Posted on May 28, 2026June 4, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Josep Melo Meet the Maker: Josep Melo by Mónica Esparza Originally published in American Lutherie #120, 2014 We met in Sigúenza, Spain, in 2004. I had just arrived at the monastery to participate in my first guitar-making workshop with the great Maestro, José Romanillos. In came Josep, whom I confused for the ghost of Manuel Ramírez. He came directly to my bench and started to assist me. Everyone else thought that he came to me because I was the only woman there, but actually, the class was taught in English, and I was the only Spanish-speaking student. He is Catalan (from the Catalonia region of northeastern Spain), and speaks very little English. During the two-week class, he carried a camera at all times, following José around, and photographing his every move. They are great friends and Josep was assisting with the workshop. He spent much of his time at my bench and I was very grateful for his help. Josep suggested I could return the favor by sweeping his Barcelona shop when I came for José’s class again the following year, and that’s exactly what I did. He said that this is what all new apprentices should do! 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 May 12, 2026May 13, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Rick Turner Meet the Maker: Rick Turner by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #64, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 One of the great pleasures of my job here at the Guild is that I get to meet and talk with luthiers I’ve admired from afar. As the 1999 Healdsburg Guitar Festival was winding down, I approached Rick Turner and asked if he would be willing to be interviewed for this journal. Rick’s name will be familiar from his work with the Alembic company and the Grateful Dead; from his writing in American Lutherie, Guitar Player, and other magazines; and from his attendance at various instrument shows and conventions, including our own. I first heard him speak at the 1980 GAL Convention in San Francisco and have been a great admirer ever since. Rick graciously agreed, and we sat on the veranda outside the display hall and talked while the last tables were being folded and put away. We were the very last ones to leave. Rick spoke about the winding path of his career, the rock-and-roll world of the ’60s and ’70s, his approach to pickup and instrument design, and his current work, which includes a totally cool acoustic steel string and his Renaissance series of “amplicoustic” guitars. It was so much fun! 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 May 11, 2026May 11, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Ted Megas Meet the Maker: Ted Megas by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010 Tell me about your life. Start from the beginning. I was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I lived there until I was five, when my father got transferred to Buffalo, New York. He was a metallurgist at Bethlehem Steel. When you were growing up, Bethlehem was a working industrial town. It had Lehigh University, where my father graduated. That is a prestigious engineering college, and then they had the steel mill, so it was pretty industrial, but now that the steel mill is gone it is actually a really scenic place. Because it’s Bethlehem they have a Christmas festival with lots of music, and there are other things going on. I guess I was an independent kind of kid. I remember playing, and I remember getting stung by bees. I remember the house we lived in, which my father built. I have gone back to visit it, but I don’t remember too much from those years. 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 May 8, 2026May 8, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Jayson Bowerman Meet the Maker: Jayson Bowerman by Tom Harper Originally published in American Lutherie #120, 2014 few years ago at the Northwest Handmade Musical Instrument Exhibit held at Marylhurst University near Portland, Oregon, I was drawn to the workmanship and aesthetics of Jayson Bowerman’s instruments. I did not get a chance to talk with him until the following year. When we finally talked, I found Jayson to be a friendly, easy-going guy who is quick to pick up an instrument for an impromptu jam with anyone who is willing. His relaxed friendliness belies his strong drive and ability to come up with a well-considered plan to achieve his dreams. Jayson’s directed approach has gotten him into the arena of world-class professional kayaking and surfing, made him a very effective and respected community activist in his town of Bend, Oregon, and helped him rise from an intern at Breedlove Guitars to their Head of Research and Development. In 2010, Jayson launched out on his own and started Bowerman Guitars. In spite of running a one-man shop, Jayson still carves out time to ski, bike, stand-up paddleboard, and play fiddle and mandolin with his band, Pitchfork Revolution. I got to talk with him again in his shop about life and lutherie earlier this year. As we talked, Jayson demonstrated his prowess and efficiency by continuing to work at the bench without missing a beat. 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 May 4, 2026May 4, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: John Koster Meet the Maker: John Koster by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in American Lutherie #34 1994 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Four, 2006 Dateline Vermillion, South Dakota. It happened at the GAL’s 13th national convention. Quick as an adder, the long, thin arm of American Lutherie editor Tim Olsen snaked into the crowd and tore me kicking and screaming from the group of luthiers. “Go interview” was the command, and “Who would you like to do?” the question. Without hesitation I named John Koster, the conservator of the Shrine to Music Museum (Editor’s note: now the National Music Museum). I had never met John but I knew that he was also a devoteé of taking tiny splinters of wood and putting them under a microscope in order to precisely determine the identity of a wood. I soon found that wood anatomy is only one of the myriad and assorted areas of knowledge that John calls upon in his work. He was enjoying a day off, but graciously consented to this interview and a tour of his workshop. The time I spent with John one of the high points of my convention experience. John, please tell us a little bit about your early beginnings, your background and education, and the path that led you to the Shrine to Music Museum. I’m a fairly recent arrival here at the Shrine to Music Museum. I came here in September of 1991 so I’ve only been here eight or nine months. Previous to this I was a harpsichord maker for about twenty years, back in Massachusetts. Before that, my background had been more musical than instrument making. I went to St. Thomas Choir school in New York City, the only church-affiliated, boarding choir school in the country, very much on the English model. I was into classical music and played the piano, but really wanted to play the harpsichord. In prep-school years, during the summer, my father and I put together one of the original Zuckerman clavichord kits — a plywood box with some strings on it and a piano keyboard. A couple of years later when I was fifteen we put together a harpsichord, another Zuckerman kit, one of the original nonbent-sided ones. It was a cigar-box-violin kind of thing, but it got me started and I had something to play on. 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.
