Posted on January 6, 2010May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Julian Bream: A Life on the Road by Tony Palmer Review: Julian Bream: A Life on the Road by Tony Palmer Reviewed by Gila Eban Originally published in American Lutherie #5, 1986 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Julian Bream: A Life on the Road Tony Palmer McDonald & Co., 1982 Out of print (1999) Most of the material for this book was gathered while its author, along with photographer Daniel Meadows, traveled with Julian Bream on one of his tours. Although there is no chronological “plot,” the book is packed with “action”: Being stuck after a concert, in an unfamiliar “sleazy part of town” in Italy, or in an unpredictable snowstorm on America’s East Coast; guitars cracking after passage through the Alps; choosing to play a concert in a remote part of India, only to find out that the local inhabitants are accustomed to concerts of Indian music, which last twice as long as the standard classical music concert in the West! In order to prevent a riot, Bream has to play every piece he can possibly remember. In South America or at a quiet chapel in the English countryside, there is always an element of the unexpected, provided by an angry dictator’s wife or a nearby artillery firing-range. 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 January 6, 2010May 16, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Making Guitar 1 by Daniel Fort and Owen Riss Review: Making Guitar 1 by Daniel Fort and Owen Riss Reviewed by Lloyd Zsiros Originally published in American Lutherie #29, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Making Guitar 1 Daniel Fort and Owen Riss Video tape, 60 min. 1990 Building your first acoustic guitar from scratch with no instructor can be a difficult and intimidating task even for an experienced woodworker. We are now lucky enough to have several fine books on the subject, but I was interested to see how well the information could be presented in a video format. Few of us have the luxury of an experienced luthier to guide us along. A video should be the next best thing to being there. According to the narration, Making Guitar 1 documents the first attempts at guitar making by two individuals; one makes a traditional nylon-string classic and the other a steel-string acoustic. Although most construction steps are covered fairly well, this should not be considered a complete do-it-yourself guide to building either instrument. It would not be practical to present dimensions or plans on a video, so a good text is still going to be required for the first-time builder. 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 January 6, 2010May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Guitar and Vihuela: An Annotated Bibliography by Meredith Alice McCutcheon Review: Guitar and Vihuela: An Annotated Bibliography by Meredith Alice McCutcheon Reviewed by Joseph R. Johnson Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Guitar and Vihuela: An Annotated Bibliography Meredith Alice McCutcheon Pendragon Press, 1985 $64 from amazon.com In 1978 David B. Lyons published his book, Lute, Vihuela, Guitar to 1800: A Bibliography (Detroit Studies in Music Bibliography, 1978). Although the vihuela and guitar were included, the bulk of his information concerned the lute. There was not enough material in the book to satisfy the ever-growing need for information about the early guitar and vihuela. In 1980 James Tyler’s book, The Early Guitar: A History and Handbook, (London: Oxford University Press, 1980), was published, and it too only partially satisfied the need. What was needed was a bibliography that dealt specifically with the guitar and the vihuela. Ms. McCutcheon’s annotated bibliography is an attempt to fill that need. In her words, the bibliography “is intended to fill the need for an annotated reference tool for the study of the guitar and vihuela. It contains literature on composers, performers, theorists, music and analysis, iconography, and design and construction in both an historical context and in a technical one.” 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 January 6, 2010May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Fine Woodworking Design Book Five Review: Fine Woodworking Design Book Five by Scott Landis Reviewed by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #26, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Fine Woodworking Design Book Five Essay by Scott Landis: Northwest Woodworkers Taunton Press, 1990 ISBN 0-942391-28-4 The first thing I noticed when I received my copy of Fine Woodworking’s Design Book Five was the handsome coffee-table quality of the photographs. This volume is both the largest so far, with 259 photos, all color, and the best looking, with many full-page pictures and a uniformly high standard of reproduction. The second thing I noticed was that none of my instruments were represented. Oh well, I like it anyway. Will it appeal to luthiers in general? Probably. I think there are good ideas to be found looking at all sorts of good woodworking, and there are a lot of truly beautiful items here. Is it the great American guitar book? Absolutely not. 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 January 6, 2010May 16, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: The Modern Classical Guitar For Friend or Builder by Donald M. Sprenger Review: The Modern Classical Guitar For Friend or Builder by Donald M. Sprenger Reviewed by C.F. Casey Originally published in American Lutherie #27, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 The Modern Classical Guitar For Friend or Builder Donald M. Sprenger Taylor Publishing Co., 121 pp. ISBN 0-9617445-0-2 First, let it be said that I have very little knowledge about the Kasha system of guitar design. So when I saw this book advertised as using this system, I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn something. On leafing through the book, the first thing that struck me was that the drawings were rather crudely done. Let me rephrase that: very crudely done. Now, I’m no whiz at draftsmanship myself; but it seems to me that if you’re going to the trouble of writing and publishing a book, it would be nice to go that little bit further and either do decent drawings or get someone to do them for you. But then I thought, “Maybe the man is a master luthier who just can’t be bothered with such petty details; maybe the text will make up for it.” 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.
