Posted on June 6, 2024May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Patents and Acknowledgement Letter: Patents and Acknowledgement by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #81, 2005 Dear Tim, GAL members, and anyone else, Largely because of my involvement in GAL, I have some visible presence in the lutherie community. Because I have always been interested in solving the problems, imagined or real, that I saw in conventional instruments — whether that meant developing a more repair-and-adjust-friendly neck joint or trying to wring a stronger low end from my basses without introducing too much “twang” — I've preferred to take risks, accept failure, and appreciate occasional success. Additionally, and most importantly, I have worked hard over the thirty years I have been designing and building to maintain my integrity as a luthier, if nowhere else in my misbegotten life. (Bear with me, I’ll get to the point.) It is, therefore, with some consternation and much sadness that I have heard rumors questioning the legitimacy of my use of some of these unusual features. To be blunt, I’ve heard accusations that I have ripped people off for their ideas and not given appropriate credit, either in the form of acknowledgment or, in some cases, in the form of required licensing fees. 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 Questions: Charity Lutherie Questions: Charity Lutherie by Brian Flaherty Originally published in American Lutherie #98, 2009 Christ Kacoyannkis from Springfield, Illinois asks: I am an amateur luthier and I donated the last instrument I made to a charity. Can I deduct the value of the instrument on my taxes, or only the cost of materials? Brian Flaherty, research librarian at the New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts responds: Although I, like the GAL, cannot offer tax or legal advice, I can suggest the book The Tax Law of Charitable Giving by Bruce R. Hopkins, which includes this: “An individual may make a contribution to a charitable organization of an item of property that was created by the donor, such as a painting or manuscript. The charitable deduction for this type of gift is not based on the fair market value of the property; instead, it is confined to the donor’s cost basis in the property. This tax result is occasioned by [IRC section 170(e)(1)(A)].” The exception to this is if it’s your stock in trade — if it’s your business. Then you do have “fair market valuation” — which is the “price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller” (the language the court always uses to define “fair market valuation”). ◆
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.
