Posted on January 14, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Folk Harp Design and Construction by Jeremy H. Brown Review: Folk Harp Design and Construction by Jeremy H. Brown Reviewed by C.F. Casey Originally published in American Lutherie #83, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Folk Harp Design and Construction Jeremy H. Brown www.musikit.com 150 pp. You’ve got to like a book that begins, “Anybody can spout off his own opinions into a book if he puts his mind to it. Why a person would want to go to such trouble is a question I’ve been asking myself lately.” I should point out that there’s an alias at work here. Jeremy H. Brown, author, is in another life Jerry Brown, founder and head honcho of Musicmaker’s Kits, Inc. (See John Calkin’s “Kit Review: Musicmaker’s Regency Harp” in AL#69, BRBAL6.) Does that mean the book is a shill for selling kits? Not at all. Naturally, most of the references are to Musicmaker’s designs. That’s reasonable enough; they are, after all, the designs Brown would be most familiar with. You wouldn’t expect Chris Martin to write a book on Gibson designs. However, Brown doesn’t stop there. I counted over two dozen references to the approaches and opinions of other harp builders throughout the eight chapters of the book. 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 14, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: The Vihuela de Mano and The Spanish Guitar: A Dictionary of the Makers of Plucked and Bowed Musical Instruments of Spain by José L. Romanillos and Marian Harris Winspear Review: The Vihuela de Mano and The Spanish Guitar: A Dictionary of the Makers of Plucked and Bowed Musical Instruments of Spain by José L. Romanillos and Marian Harris Winspear Reviewed by Bryan Johanson Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The Vihuela de Mano and The Spanish Guitar: A Dictionary of the Makers of Plucked and Bowed Musical Instruments of Spain (1200-2002) José L. Romanillos and Marian Harris Winspear ISBN 84-607-6141-XGuijosa, Spain: Sanguino Press, 585 pp., 2002 In the world of players and makers of fine classical guitars, the name José Romanillos stands tall. For decades he built some of the finest classical guitars ever made. His work with Julian Bream is legendary. With the 1987 publication of his first major book, Antonio de Torres: Guitar Maker — His Life and Work (with an extensive revision published in 1997), we were introduced to another side of this impressive artist, that of author, scholar, and fact-sleuth extraordinaire. We now have his latest contribution to the realm of fact: his amazing new book on Spanish luthiers, The Vihuela de Mano and The Spanish Guitar; a Dictionary of the Makers of Plucked and Bowed Musical Instruments of Spain (1200–2002). It is a rare thing these days to find an author (in this case coauthors, Romanillos and his wife Marian Winspear) tackle the concept of writing a dictionary. The result of this ambitious undertaking is a highly readable reference book that includes much information not ordinarily included in a dictionary proper. 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 14, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: The Bouzouki Book, by Graham McDonald Review: The Bouzouki Book by Graham McDonald Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The Bouzouki Book Graham McDonald ISBN 0-646-43602-3 Graham McDonald Stringed Instruments, 117 pp., 2004 Totally new instruments don’t appear very often. When they do the results can be pretty exciting, both musically and socially, though it’s not easy to establish a pattern to the events. When the 5-string banjo was born in America in the early-to-mid 19th century it took a couple decades for many of the details to become standardized, after which the popularity of the banjo began to grow rapidly. Small builders furnished most of the early instruments, but as the banjo boom spread, larger factories became the important players. Banjo production mirrored the industrialization of the country at large. However, it takes a lot of money to drive an industry, and as the 20th century demand for banjos began to wane, the big companies backed off and there was once again room for the small builder. 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 14, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: El Tiple Puertorrqueño: Historia, Manual y Método by José Reyes-Zamora Review: El Tiple Puertorrqueño: Historia, Manual y Método by José Reyes-Zamora Reviewed by Fred Casey Originally published in American Lutherie #81, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 El Tiple Puertorriqueño: Historia, Manual y Método José Reyes-Zamora ISBN: 0-942347-55-2 Ediciones Puerto, Inc., 211pp., 2002 www.edicionespuerto.com The tiple. Oh, yeah, that’s that South American instrument, like a guitar but triple-strung. I remember repairing one that had a soundbox made from an armadillo shell, like a charango. Then there was the adaptation that Martin came up with, putting tiple-type stringing onto a ukulele (see article and plan by Jorge Gonzalez in AL #39, BRBAL4). And one time I came across an old bowl-back mandolin that had twelve strings, arranged tiple-fashion. Yeah... the tiple. Forget all that. 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 14, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound by Chuck Traeger Review: The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound by Chuck Traeger Reviewed by James Condino Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound Chuck Traeger with David Brownell and William Merchant Henry Strobel ISBN 1-892210-06-1 www.henrystrobel.com Every once in a while a book comes along in a particular field that sets a new standard for future titles to strive for. Chuck Traeger’s The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound is one of those gems. As a regular gigging double-bass player and luthier, I have been waiting for this text since I first picked up the instrument. Failed neck joints, broken scrolls, huge moisture cracks, and the general wear and tear of dragging around a very fragile refrigerator-sized item are part of daily life for the bass player and repairman. Chuck Traeger, who is referred to as “the Mercedes-Benz of (bass) repairmen” by his longtime friend and customer Ron Carter, didn’t come upon this overnight. He made his first professional jazz recordings in 1945 and played the double bass for over twenty years prior to becoming a repairman who specializes in the bass. His customer base and writing cover both the jazz and classical sides of the instrument. Chuck is a trained civil engineer from Columbia University. As such, his approach is that “there is a reason for everything. I want people to think in a different way about... the instrument, its repair, and setup.” To him it is a specialized art. 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.
