Posted on March 7, 2024May 8, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Business of Lutherie, 1984 The Business of Lutherie, 1984 by Ted Davis, Steve Grimes, Bob Meltz, and Matt Umanov from their 1984 GAL Convention panel discussion, moderated by David Sheppard Originally published in American Lutherie #2, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 See also, The Business of Lutherie, 1980 by Richard Bruné, George Gruhn, Steve Klein, Max Krimmel, and Robert Lundberg Where Are They Now? by Tim Olsen We’ve got four people up here who are involved in the business of lutherie in various areas. We’re going to start by letting each of them take a few minutes and tell you about their situation currently. Then we have some questions, some of which we thought up out of our own heads and some of which were turned in by you. So then we will ask these questions and let each person give a brief answer as regards his particular situation. After that, if we have time, we will take questions from the audience. So let’s start down at the end and find out a little bit about each person. Bob Meltz: I did my first repair in 1969, when I was actively involved as a sound man for a variety of rock-and-roll bands in my area. I was one of the first people in the area to rent out small sound systems, to fill the gap between Shure Vocalmasters and humongous concert systems. 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 March 3, 2024May 6, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Trade Secret, a true story The Trade Secret, a true story by Michael Dresdner Originally published in American Lutherie #3, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 I had just turned twenty-three and had my first “real” job in a finishing and furniture repair shop after serving a one-on-one apprenticeship for what seemed like forever. Although I was convinced that I knew far more than I really did, the lure of learning offered by a different and much larger employee pool was strong, and I was eager to start. As was to be expected, there was a wealth of new finishes and techniques to absorb. Little by little, cans and bottles of strange brews became familiar and controllable tools, and a baffling array of effects was unveiled. Eventually I got to know the names and uses for all of the coatings and colorings as well as the companies that provided them. 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 March 3, 2024May 8, 2025 by Dale Phillips Where Are They Now? Where Are They Now? by Tim Olsen Originally published in American Lutherie #2, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 See also, The Business of Lutherie, 1980 by Richard Bruné, George Gruhn, Steve Klein, Max Krimmel, and Robert Lundberg The Business of Lutherie, 1984 by Ted Davis, Steve Grimes, Bob Meltz, and Matt Umanov Five years ago, the Guild presented its first Business of Lutherie seminar at our 1980 Convention/Exhibition in San Francisco. I recently contacted the five panelists to see how lutherie has treated them in the interim. I found that times have changed, and that the panelists have changed as well. Vintage and fine guitar dealer George Gruhn told of a wildly fluctuating and vastly changed market, and pinpoints late 1981 as the sudden end of the relatively good market conditions which prevailed throughout the seventies. At that time, the rise in value of the U.S. dollar shut off the lucrative export market, which had previously accounted for 40% of American-made guitars. The dismal conditions of 1982 and 1983 brought Gruhn Guitars to the brink of bankruptcy, and only in 1984 was George able to “climb out of the ooze onto dry land.” 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 July 1, 2022May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Let’s Get Busy Let’s Get Busy Chris Brandt Says You Can’t Succeed in Business Without Really Trying by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #26, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 When he was eleven, Chris Brandt converted a $13 guitar into a 12-string by installing autoharp pins. He now owns a successful repair shop in the Portland area. I visited him there to find out how he makes it work. Chris, you have almost always worked with other luthiers, either as an employee, in a cooperative shop, or as an employer of several repairmen. You seem to prefer working with others. Why is that? There are a lot of benefits to working in a shop with other repairmen. It’s a rich learning situation. You are exposed to so many more instruments. It enables you to specialize more, and conversely, to not specialize where you don’t need to. There are a lot of jobs which I don’t do anymore simply because I don’t need to and they’re not my preferred jobs. 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 March 4, 2022May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Business Ethics in Lutherie Business Ethics in Lutherie by Lawrence Lundy Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 6 ,#2, 1978 Among the purposes listed in the G.A.L.’s charter is to encourage among luthiers the highest possible standards of ethical business practices in the operation of their enterprises. The questionnaire sent out at the end of last year was intended to acquire a range of ideas on the subject of current business practices as they relate to the customer. The response was surprisingly good with over 90 members responding to the joint questionnaires. In writing this report, I have tried not to set any standards by suggesting what the average policy is, or the one followed most frequently, or by inserting any of my own values. The idea was to make a shopping list by including every idea mentioned by respondents for modifying their own practices. Because such reporting lacks personality (both mine and those of the respondents) and tends, therefore, to be inherently dull, I have also tried to be as brief as possible. 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.
