Posted on April 21, 2023May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Henry Stocek Meet the Maker: Henry Stocek by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #62, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 There is a host of nonluthiers without whom lutherie would suffer. I refer to the makers and suppliers of the products that eventually comprise our instruments — the wood, trim items, pickups, cases, hardware, and finish products that make instruments more functional and more interesting. It should come as no surprise that most of these folks are as fascinating and dedicated as any luthier. We’ve met a few of them in these pages before, and I hope to give more of them the exposure they deserve. First up is Henry Stocek, the celluloid guru who introduced us to the art of turtleoid creation (see Reinventing the Celluloid Tortoise). He created Deep River Vintage Instrument Supply to furnish the trade with imitation tortoiseshell pickguard stock that was reminiscent of the color and patterns used in the ’30s. Other items are on the way. 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 April 20, 2023May 6, 2025 by Dale Phillips Matty: The Merchant of Greenwich Matty: The Merchant of Greenwich from his 1979 GAL Convention lecture by Matt Umanov Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 7 #3, 1979 I’d like to say that I’ve never given a lecture in my life; the last time I stood in front of a blackboard I had to write my name a hundred times. Perhaps a little self-introduction could explain to you some of my qualifications for being here. I have a store in Greenwich Village, where we sell, buy, trade, and repair quality acoustical instruments. I have had the store for 10 years, before which I worked sort of free-lance doing repair work on my own. And before that I struggled through a couple of different guitar factories. People today generally prefer a Martin Dreadnought, usually a rosewood one for a bluegrass band. Rosewood is chosen over mahogany because of the richness of the tone; you get a much fatter bass out of a rosewood body guitar than you will out of a mahogany guitar. It is usually easier to record a mahogany guitar in the studio. Engineers tell me this all the time. All the extra overtones of the rosewood guitar are just too complex — it’s difficult to capture. 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 August 1, 2022May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Lutherie Binge? Lutherie Binge? by Dake Traphagen Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, 5, #4, 1977 Well somehow I’ve survived my first but not last, European experience, which Tim Olsen dubbed a “Lutherie Binge” in Vol. 5, No. 2. From my perspective, I think the phraseology could be better put as a Life Experience Binge. After all, let’s not limit ourselves to being only luthiers; or at least if we want to view ourselves as being luthiers, let’s expand the term to encompass all other experiences which connect ourselves to our Luthiership. So what about my European Experience? Ten hour jet flight, what a slow method of transportation; Galliards of royalty traversing the English countryside. While resting in the dark forest; was that a Hobbit or maybe an elf? The Mediterranean’s salty, yet beautiful swimming; but where were the troubadour guitarists of Spain: only me expectations? A lot of flamboyant people and machine guns however... Majestic, cultured, the arts of Arts of western conception, if only one wouldn’t be so coined American; such is the way Paris... Oh yes! The ferry’s cooling rushing air and rolling boat with rain, sun, spray, and lovely people enjoying; except for a few green faces, but who knows, maybe they enjoyed being green. 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 August 1, 2022May 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Accomplishment of Gary Karr The Accomplishment of Gary Karr by Frederick C. Lyman, Jr Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 11 ,#4, 1983 Gary Karr’s great achievement, which brought him world renown in the late 1960s, was that he performed on the double bass, in a completely fluent melodic manner. He had perfected a technique that employed the entire register of the bass with complete freedom, with perfect intonation, with consistency of tone-quality, with complete expressive control over dynamics, attack, and shading, and with a big, rich, full sound that would carry over an entire symphony orchestra as a solo voice. Gary was the first recognized artist to achieve this mastery of the bass, and, years later, when there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of very good bassists, he is still a uniquely great performer, a genuine unmitigated virtuoso who can dazzle the audiences like no one else. The immediate response to his work was wonder and delight, as it still is. 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 August 1, 2022May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter from London Letter from London by Theron R. McClure Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Newsletter Vol. 3, #5 & 6, 1975 he early music buff finds much to enjoy in wintry England. During the first two weeks of December, 1975, Renaissance and Baroque music concerts were presented nightly at London’s Queen Elizabeth, Purcell, and Wigmore halls. The quality of performance specialists was held to the highest level; the dozen of early performance specialists was held to the highest level; the dozen of early performance specialists had a wonderful skill. In most performances nineteenth century playing mannerisms had been excised: e.g. vibrato was not heard from London violists. But the teaching of Arnold Dolmetsch and his followers were given little heed. In an all-Dowland concert at the Purcell room, only one ornament was heard from the instrumentalists the whole evening. Early music concerts draw full houses. There is a saying in London, that the old people go to the new music and the young people to the old. But a price has to be paid for this popularity: the larger the audience, the more the viols sound like the celli. Performers can’t keep from straining their instruments toward a commonplace tone. 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.
