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Questions: Guitar Stand

Questions: Guitar Stand

by Cyndy Burton

Originally published in American Lutherie #67, 2001

 

Doug Lancaster from cyberspace asks:

I’ve been working on the design of a high-end classical guitar stand and have begun to think about marketing it to dealers of classical guitars. Any suggestions?


Editor responds:
Yes, a quick look through Soundboard magazine (www.guitarfoundation.org), Guitar Review (www.guitarreview.com), and Acoustic Guitar magazine (www.acousticguitar.com), will reveal an unprecedented abundance of dealers. The websites are very handy places to get a feel for the relative values of instruments, too. Here’s a list which is by no means totally inclusive: (By the way, all the websites mentioned in this column are available as links at the GAL page.)

Richard Bruné (Evanston, IL)
www.rebrune.com

Classic Guitars International (Los Angeles, CA area)
www.classicguitar.com

GSP (Guitar Solo, San Francisco, CA)
www.gspguitar.com

Guitar Salon International (Santa Monica, CA)
www.guitarsalon.com

The Guitar Salon (Beverly Maher, NY, NY)
www.theguitarsalon.com

Guitars International (Armin Kelly, Cleveland, OH)
www.guitars-int.com

Handpicked Guitars (Rik Jonna, Detroit, MI area)
www.handpickedguitars.com

Kirkpatrick Studio (Baltimore, MD)
www.kirkpatrickguitar.com

Pioneer Music (Portland, OR)
www.pioneermusicco.com

Rare and Fine Guitars (Bruce Banister, Jefferson, IA)
www.classicalguitarnet.com

Jerry Roberts Guitars (Nashville, TN)
www.lamancha.com

Rosewood Guitar (Seattle, WA)
www.halcyon.com/rosewood

Santa Fe Guitar Works (Santa Fe, NM)
http://santafeguitar.com

Trilogy Guitars (John Silva, Los Angeles, CA)
www.trilogyguitars.com

Dan Zeff Guitars (Los Angeles, CA)
www.dzguitars.com

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Questions: Spraying Lacquer in Garage

Questions: Spraying Lacquer in Garage

by Jeff Jewitt

Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010



MR in Portland, Oregon asks:

Anyone have suggestions for spraying lacquer in a small one-car garage? Do you really need an explosion-proof fan? I do have an unfinished bathroom in my basement, and it has a cheap exhaust fan.


Jeff Jewitt from Homestead Finishing Products in Cleveland, Ohio responds:

I definitely suggest a garage over a basement for spraying solvent lacquer. A basement is very hard to exhaust properly and most basements don’t have a large enough window for the fan necessary for flammable products. In addition, the residual odor from lacquer will be more noticeable in a basement than a garage.

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Violin Q&A, Part Three

Violin Q & A, Part Three

by Michael Darnton

Originally published in American Lutherie #25–#33, 1991–1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004



What can you tell me about the violin in these pictures?

When I look at these pictures I see several things:

▶ The outline of the back has high shoulders and is pointed under the button.
▶ The upper corner blocks are missing; the lower ones are fakes.
▶ The grain of the top converges strongly towards the ends of the top and the upper block does not fit against the top.
▶ The insides of the ribs are marked with tracks from a circular saw used to resaw them out of solid wood.
▶ The neck has been held on with a screw through the top block.
▶ There is an idiosyncratic bass bar.

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Questions: Custom Rosettes

Questions: Custom Rosettes

by Rodney Stedall

Originally published in American Lutherie #70, 2002

 

Rodney Stedall of Pretoria, South Africa answers Milan Sabljic’s question regarding having custom rosettes made in small quantities.

On a recent trip to Germany I came across a small third-generation rosette factory in Kornwestheim near Stuttgardt. Karl Zeeh, the grandfather of Martin Zeeh (whom I met), started the business many years ago. They manufacture customized rosettes and also supply custom bindings and backstrips. The visit was fascinating and the variety of laminated products is extensive, definitely worth investigating. Karl Zeeh, 70806 Kornwestheim, 49-715-47365; fax 49-715-424340. ◆

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Questions: Single Fretting Fixture

Questions: Single Fretting Fixture

by Tim Shaw

Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010



Mark French from West Lafayette, Indiana asks: Do people ever make a single fretting fixture and just pick off whatever section they need for a specific type of instrument? I started with a 25.5" scale length and added some frets to bump it up to about 34.07". It looks like I can use this set of positions to find fret spacing for everything from a bass to a mandolin.


Tim Shaw from Fender in Nashville, Tennessee responds:

You could also use this for both medium-scale bass, which is usually 32", and short-scale bass, which is typically 30" or so. Since Leo Fender had the 25.5" scale first, I don’t know if he actually “added” frets to come up with 34", but that was certainly possible on the prototype. The shorter Fender scales were also probably started by lopping frets off a standard neck.

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