Posted on July 17, 2026July 17, 2026 by Dale Phillips Let’s Catch Up With Fabio Ragghianti Let’s Catch Up With Fabio Ragghianti by Brian Yarosh Originally published in American Lutherie #114, 2013 Back in the spring of 2000, AL#61 was published with an interesting and well-written “Meet the Maker” article on Fabio Ragghianti by Harry Fleishman. Shortly after that article was published, I had the pleasure to meet Fabio at Harry’s shop in Boulder, Colorado. Now that I’ve become a close friend of Fabio’s and a fellow traveler on his most recent adventurers in lutherie, I felt it fitting to discuss with him what has gone on in the past thirteen years and what might be in store over the next thirteen. I’m sure there is a lot to cover since your interview with Harry back in 2000. First off, how are you doing? Family good? Besides a few minor health problems due to aging, I guess I’m fine all in all. I still live with my wife Luciana in the same 17th-century house with 80CM thick walls up on a hill in Tuscany. When Harry visited, my shop was here in the basement. Eight years ago, I opened a shop in the nearby town of Pietrasanta, specifically to make it easier for customers to find me. I still do a lot of repair, which pays the bills, and I like it. Repairs, besides the routine stuff, can be very challenging and require creativity, ingenuity, and intuition. But the most important change in my life was the birth of my grandson Milo, in September 2011. 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 July 14, 2026July 14, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Stephen Marchione Meet the Maker: Stephen Marchione by James Condino Originally published in American Lutherie #114, 2013 I first met Steve Marchione writing a story for Mandolin Magazine. He was bold, confident, and opinionated; I liked him instantly. A couple of years later, we wound up next to each other at the 2011 GAL Convention. Two troublemakers with funny last names; we’ve been good friends ever since. The more I get to know him, the more respect I have for him and for his work, and also the more similarity I see in our backgrounds and in our core individuality as nerdy instrument builders. We’re working on a collaborative project in the near future that will be a celebration of the work and heritage of our mentors, highlighting the history and heritage of the first two generations of great Italian American guitar builders and pushing it beyond into the next level with our own flair. Give us a little bit of background and the early years: I was born in Texas in 1966, but as a young boy, my family moved to Bergamo, Italy, outside of Milano towards Cremona. In 1972 I was seven, and I can remember my father took me to Cremona to see a Stradivarius violin. I didn’t quite understand everything, but I knew it was very important. 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 July 2, 2026July 2, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Antonio Marin Meet the Maker: Antonio Marin by Federico Sheppard Originally published in American Lutherie #117, 2014 The feet of the finest horse in Spain carefully worked their way over the mosaic of white and black stones, loping upward to the crest of the hill, where stood perhaps the most magnificent palace on earth. The rider, dressed in an elaborate Moorish caftan dress, her husband at her side, had just recently met with an odd Italian sailor who’s spying had helped in the conquest, and led to the day referred to at the time as, “The most distinguished and blessed day there had ever been in Spain.” On the other side of the hill, down narrow cobbled streets, the treasures of the former resident of the palace had been quietly removed at daybreak. A lone bird, high in his perch in a pomegranate tree, could have looked down upon that scene and remarked on the pattern of those white and black paving stones snaking up the hill, a mosaic of roses bordered by the most delicate herringbone along the edges of the road. The day was early January 1492; the city, Granada; the lady, Queen Isabella. She and her husband Fernando, “appeared more than mortal, as if sent by Heaven for the salvation of Spain.” The Italian, looked upon as something of a bad penny, was Christopher Columbus. For many, 1492 will be remembered more for the capture of Granada than for the discovery of the New World. 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 24, 2026June 24, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Robert Anderson Meet the Maker: Robert Anderson by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021 Robert Anderson took the long road to banjo building, just as so many of us have approached lutherie. The instrument first came to his attention during a TV appearance by Eddie Peabody, but the desire to play came from Earl Scruggs via the movie Bonnie and Clyde. “My first banjo was a tenor because I didn’t know any better.” That’s a mistake many beginners have made. Once set on the right path, he acquired a cheap 5-string banjo just before starting college at Kent State in Ohio. As luck would have it, as he moved into his dorm room he heard bluegrass-style banjo being played in the room next door. His dorm neighbor, Ken Serger, became his first banjo instructor. 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 22, 2026June 22, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Géza Burghardt Meet the Maker: Géza Burghardt by Cindy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #61, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 I met Géza and his wife and business partner, Tini, at the 1998 GAL Convention in Tacoma. I’d been hearing about him for several years and was really looking forward to our chat. Three hours whizzed by as Géza told his remarkable story, a true immigrant success story. He, Tini, and their young daughter Eszter arrived in Vancouver, B.C. in 1988 with little more than the shirts on their backs. They spoke very little English. Twelve years later they have a thriving lutherie business, a beautiful shop, and a comfortable life. What follows is Géza’s story in his own words. I was fourteen years old when I became an apprentice in a special woodworking school in Hungary for three years to become a pattern maker. This is an extremely complicated job requiring great precision. We were taught to do everything by hand. We were not allowed to use any power machines, not even a grinder to grind the chisels. After you were done with a job it was sent to a special room for checking. There was no tolerance — not even a tenth of a millimeter. They’d send it back and you’d have to fix it, and your salary went down. 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.
