Posted on October 10, 2025October 10, 2025 by Dale Phillips Finishing Techniques for Hiding Repair Work Finishing Techniques for Hiding Repair Work by Dan Erlewine from his 1992 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #36, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 I grew up looking at the record jackets of my parents’ folk music — Burl Ives, Marais & Miranda (Joseph Marais played a 00-28 herringbone), Josh White with his 00-45. When the Kingston Trio hit around ’59, and I saw those Martins, I just had to have one. I went down to a pawn shop on Michigan Avenue in Detroit and got a Domino, if anyone remembers those. Marc Silber can tell you who made them. I took it home and stripped off the paint so it looked like a Martin and the rest has been a lot of fun. Here are some tricks I learned after I applied for my first job as a luthier at Herb David’s Guitar Studio in 1962. (There’s more on Herb David in American Lutherie #26; more on Dan’s career in AL#25.) I was seventeen and out of high school. I had been hacking stuff in my dad’s workshop, but I wanted to learn more so I’d go over to Herb’s and hang around. I worked at McDonald’s, and I’d take him big bags of free cheeseburgers that I had made myself. They were triple-deckers, which they didn’t make then. One day Herb showed me a Gibson SJ with rosewood back and sides (now I realize just how rare that guitar was!). It had a big fist-sized hole punched through it. Herb said, “Fix this, kid.” 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 October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: George Wunderlich Meet the Maker: George Wunderlich by Nathan Stinnette Originally published in American Lutherie #73, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 How did you start building minstrel banjos? I was a Civil War reenactor, and I was introduced to the work of a gentleman by the name of Joe Ayers, who’s done a lot of recordings of minstrel banjo music. I’d never heard it before, and I decided right then and there that I could play that kind of banjo music. I’d grown up in Missouri where most everything is bluegrass, and I knew I did not have the coordination for three-finger playing. But this was something I could do. It was a little more melodic, a little more interesting to me. I bought an 1880s-period banjo from a company called The Music Folk in St. Louis. It was the oldest banjo they had on the wall, so I thought, that must be Civil War. When I couldn’t get the right sound out of it, I called Joe on the phone and said, “What am I doing wrong?” He explained to me in very basic terms that my banjo was wrong. It needed to be fretless, it needed to be gut strung, it needed to have a deeper pot. With his direction, I built a banjo. This was in 1992. 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 October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Dealer: Armin Kelly Meet the Dealer: Armin Kelly by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 I see your ads for Guitars International everywhere. Can you tell me how you got started dealing in classical guitars? I made a very serious mistake! (laughs) From the time I was fifteen until I was thirty, I studied classical guitar very intensively with several very musical teachers. But at some point I realized I had to decide whether this was what I wanted to continue doing the rest of my life or not. I felt that I’d hit my peak as a player, and I wanted to explore other things. So I stopped playing — not an easy thing to do — and eventually sold my guitars. Playing classical guitar had been an all-consuming endeavor for me, and I couldn’t do it part time and remain happy. Instead, I returned to school and studied English literature and literary criticism at Columbia University and teacher methodology at Harvard University. Later I taught English for several years, both at university and high-school levels. 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 October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Charles Beare Meet the Maker: Charles Beare by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #82, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2017 In the violin world, Charles Beare is one of the people whose opinion matters. His passion for instruments has inspired him to achieve an internationally recognized level of expertise. His London-based business, J&A Beare Ltd., was established in 1865, and he is the fourth generation Beare to sit at its helm. Last November he attended the Violin Society of America’s 32nd Convention to lecture and to help judge their 16th International Competition. He graciously took time out of his busy schedule there to tell me a little about his life and his love for the instruments. I don’t know if you are aware, but you have been in the pages of our journal before. Oh really? When was that? 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 October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Pierre-Yves Fuchs Meet the Maker: Pierre-Yves Fuchs by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #83, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 I attended the 2004 Violin Society of America Convention and competition in Portland, Oregon, at the invitation of Paul Schuback, who was hosting the event. He offered to arrange interviews with internationally recognized experts Charles Beare (see p. 312) and Bernard Millant, who were there to lecture and judge the competition. However, as both men were very busy with their appointed duties, and everyone seemed to want a piece of their time, I had a lot of time to talk with participants, listen to lectures, peruse the commercial exhibit hall, and generally hang around. The commercial exhibition hall was filled with displays of instruments, tools, bows, wood, and accessories. Many of the displays were amazingly elaborate, which made the table of Swiss bow maker Pierre-Yves Fuchs stand out to me. Here was a casually dressed guy sitting behind a few bows on a black cloth, and that was about it. He didn’t seem to be getting much action, so I stopped to chat. I had to leave before the winners were announced, so I was pleased and impressed to find out that Pierre had won gold medals in all four bow categories —violin, viola, cello, and bass — and he received the honorary designation hors concours (out of competition) from the VSA. He received another gold medal in a competition in Paris two weeks later. 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.
