Posted on July 7, 2024October 1, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Mystery Guitar Questions: Mystery Guitar by James Buckland Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 Joël Dugot of Musée de la Musique in Paris, France asks: Our museum has received as a gift what seems to me to be an American guitar from the end of the 19th century. As there is no label nor any mark on it (except on the tuning machines: “G.EON”) my problem is to correctly identify this instrument. The body is made of nice quality Brazilian rosewood; the neck and V-jointed peghead are covered by a thick and hard black varnish. String length is 62CM, body widths are 28.8CM/17CM/21CM, and body depth is 8.5CM/7.5CM. James Buckland from Clinton, South Carolina replies: I’m a bit surprised to see this guitar in Paris. It looks like a mass produced “workshop” guitar, but is not in the French style, so I would rule out Mirecourt as its place of origin. To me it appears more Germanic and may have been built in Markneukirchen, Saxony, a town known for its music instrument production, much of which was for export. I’ve seen many similar instruments in the USA and Canada, and would date it middle or late 19th century, perhaps early 20th century. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 7, 2024October 1, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Nylon String Baritone Guitar Questions: Nylon String Baritone Guitar by Graham Caldersmith Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 Len Laviolette from San Diego, California asks: I have been asked by a prominent local guitarist to build a nylon-string baritone guitar. I am intrigued, but I don’t know anything about baritone guitars. I have seen some steel strings, but never a nylon string. My questions are about scale length, top thickness (for cedar), and body size; also the availability of nylon strings in heavier gauges. Should it have a 12-fret neck? Graham Caldersmith from Comboye, Australia responds: I have made fifteen classical baritones since 1980 and have found that the carbon fiber/balsa lattice suits the needs of the baritone range better than traditional bracing designs. The baritone is particularly effective as an ensemble instrument where it plays the cello part of string quartets, a standard guitar plays the viola part, and treble guitars play the violin parts. Some musicians, including Slava Grigoryan and Ralph Towner, use their baritones as solo instruments, particularly for the Bach cello suites. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 7, 2024October 2, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Gittler Guitar Letter: Gittler Guitar by Anthony D. Blokzyl Originally published in American Lutherie #19, 1989 I read your request for information on the Gittler guitar with great relief! I have yet to see one of these unique instruments, and hope that they are still being manufactured somewhere. They were first mentioned, that I know of, in the August 1978 issue of Guitar Player. The Gittler is almost entirely of brushed stainless steel. There is a central “spine” through which are milled, at decreasing intervals, a series of holes that erupt fractionally. Through the holes are friction fitted short rods acting as frets. The inventor remarked in the article that the dowels could be turned to compensate quickly for wear, if such was feared. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 7, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Monochord Enthusiasts “Dig” Colo. Monochord Enthusiasts “Dig” Colo. “14,000 Feet and Beyond” Proclaims Participant by Bonnie Carol Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Newsletter Vol. 4, #4, 1976 Note: The following is a report on the “In Search of the Wild Dulcimer, Kindred Gathering II”, held August 13, 14, 15, 1976. We dulcimer players got together at a 130 acre homestead in the Colorado Rockies near Fort Collins. It all began with the arrival of Janette Gould, Robert Force, Albert d’Ossche, Ian, Neal, Sally and Shilo Hellman, a week or so in advance. We all fixed trucks, dug outhouses, hiked into snowstorms at 14,000 feet and beyond, ate meals prepared by professional cooks, Neal and Sally, and even played dulcimer on occasion. The festival included workshops of “Rhythm” (Albert d’Ossche), “Fingerpicking” (Bonnie Carol and Roger Harris), “Mode within Modes” (Neal Hellman), “Moving with Voice” (opera as learned in Southwestern New Mexico from an Italian opera singer by Robert and Janette), “Blues Dulcimer” (by some California folks with chromatic dulcimers with guitar-like necks, Robert and Susan Cole and Mark and Julie Warner), “Building” (Roger Harris and Bonnie Carol), and probably others that I didn’t hear about. Many impromptu jams and occurrences — including a banjo (played by Blind Boy d’Ossche), fiddle, kazzo, and even dulcimer reveille on Sunday; square dancing with a live Colorado caller, Connie Baker; and a Saturday night fireside song swap. What more could we want? ◆
Posted on July 5, 2024July 8, 2024 by Dale Phillips Two Tuvan Instruments Two Tuvan Instruments by Thomas Johnson Originally published in American Lutherie #98, 2009 Originally, the igil and morin khuur (also spelled morin huur) were made by nomadic people with rudimentary tools. Instrument making in Tuva remains a cottage industry, and the master makers have mostly died off without leaving a trained younger generation. It can be difficult to find wood big enough for Tuvan instruments, and it is becoming common practice to build up the piece by gluing extra bits on. For example, the height of the horse’s head above the fingerboard of an igil is enough to significantly increase the block of wood required. A maker can easily use a smaller block and, using a piece cut from it, add to the height by gluing it to the top. As the wood is from the same block, it can be fairly invisible. This is also possible for the soundbox and the fingerboard; two equal-sized cheeks can be added to either side to enable the correct dimension to be achieved. 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.
