Posted on June 28, 2024July 8, 2024 by Dale Phillips On-Board Preamps On-Board Preamps by Bob Meltz Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #158, 1980 Seeing that I, like other luthiers, enjoy the finer things in life (i.e. food, clothing, shelter), it is always a pleasure to find something that a) provides the luthier with a good return on his investment in time and materials, and b) provides the customer with something useful at a reasonable price. Such is the case with this little tidbit. It happens that most of my clientele play electric instruments and I have implanted preamps in dozens of these instruments with universally good results. It seems that most electric guitarists playing rock, fusion, or contemporary jazz are endlessly searching for ways to provide them with the sound of small, overdriven tube-type amps. The most common device used to accomplish this is the “distortion box” as made by a number of companies. The disadvantages of this type of device are numerous: a clumsy box sitting on the floor with cords dangling at the feet of the player, added noise from all but the most expensive units, line loss when the effect is bypassed, etc. For all but the people who are looking to totally “raunch out”, the on-board preamp is a viable, indeed preferable, alternative. Although it provides practically no distortion of its own, the added output is enough to overdrive the preamp stage of almost any guitar amp. 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 June 28, 2024July 8, 2024 by Dale Phillips Spraying Lacquer With Nitrogen Spraying Lacquer With Nitrogen by Harry Coleman Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #64, 1978 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 There are several advantages of using compressed nitrogen for spraying over the more conventional air compressor. Air compressors, when pulling air right out of the atmosphere, also pull the moisture in the air right into the storage tank. Most of it can be filtered out, but not all. In addition, oil has a way of working its way from the piston assembly in the compressor into the air line and ending up on your work. Compressors are expensive and do break. You have to have a long enough air line to get the compressor out of the finishing room or a spark from the motor could blow you away. Long lines cause a drop in air pressure. With nitrogen you are assured of 100% clean, dry “air.” Since there’s no motor involved, you can put the whole unit in the finishing room and use a shorter air line. The only disadvantage is that air is free, but nitrogen isn’t. You also have to take your tank out to get it filled. This is inconvenient, but the quality of the spray job makes it worth the trouble and expense, especially for a low-volume shop. 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 June 13, 2024January 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips How to Become a Running Dog of the Capitalist Imperialist Music Mongers (and love it!) How to Become a Running Dog of the Capitalist Imperialist Music Mongers (and love it!) by J.R. Beall Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Newsletter, Volume 3 #2, 1975 I’ve just finished re-reading R.E. Bruné’s last article on making it as a luthier and on most points we are in agreement. On the matter of commercial sales, however, I’m not as stuffy as R.E. and must admit that a good portion of my income is derived therefrom. R.E. is a purist and I can admire him for his willingness to live the austere life, sleeping on his workbench and eating puree of spruce shavings and rosewood dust. I am, by his standards, decadent beyond redemption, with a legal wife, a comfortable home, and plenty of expensive grub, but I offer no apologies, I am disgustingly satisfied with my life-style and have no difficulty justifying my comfortable existence. In my opinion, the biggest problem with any one-man operation in our line of work, is that it is just physically impossible to turn out a sufficient number of any kind of instrument in any given time period, to earn as much as any average factory worker. For example, a good guitar builder, working alone can build one guitar every two weeks. That adds up to 24 per year, times $600.00 = $14,400.00 annual gross. That sounds pretty good to most of us but remember he must then pay for his materials, his maintenance and utilities, his traveling and advertising, taxes and the rest. If he can net $8,500. after expenses, he is doing well and we all must agree that in these times $8,500. is not big money. 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 June 13, 2024January 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Thoughts on Violin Setup Thoughts on Violin Setup by Don Overstreet from his 2001 GAL Convention workshop Originally published on American Lutherie #71, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 In a very real way, speaking here today is the realization of a dream. I came to Tim Olsen’s shop on Park Avenue years ago when he was still making guitars. One of my uncles, who lived in the area, had sent me a newspaper article about Tim’s operation. Later I attended a GAL Convention. I’m indebted to the GAL for being an inspiration for me as an instrument maker — it gives proof that it can be done. I got my start in the violin field by way of a friend in Seattle named Bill Tafoya, who ran a guitar shop there. In 1973 I told him that I wanted to make guitars. He suggested that I go in the direction of violins instead, and he thought I should contact David Saunders, who had a violin making shop on Queen Anne Hill. I called David, and although he was not taking apprentices at that time, he connected me with Peter Prier, who was just starting the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City. I called Peter in 1973 and finally started at the Violin Making School in 1978. I graduated in 1982. 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 June 13, 2024January 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Scalloped Fretboard The Scalloped Fretboard by Dave Schneider Originally published in American Lutherie #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 The Indian culture introduced the bending of strings on a fretted instrument. They elevated the frets by means of bridges to accommodate string-bending techniques. Later they changed the bridges to arched pieces of wire tied on around the back of the neck. Citterns (a medieval instrument with wire strings) had a slightly scalloped fingerboard because the frets were about level with the fingerboard. John McLaughlin brought this type of string bending to the Western hemisphere with the group Shakti. He incorporated the use of Indian instruments (tabla, tambora) with L. Shankar’s violin and his custom-built “drone string guitar.” Three of these scalloped neck guitars were made for him in the Gibson custom shop by Abraham Wechter in late ’75. They had seven “drone” strings running diagonally across the soundboard and the fingerboards were scalloped between the frets to accommodate the Indian-style string bending. 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.
