Posted on July 10, 2026July 10, 2026 by Dale Phillips Finding Waldo Finding Waldo The First Family of American f-Hole Mandolins, Mandolas, and Mandocellos by Paul Ruppa Originally published in American Lutherie #117, 2014 In 1973, I bought a Vega cylinder-back, two-point mandocello for $175. The seller was luthier David Colburn who ran the Vintage Fret Shop in Holderness, New Hampshire. A few years later, I started living with an unyielding interest in finding out about the history of mandocellos. It was not until I began reading through the Library of Congress’ microfilm reproduction of their The Cadenza magazine collection (1894–1924) that I thought I might have uncovered some answers. Yes, it was there that I found Waldo. The American tenor mandola and mandocello were first developed by employees of the Barrows Music Company in Saginaw, Michigan. The instruments were marketed under the Barrows’ brand, “Waldo.” No one knows when they were given the names tenor mandola and mandocello, who named them, or exactly when the first Waldo tenor mandola and mandocello were built. 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 May 4, 2026May 4, 2026 by Dale Phillips Ultralight Cello and Other Heresies Ultralight Cello and Other Heresies by James Ham from his 2011 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #112, 2012 Before we begin, I’d like for you to listen to some music. (Behind a curtain on stage, Marshall Bruné plays a short selection on one instrument, then the same selection on a second instrument.) I’m curious. Can anyone tell me what kind of instrument they heard? Audience: A violin. A violin, yes. Did you notice anything else? Audience members: The first instrument had better note separation. The second instrument sounded a little louder and a little deeper. I thought the first instrument had more overtones. The second one sounded tighter. But they both kind of sounded like violins? Well, here’s what you heard. (Marshall steps from behind the curtain, holding Doug Martin’s lightweight violin.) 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 July 8, 2024May 2, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Michael Darnton Meet the Maker: Michael Darnton by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #27, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 How did your lutherie career get started? I started playing cello when I was in 6th grade and immediately got more interested in the instrument than I was in the playing. When I was about twelve years old I got some money for Christmas from my grandmother. The very next day I ran out and bought Heron-Allen’s Violin Making, As It Was and Is, which I had spotted at a local bookstore. I talked to my mother a couple of weeks ago and she told me that she took one look at the book and thought, “This is a waste of money! He’s never going to do anything with it. It’s much too complex.” But she was wrong. I really surprised her. It took awhile to get around to it, though. Five or six years later I bought a piece of wood and some tools. I started a violin, but I didn’t get very far. I just put the whole thing aside. 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 July 7, 2024June 12, 2025 by Dale Phillips Violin Q&A, Part One Violin Q&A, Part One by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #9, #10, #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 In the last year I have received many letters concerning the repair articles I have written for American Lutherie. For the most part, the writers have thanked me for my willingness to share with the membership. Along with the comments on past articles, there are always a few questions asking my opinion about what to use or where to buy, and so on. I’d like to share some of those questions, along with my replies. No matter what I use to polish a violin, it never seems to clean it completely. Do you have any suggestions? I have never found a product that cleans as well as polishes, although many manufacturers claim that their product will do both. Taking into consideration the instrument’s age, type of varnish, and how dirty it is, there are a number of cleaning products that you can use. Example: a French violin, ca. 1875, covered with a thin spirit varnish, with enough caked-on rosin so that ridges have formed on either side of the fingerboard. 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 June 30, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: James Ham Meet the Maker: James Ham by Roger Alan Skipper Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 Professional luthier James Ham operates from a shop in Victoria, British Columbia. Though he continues to repair and restore violin-family instruments and bows, he is perhaps best known for his construction of world-class double basses. Mr. Ham is a board member of the Catgut Acoustical Society and a founder of the VSA Festival of Innovation. His time and talents are in great demand, but he graciously found the time to respond to yet another inquiring writer. You’ve been involved with lutherie for a long time, and you’ve achieved some real success. Your name appears often in the upper echelons of the double bass and cello worlds, where you’re widely known as a superb craftsman and a remarkable innovator. Tell me a bit about how you started. 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.
