Posted on January 16, 2026January 17, 2026 by Dale Phillips Harvey Thomas and the Infernal Music Machine Harvey Thomas and the Infernal Music Machine by Tim Olsen Originally published in American Lutherie #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume 1, 2000 Remember what the term “Japanese guitar” used to mean, back when beatniks roamed the earth and Elvis was still kinda nasty? The Beatles hadn’t landed and I was in the third grade when my big brother Jim brought home a brand new Japanese guitar. Loosely modeled after a classic, it was already caving in from the load of its steel strings. You don’t see them like this anymore, man. Painted-on binding, decal rosette, door skin luan plywood, basswood (or worse) neck, nice sharp ends on those rough brass frets. I was totally fascinated! But the word fascination found new meaning a year later when my even bigger brother Dick came home from college with what might as well have been the Messiah Strad. It was a very plain, small bodied New York era Epiphone archtop with a badly repaired crack running the full length of the soundboard, and he had bought it cheap in a pawn shop. The hand of mortal man never created such perfection. This was a gift from the angels! Oh, the lovely dissonances that it spoke as I whanged it with a juice glass slide! When Dick was begged, he would strum “Who Put the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder.” 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 January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 by Dale Phillips Chalk-fitting Guitar Braces Chalk-fitting Guitar Braces by Stephen Marchione from his 2017 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #140, 2020 First, have a plan. Know what you’re making. It seems like an obvious thing, but sometimes people start a guitar without a good idea of what the brace layout will be. When I design a new model, I’ll often get a piece of aluminum flashing and lay out a bracing template. If you’re building an historical model, you can transfer the blueprint to a template of aluminum or plexiglas. This gives you a clear idea of what your braces are supposed to be doing, and it lets you be sure that the braces end up where they were designed to go. Photo 1 is a closeup of one of my bracing templates. I use the little holes to make pencil marks on the soundboard. On a classical guitar, a lot of builders push the big harmonic bars down into the solera, or dished workboard. But that can cause distortion of the top. Even on a Spanish guitar, I take the time to chalk-fit the brace. That gives a better structure with less stress. I highly recommend 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 October 10, 2025October 10, 2025 by Dale Phillips Hearing Voices: A Recipe for Voicing the Steel String Guitar Hearing Voices: A Recipe for Voicing the Steel String Guitar by John Greven from his 2011 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #114, 2013 Let’s discuss a vocabulary for tone. These are the words I use when I talk to my customers. Power. We’re talking about headroom, the ability to get louder when you play harder. Responsiveness. I want a top that will respond easily to a light touch, but it will also sustain under a heavy one. The finished guitar will have a full voice played lightly or heavily or anywhere in between. A lot of guitars require a heavy touch; as playing pressure diminishes, the voice gets thin and loses its full substance. Projection. How far away can you hear it? I want the guitar to throw its voice as far as possible. When I was at Gruhn’s, a 1937 D-28 came in, all original. The top was the thinnest we’d seen on a herringbone, about .090", but it was really stiff. The sound of that guitar was painful, but you could hear it for miles. For a bluegrasser trying to play lead over six banjos, that’s the guitar. 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 October 10, 2025October 10, 2025 by Dale Phillips Production Techniques for the Custom Luthier Production Techniques for the Custom Luthier by Charles Fox from his 2011 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #110, 2012 Tim Olsen: It’s my pleasure to introduce Charles Fox, America’s lutherie teacher number one. Charles, didn’t you used to teach in yurts? (laughter) There weren’t many lutherie teachers in America during the early ’70s. Charles has a lot of credits, but to me, the credit that beats all others is that this is the guy who taught Fred Carlson. That means a lot to me. So please welcome Charles Fox. (applause) Charles Fox: Yes, I am proud of Fred. In fact, I’m proud of so many people who have been through my classes. How many here have spent time with me? Wow, look at that. You’ve gotten so old. (laughter) I arrived late yesterday, and John Greven was just finishing his talk. I went up in the back and looked down, and all I saw was bald and gray. (laughter) We’ve got to do something to get more young people into the field. The way guitar making is evolving suggests a glorious future, but if a new group of people doesn’t come along to take it over, it might have just been a moment in history. Today I’m going to discuss and demonstrate some practical approaches to being more prolific luthiers. Many processes that make guitar making relatively easy, efficient, accurate, and consistent in a production situation can be adapted to the needs of the creative custom builder. Having been in both worlds, I can tell you that there’s a lot you can do to become more efficient without compromising quality. 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 October 10, 2025October 10, 2025 by Dale Phillips Rethinking the Semihollow Electric Guitar Rethinking the Semihollow Electric Guitar by Stephen Marchione from his 2011 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #119, 2014 I have worked with jazz guitarist Mark Whitfield since 1998. I made him a 16" archtop guitar in 2000 and he has recorded six albums of his own with that guitar. In 2001, he started touring with Chris Botti, the Grammy-winning trumpet player who came from Sting’s band. Mark is a very busy player. In 2006, I went to see him playing with Chris Botti and a symphony orchestra at Jones Hall in Houston. Mark said, “Oh, I gotta show you a couple things on the guitar.” He was wearing through the binding with his right arm. A lot of the binding was worn away, and the sweat was going under the lacquer, although most of the lacquer was still intact. 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.
