Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Charles Fox Meet the Maker: Charles Fox by Fred Carlson Originally published in American Lutherie #52, 1997 I had the opportunity (blind luck, you might call it) to study with Charles Fox in 1975 at the beginning of his School for Guitar Research and Design’s rise to prominence as one of the premier guitar-building schools in the country. Much more recently, in August of 1995, I attended a session of The American School of Lutherie, Charles’s updated take on lutherie education. I had been asked by the GAL to interview Charles, but our schedules made it difficult to connect. We finally sat down and had a fine, rambling phone conversation in late fall of ’95. What follows here is my notes from that conversation, organized into this interview format with a bit of journalistic license. Charles, I know you have a background in the fine arts; in fact, I remember seeing some paintings of yours back in Vermont. Is that what led you to lutherie? In a way, I still think of myself as a painter who is currently not working. In the mid to late ’60s I was studying flamenco guitar, taking lessons through Sherry-Brenner, who import fine guitars. I found that they had materials for guitar construction, and a British instructional pamphlet; I built a guitar at home, and loved it. I stopped playing, built another and another, a couple of flamencos, a classic, and then a couple of steel strings which sold immediately. 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 September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Guitar Making Course A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Hands-On Guitar Making Course by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #136, 2019 See also, The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Three by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six by Mark French Charles Fox started making guitars when I was four. Recently, at age fifty-four, I found myself a student in his acoustic guitar making class at the American School of Lutherie. I’ve been building guitars for a while, but am mostly self-taught, with no formal training before now. I eventually came to realize that I was stuck. I was building using skills I mostly acquired the hard way or from videos and books. My guitars were adequate, but to get better I needed to spend time building with an accomplished luthier. I talked with Charles to determine the class schedule and content which would fit my needs, and signed up for the two-week acoustic guitar class. 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 September 11, 2026October 12, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Don Bradley Meet the Maker: Don Bradley by Tom harper Originally published in American Lutherie #111, 2012 Don Bradley has been active in the music world since he was a teenager, and an active GAL member since the late ’70s. He’s fascinated by the eclectic sounds of music created by different cultures throughout the world, and has continually sought out the musicians and instrument builders responsible in order to gain a better understanding of how the sounds are produced. Additionally, he is an electrical engineer and is interested in alternative energy and sustainable agriculture. I was able to sit down with Don at the 2011 GAL Convention and discuss his interesting life in which he attempts to keep all these balls in the air. Here’s a glimpse into the life of one of the Guild’s more colorful characters. Can you tell me about your music interests as you grew up? I grew up in California until 1965 when my dad, who worked for Bethlehem Steel in South San Francisco, was transferred to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I spent my last two years of high school there. When I was a senior, a fellow student wanted to go up to the Martin Guitar Company in Nazareth, which was just eleven miles away. I was fascinated by the instruments I saw during the tour. I was already into folk music, playing guitar and banjo, doing Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul, and Mary stuff. 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 September 10, 2026October 8, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Collectors: Forderer and Westbrook Meet the Collectors: Forderer and Westbrook by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #94, 2008 At the 2006 GAL Convention I spoke to Jim Forderer from California, and Jim Westbrook from Brighton, England, about their collections of historical guitars and their adventures in building those collections. At both the 2004 and 2006 GAL Conventions they arrived together in Forderer’s outsized RV packed to the ceiling with the most incredible road show this interviewer has had the pleasure to see. I began by asking Jim Forderer how he started collecting. I played violin as a kid, starting as a four-year-old and playing through school and with a Country and Western group in college. Then I began to be interested in guitar, and bought a $10 guitar in Mexico. I played that guitar until it wore out. After I left school I didn’t play guitar for many, many years. I had a career as a horseman, and then got married and had a number of children, about thirty-two.... 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 September 10, 2026September 29, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: R.M. Mottola Meet the Maker: R.M. Mottola by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 R.M. Mottola is one of those rare individuals who can delve into serious matters without taking himself too seriously. The formal nature of his reporting in American Lutherie often keeps this from coming through, so we’re pleased to introduce him to you in a friendlier setting. We think you’ll be surprised. You’re involved in a pile of different lutherie activities. Maybe we can first quickly go through your lutherie history and then probe some areas a bit deeper. How did you get started in lutherie? 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.
