Posted on July 7, 2026July 7, 2026 by Dale Phillips Vise on a Stick Vise on a Stick by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 I tend to work in terribly uncomfortable and physically damaging postures, thanks to the inevitable mismatch between where the work is, where it would be comfortable to work on it, how my body is shaped, and my inherent laziness. In spite of that, about thirty years ago I decided to design a jig that might help in a few types of work. These include neck shaping (where clamps tend to be in the way, and the work keeps needing to be moved), and bridge, saddle, and nut work (where I like to get it up closer to eye level). As those of you who have read my articles in the past know, I started out when there were virtually no off-the-shelf jigs and tools for lutherie. To some modern luthiers that may seem like a deprivation; I believe there was a benefit to having to figure out how to make them. It made one more inventive, and for me, that carried over to my design work. 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 April 16, 2026April 16, 2026 by Dale Phillips Remembering Julian Bream Remembering Julian Bream by Cyndy Burton, José Romanillos, R.E. Bruné, Jeffrey R. Elliott, Kevin Aram, Gary Southwell, and Simon Ambridge Originally published in American Lutherie #142, 2021 Julian Bream was born on July 15, 1933, and died on August 14, 2020, one month after his 87th birthday. The accolades that followed were online and in print everywhere, and were consistently filled with superlatives praising his genius as a classical guitarist, his tireless commissioning and presentation of new guitar repertoire from notable contemporary composers, and his teaching and creating opportunities for the next generation of classical guitarists. But commonly overlooked in descriptions of Julian Bream’s achievements in his long career, are the fruits of his relationships with the handful of classical guitar makers he chose to build for him. He sought the best classical guitars possible to serve his musical purposes and, at the same time, inspired their makers to improve their art and craft. We are fortunate that those luthiers are represented here, and that they’ve offered memories of their interactions with Julian Bream. — Cyndy Burton 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 February 1, 2026March 3, 2026 by Dale Phillips Origins of the Mountain Dulcimer Origins of the Mountain Dulcimer by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #34, 1993 Note to readers: The following history was the product of a research grant. However, the granting institution had a falling out with the author and refused to publish the work it had paid for. The author, for his part, had spent all the money and really didn’t care if the paper was every published. Such wastefulness shouldn’t be tolerated in a free country. Since the author is a good friend of mine, I stole it from his care and present it to you here, much condensed and free of bothersome academic footnotes. I hope you find it informative. — John Calkin I was surprised and pleased to receive this grant from the ____ Foundation, since I was on the very verge of looking for a job. At once I moved my headquarters to a bench outside the Hunterdon County Public Library, where I spent the days doing research. Evenings I spent at Frank’s Tavern, ruminating over my days’s work. My Foundation advisor tracked me down there, and, upon learning of my progress, invited me to get out of town to finish my research. In under an hour I was packed and rolling toward the Southern Appalachian Mountains. 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 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 June 3, 2025June 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Guitar Tattoos: Inlay Harry’s Way Guitar Tattoos: Inlay Harry’s Way by Harry Fleishman from his 2001 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #74, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 There are many paths from point A to point B. There are people in this audience who have done more and better inlay than I have. I’ll be talking about the thought process that I go through when designing inlay patterns. Of course, you should all do exactly as I do. Everyone else is wrong. I’m going to do a question-and-answer session, but it will all just be me. I’ll ask the questions and I’ll answer them. (laughter) My first question is, “Why would one put inlay on a guitar?” Some of you who might be here to heckle, thinking that there’s no point in putting inlay on a guitar. You’re probably right. But I think one of the reasons that we might do it would be personalization. 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.
