Posted on August 12, 2021May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Remembering Harry LeBovit Remembering Harry LeBovit by Fred Calland Originally published in American Lutherie #10, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Harry LeBovit’s company was always and unvaryingly a pleasure, and his companionship was never touched by shyness, aloofness, or anything boring like that. I can’t remember the first time I met him, and I know why I can’t; the man put me at ease on the spot, probably saying something like, “You must be very happy doing something so interesting so well.” Now add to that a sort of uneven smile and a warm welcoming expression, and you have a master of diplomacy, a man capable of aggressive friendship, and an irresistible companion in spirit. 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 11, 2021May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Apprenticeships: Potentially a Great Opportunity for Mentors and Apprentices Alike Apprenticeships: Potentially a Great Opportunity for Mentors and Apprentices Alike by Bill Beadie Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 If you're reading this article, chances are good that you know more than I do about building guitars. The way I figure it, my experience adds up to approximately thirty-six weeks of full-time work, which has produced exactly two guitars, a few repairs, and includes some parts making and assembly work. While I can’t expect to teach you new tricks for neck sets or better ways to apply finish, I’m confident that I can explain why apprenticeships can be a great opportunity for both mentors and apprentices. Allow me to sidetrack for a moment and tell you about John Greven. In the thirty-six-week time frame that I needed to build two guitars and perform a few other guitar-related tasks, John typically builds about thirty-six guitars. And do you know what’s really depressing? I’m pretty sure that every one of them sounds better than either of mine. 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 11, 2021May 16, 2025 by Dale Phillips Floyd Floyd by Nicholas von Robison Originally published in American Lutherie #37, 1994 KERplunkit! I reduced speed hoping the noise would go away, but no such luck. I had been traveling up US 395 from Los Angeles, and for the last half-hour I had not seen another vehicle, village, or even a gas station. Just dust, sage, and a few billboards. Then, RANDSBURG — 35 MPH. I dutifully slowed and glimpsing a hand-painted GARAGE sign, pulled over and shut her down in front of the big double doors. I squatted behind the left rear wheel and saw that the rubber bushing on the shock absorber had deteriorated and come off, so that the shock was metal-to-metal on the stud. Sensing a presence beside me, I turned, and was about six inches away from a pock-marked face with three days of salt-and-pepper stubble. He grinned — no teeth and purple gums. I caught a whiff of unwashed socks and potato skins. Another nanosecond and the potato smell registered as vodka. 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 11, 2021May 5, 2025 by Dale Phillips Jack Batts Jack Batts An interview by Jeff Feltman Originally published in American Lutherie #10, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 You can walk into a clockmaker’s shop and see fifty clocks. One reads 12:00, another says 11:55, another 12:05. Only one can be right, and it probably isn’t a bad guess that none of them is right. Searching for the right varnish is like being in that clock shop.” “A man could make 150 more violins in his life if he wasn’t so worried about concocting some witches brew. He would do well to spend his time learning to make a fine violin.” 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 June 23, 2021May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips A Contrabass for the Pugo Brothers Cuenca. They Became Self-Made Luthiers in their El Cebollar Neighborhood. They Make String Instruments. A Contrabass for the Pugo Brothers These Artisans had to Desecrate Several Secrets Before Making Violincellos, Contrabasses, Violins, and Guitars. But they did it. by Juan Carlos Morales translated by John L. Walker Originally published in American Lutherie #73, 2003 When Angel Pugo was a young boy he developed a phobia that never went away: fear of school. His teachers’ intolerance, according to him, was the reason that caused him to not sit near the blackboard anymore. “Those that went around barefooted were never well considered,” says Angel, now a violin maker. His father, Miguel, had heaped rondadores, flautas de pan, pingullos, and ocarinas1 upon his sons while he watched the corn grow on the hillside. After one of his first “traumas,” as Angel calls them, he also hung up his pingullo and headed towards the Conservatory of Cuenca. “They told me that all they did in the conservatory was repeat do, re, and mi, and that it was very boring. But solfège delighted me.” The musical center’s director looked at him carefully and said, “You are worth it.” This same director, after sitting him in front of a piano, would choose Angel Pugo as a beneficiary of one of the thirty pianos provided by the government of Jaime Roldós Aguilera.2 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.
