Posted on January 6, 2010May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Steel-String Guitar Construction by Irving R. Sloane Review: Steel-String Guitar Construction by Irving R. Sloane Reviewed by David Riggs Originally published in American Lutherie #26, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Steel-String Guitar Construction Irving R. Sloane Bold Strummer, 1990 ISBN 0-933224-19-2 This is a reissue of a book which was originally published in 1975 and was, at that time, just about the only widely available assistance for those aspiring to build a steel string guitar. In its new edition, it is virtually unchanged from its original incarnation and thus is as good or as bad as it used to be. Although some of the book’s information might appear a bit dated to our information-saturated eyes, it does contain at least one essential feature available nowhere else. The purpose of this book is to give a person with a few woodworking skills the information needed to build a first guitar, and Mr. Sloane successfully covers all aspects of this commission. Good, solid advice is given concerning selection of materials, design requirements, and the processes which will result in a satisfactory effort, whilst avoiding great expense for materials and special tools. 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 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Building a Herringbone Style Acoustic Guitar by Don MacRostie and Dan Erlewine Review: Building a Herringbone Style Acoustic Guitar by Don MacRostie and Dan Erlewine Reviewed by Dave Maize Originally published in American Lutherie #33, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Building a Herringbone Style Acoustic Guitar Don MacRostie and Dan Erlewine Stewart-MacDonald Guitar Supply Shop Video tape, 90 minutes Building a Herringbone Style Acoustic Guitar is a 90-minute video sold by Stewart-MacDonald originally to accompany their Herringbone Guitar Kit. The kit has since been discontinued but individual parts are still available. The video guides the beginning luthier through the process of building a rosewood and spruce Herringbone dreadnaught. The video is well-organized, dividing its time between constructing the body, finishing and fitting the neck to the body, sanding and finishing and setup. The producers of the video have realized that the viewer may be building their one and only guitar. Therefore, they have successfully attempted to demonstrate the process using a fairly modest array of tools (razor knife, straightedge, chisel, coping saw, router, and a few clamps). In addition, the video avoids requiring the novice to build elaborate jigs just to get their first taste of lutherie. A clever heavy-cardboard inside form and outside U-shaped holder keep the rim in the correct shape until top and back are attached, avoiding having to build a more time-consuming outside mold. A nice feature of the tape is the use of a simply built, versatile workboard which is used in a variety of configurations throughout the process. 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 Fender Guitar by Ken Archard Review: The Fender Guitar by Ken Archard Reviewed by Kevin Kobie Originally published in American Lutherie #27, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 The Fender Guitar Ken Archard The Bold Strummer, 1990 (reissue) ISBN 0-933224-48-6 This book was first published in 1977 by Musical News Services Ltd. London and at the time was the only book available on vintage Fender guitars. It contains the personal history of Clarence Leo Fender, the companies he started, and some of the key people he worked hand-in-hand with. There is a good general-features chapter with serial number information. The number sequences give two- to four-year spans listing the beginning of each consecutive hundred-thousand series. 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.
