curving round the bridge. The result is unobtrusive, keeps the strings in the right position and (so I hear) no longer causes breakages.
Posted on July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips An American in Mirecourt, Part Two An American in Mirecourt, Part Two Violin Construction as Learned by an Apprentice to René Morizot by Paul Schuback from his 1995 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #65, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 See also, An American in Mirecourt by Paul Schuback Roughing Out the Insides of Plates and Cutting f-holes After the outsides of the plates have been carved and scraped to their finished shapes and the purfling has been installed, the next step is to trace the f-holes onto the top. The f-holes will be cut out after the inside of the plate has been roughed out and the plate is thinner, but this is the time when you establish their positions. Measure 19.3MM from the edge of the plate at the neck end to find the bridge position on the centerline, and locate your f-hole template by referencing off of the bridge position and the centerline of the top. You can play with how they are angled to suit your own tastes. Trace the f-holes onto the top, and check to make sure that they end up an equal distance from the edges by measuring with a divider. The French always carve little hollows where the lower wings of the f-holes will go so that those areas will be recessed on the finished top. So after you have traced the f-holes, you gouge, plane, and scrape the wing areas out a little bit. In the process, you will cut away parts of your lines, so you will need to retrace them. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
