Posted on April 21, 2026April 21, 2026 by Dale Phillips An Automated Fret Slotting Machine An Automated Fret Slotting Machine by Jim Stratton and Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #114, 2013 One of the most challenging and critical aspects of building a fretted stringed instrument is cutting fret slots. Fret location can make or break the quality of even the most meticulously crafted instruments. The most common method currently in place utilizes a miter box and a fret saw, but this method depends on the user and is subject to human error. When thousandths of an inch matter, how does one accurately guarantee fret location? Automation is the obvious answer. While automation does remove a portion of the “handcrafted” ambiance of any fine instrument, it also removes human error. A machine does not miscalculate when it’s tired or accidentally shift the fretboard while cutting the final fret on a fretboard that has countless hours of hard work invested. When accuracy and repeatability are required, automation answers the call. 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 April 16, 2026April 16, 2026 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Bound Fretboard It Worked for Me: Bound Fretboard by Greg Nelson Originally published in American Lutherie #114, 2013 Removing the last little bits of the tang when preparing a fret for a bound fretboard is not all that difficult to do by hand with a fine file, but here is a small jig that powers the operation and removes some of the drudgery. The pictures should prove self-explanatory. I use a Foredom tool, but the idea of the jig can easily be adapted to almost any rotary tool. Almost any bit capable of grinding the fret material will do. My jig is set up to use a diamond wheel. I must stress that this is simply for cleaning up what is left after clipping the bulk of the tang off. Even at that, and at low speed, the tang can get hot quickly. ◆ Both photos by Greg Nelson.
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 March 26, 2026March 26, 2026 by Dale Phillips Multiscale Peghead Scarf Joint Multiscale Peghead Scarf Joint by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #118, 2014 MultiScale fretboards, once so unusual and exotic, not to say controversial, are becoming more accepted as their potential benefits are enjoyed by many musicians. I personally find that the multiscale board is especially beneficial for multistring basses, where it can give the low B a longer, more massive scale, thereby giving a deeper, more massive tone. Similarly, on the guitar, a longer-scale low string countered with a shorter-scale high string can give a nice smooth transition from the deeper low range to the sweeter high range. Obviously, there are many ways to realize a multiscale instrument, from the decision about which, if any, fret is perpendicular to the centerline; to what scales to choose for the long and short of it. As one of the developers of the multiscale fretboard in the modern era, with arithmetician John Starrett, I have done a great deal of experimenting with it and the many ways to do it. 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 March 19, 2026March 19, 2026 by Dale Phillips Multiscale Fretboards and Fingerboards: The Long and Short of It Multiscale Fretboards and Fingerboards: The Long and Short of It by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #119, 2014 The idea of using a longer scale for low-ptiched strings and a shorter one for high-pitched strings goes back centuries. The earliest harps employed this concept and, of course, pianos and harpsichords are all graduated-scale-length instruments. The earliest fretted instrument I’ve found employing this concept is the orpharion from the 17th century, pictured in this advertisement for a book of “tabliture.” How popular the instrument was I cannot say; but books containing “fundrie forts of leffons” were apparently “fold at his shop... in Gracious ftreet.” (Why shop, not fhop?) 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.
