Posted on June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips Beyond the Rule of 18: Intonation For the 21st Century Beyond the Rule of 18: Intonation For the 21st Century by Gary Magliari and Don MacRostie from their 2011 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #116, 2013 Don MacRostie: I wear a couple of hats. I do product development with Stewart-MacDonald and build Red Diamond mandolins. This is Gary Magliari, the creator of the intonation system we are going to discuss today. We started working on this about five years ago after Gary showed it to me at the Newport Guitar Festival. His method really seems like a benefit to me, and I think it’s time to make everybody aware of what he’s done. I believe there are a lot of little things I can do as a builder to make a good or great, or whatever you want to call it, instrument. Things like using glues and woods that have better acoustic properties, tuning those woods, and applying finishes that improve the output create a better instrument. These are little things and if you leave one out, it can still be a good instrument. 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 June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 by Dale Phillips Let’s Catch Up With Graham Caldersmith Let's Catch Up With Graham Caldersmith by Juan Oscar Azaret Originally published in American Lutherie #132, 2017 Hop on a plane in Boston. Fly twenty-seven hours to Sydney, then connect on a prop plane to Port Macquarie on the coast of New South Wales. Rent a car (no, the steering wheel is not on that side, dummy), and drive 60KM southwest. (Stay to the left, the left, the LEFT!) Oops, here comes a traffic circle — drive around clockwise, cars on your right have the right of way, remember to exit left, and stay left. Why is that left wheel always grabbing the shoulder... where the heck is it, anyway? Now out of the city (whew!) and on beautiful Australian farmland — rolling green hills in the mild August winter. Past the logging town of Wauchope and the hamlet of Byabarra. The road narrows to a winding switchback climb up the steep slopes of Bago Bluff, and finally we find ourselves on a high plateau of rich farmland in the town of Comboyne, NSW, population two hundred. Comboyne is the home of luthier Graham Caldersmith and his partner Angela MacPherson (Photo 1). On a recent trip to visit our son in Australia, I took the time to spend a delightful day with Graham and Angela in their enchanting home/workshop/tea house where I learned much about lutherie and acoustics, and enjoyed their wonderful hospitality. 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 June 11, 2026June 16, 2026 by Dale Phillips Experiments in Audio Spectroscopy Experiments in Audio Spectroscopy by John C. Moore Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 R.M. Mottola’s interesting article in American Lutherie #70 (Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six) described the use of audio spectroscopy, with a simple home setup, for the analysis of bass guitars. I had read about a spectrum comparison of a Martin D-28 with a Kaman AA 14-4 in An Introduction to Scientific Guitar Design by Donald Brosnac, and have always been intrigued with the idea of capturing in an objective way the “quality” of the sound of different acoustic guitars. Also, my experience has been that seeing colors of nature is enhanced by having tried to paint them, and tasting beer is enhanced by having brewed some. I felt that analyzing sounds from a guitar would heighten the senses here as well. When I read the Brosnac book, written in 1978, the equipment utilized for the guitar comparison sounded exotic and expensive, and certainly beyond the capability of the casual hobbyist. In Mottola’s article, it was clear that the technology of the PC had brought the potential for such experiments within reach. In fact, I already had hardware that could get me started: a digital camcorder that I could extract wave files from and a Sony Vaio laptop. So I decided to have a go at some audio trials. 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 21, 2026May 21, 2026 by Dale Phillips Make a Dished Workboard, Freehand Make a Dished Workboard, Freehand by Ryan Schultz Originally published in American Lutherie #99, 2009 As a first-time guitar builder, I bought a kit from LMI and eagerly began to build my guitar. Very early in the process, I realized that I needed to obtain two radiused sanding dishes (30´ for the top and 15´ for the back) for various tasks as the Robert O’Brien DVD suggests. These sanding dishes are not cheap. They generally cost $60 to $80 each plus shipping. So I was determined to make the sanding dishes on my own if I could. My research showed that most people make a router jig with the appropriate profile (see AL#74). But I thought I could make a dish quicker and easier, with no jigs, basically routing it free hand. 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 5, 2026May 5, 2026 by Dale Phillips Norwegian Spruce Norwegian Spruce by Leonardo Michelin-Salomon Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 In 2017, the Norwegian Crafts Institute and the Norwegian Luthiers Association came together and held a seminar about spruce — and specifically Norwegian spruce — as tonewood. Different panelists explored the topic from different angles: Violin maker Magnus Nedregaard presented us with a historical perspective on the quality of the spruce seen on old violins, also in light of dendrochronological analysis; a retired biologist and forest researcher talked about wood technology in general and about the growth conditions in Italy’s Val di Fiemme area and how it might translate to Norwegian conditions; Roald Renmælmo, Assistant Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, introduced us to traditional Norwegian practices in selecting and harvesting spruce in small scale and for specific purposes; and we also heard the accounts of Karl Otto Mikkelsen, a biologist and violin maker used to looking for and harvesting Norwegian spruce for his instruments. Later, material samples were gathered so interested members could test them at will. As part of my fellowship research I wanted to make several copies of the same guitar. One of the reasons for this was indeed to test some of these different spruce samples and compare them to commercial grade spruce from the Alps, the kind we are all used to seeing and using. My work merely scratches the surface of the possibilities. 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.
