Posted on July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Romanillos Seminar Letter: Romanillos Seminar by Stephen Frith Originally published in American Lutherie #68, 2001 Dear Tim, I joined the GAL a couple years ago, and this philosophy of openness, sharing, and frank exchange is right on the ball. I saw a free ad in American Lutherie: “Master-classes in Spain, make a guitar with José and Liam Romanillos.” A chance of a lifetime? The Romanillos family hosted a fortnight working holiday, which was busy, friendly, happy, and constructive. Set in the Sigüenze hillsides, we were the comfortable guests of the Hermanos Maristas. In the spirit of openness and sharing, José and Liam helped us consider each piece of wood, as we made our guitars. A quote: “If we know, we tell you.” Based on José‘s first successful instrument in the Spanish tradition of Torres, our work was guided with strategies and beliefs. Secrets don’t exist in good news. On the front bench were all the planning forms and construction templates needed to make a Romanillos and Son guitar, and copying of these was firmly encouraged. The method was straightforward, sensible, and uncomplicated, one that can be easily replicated in my own workshop. I’ve brought home my own Frith/Romanillos. Sounds great! Speaking as an old London College of Furniture boy, I have to say the Sigüenza 2001 course was brilliant. The cost was reasonable, and returning next year for some fine-tuning would be exciting for a full-time luthier like me. I hope it runs and runs, there is always more to learn. It was great to meet members from all over: Texas, California, Canada, England, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Japan. Sigüenza 2002? Go for it! ◆
Posted on July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Lutherie in South Africa Letter: Lutherie in South Africa by Rodney Stedall Originally published in American Lutherie #70, 2002 Dear Tim, Ron Bushman was in South Africa recently on a business trip. He’s a part-time luthier living in Fullerton, California (hometown of Leo Fender) with about twenty-five classical and flamenco guitars carrying his label. He also plays flamenco very well. Ron Bushman admires a Portugese guitarra made by François Pistorius. Both photos by Rodney Stedall I took the day off to offer Ron a bit of South African luthiers’ hospitality. After collecting him at his hotel we went off to Silverton Houthandelaars (wood dealers) to look for indigenous woods. He selected some impressive backs and sides from kiaat and a nice piece of tambotie for headstock veneers. We then visited François Pistorius who impressed Ron with his Portuguese guitarra, an offset-soundhole classical, and his famous double-neck steel string/bouzouki combination on which he plays Celtic music that he learned during his apprenticeship in Galway, Ireland. François added to Ron’s load by kindly giving him a back and side set of bubinga (African rosewood). François plays his double-neck guitar/bouzouki. Then to my workshop where we cut the kiaat into luggage-size pieces. I was able to give Ron a nice quartersawn neck set of boekenhout (African beech) with its beautiful flaming as well as some leadwood (hardekool) and black ivory which I had previously cut into thin bookmatched pieces for head veneers. We then treated Ron to a traditional meal of stywe pap (stiff corn porridge) and bredie (tomato onion gravy) with sosaties (shish kebab) braaied (barbequed) on an open fire made from bushveld leadwood. We sent Ron off, fully laden with his stock of South African tonewoods to remind him of his visit to our beautiful country. ◆
Posted on July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Remembering Robert Lundberg Letter: Remembering Robert Lundberg by Bryan Johanson Originally published in American Lutherie #69, 2002 Hello GAL, The first person to catch my eye as I entered the hall was a large, bear-shaped man with several sets of spruce tops securely tucked under his arm. He almost knocked me down. He had spotted an exhibitor’s table of exotic hardwood and was making a beeline for it. For a large man he was moving incredibly fast, and I literally had to jump back to avoid being run down. A woman in her midforties, quickly following in the man’s wake, lightly touched my arm and said “I am so sorry. Please forgive my husband. He gets a little crazed when he is around this much wood.” With that she moved on, and I had arrived at the 2001 GAL National Convention. Instrument makers normally work alone. There are no built-in mechanisms to bring them into the public eye. Conceivably, a luthier could take an order for an instrument, build it, and ship it off without saying a word to anyone. The luthier’s product is something like a ventriloquist’s dummy: someone else has to provide the voice and animation to their creations. 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 July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Photos from China Letter: Photos from China by William Garofalo Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010 Dear Tim — I just came back from two months in China. I went there to get my teeth fixed; an excellent quality four-tooth bridge was $600. I was also interested in seeing a violin factory that I had seen on Chinese television here in the USA. My wife is Chinese and we have three antennas that bring in many Chinese stations. Well, I got my teeth and then Charley, a friend of my wife, drove us out into the country to the violin factory. They make a lot of the cheaper violins that are sold in the world. It was a huge brick building with room after room filled with violins, violas, cellos, and bass viols. It was Sunday, and only one man was working. He had about twenty violins on a shelf, and he was putting the soundposts in them. I bought a special tool to set soundposts years ago, but after many hours of trying, I gave up. This man was setting the posts in about two minutes each. 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 July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Scott Chinery Letter: Scott Chinery by Bob Benedetto Originally published in American Lutherie #64, 2000 Dear Tim and Fellow GAL members, My plane just took off from Newark Airport; I’m on my way home to Tampa and thought I would drop you a line. Yesterday I attended the funeral services for Scott Chinery, a man who, in a very big way, touched the lives of so many people. A book can be written (and no doubt will be) on his accomplishments and good deeds. I’ll leave that to the professional and more eloquent writers. Over the years, we have all encountered people who influence and support us, but I can think of no individual who has had such a profound impact on our careers and lives as Scott Chinery. Scott’s Blue Guitar Collection is the most famous guitar collection in the world. It is comprised of archtop guitars made mostly by people who would have otherwise remained in obscurity. Some have probably not made an archtop since and most will never make a living as an archtop maker. Scott Chinery gave us all so much — he put money in our pockets and gave us international acclaim as the finest luthiers in the world. He did for us what none of us could have done for ourselves. Our guitars were on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution not because of our skills as luthiers, but because Scott Chinery commissioned us, then kicked down the doors and forced the world to take notice — a talent none of us have. He will be missed. ◆
