Posted on July 8, 2024May 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Repairing the Sitar Repairing the Sitar by Dave Schneider Originally published in American Lutherie #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 The sitar is a member of the plucked lute family of Indian instruments known generally as vina. The name sitar is from a Persian word meaning “three strings.” The first sitars had three strings which gradually increased to seven. Sympathetic (taraf) strings were added later. The modern sitar has from eleven to thirteen sympathetic strings. An upper resonating gourd, usually attached underneath the nut, is common on most sitars today. The standard number of frets is 19, although Ravi Shankar has added a 20th fret at the top of the sitar for increased virtuosity. Teak is the wood most often used to construct sitars. The bridges for the main strings and taraf strings, which produce the characteristic buzzing sound of the sitar known as jawari, are made from bone and teak. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 7, 2024May 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Low Cost Emergency Lathe It Worked for Me: Low Cost Emergency Lathe by Gerhart Schmeltekopf Originally published in American Lutherie #29, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Most luthiers probably don’t have wood lathes, so I submit this low-cost, emergency lathe setup for the times you might want to make a music stand, washtub bass, or baseball bat for the local luthiers’ picnic. I bought commercial turnings to make a student harpsichord stand. They were “sanded and ready to finish,” so I knew that they would need to be sanded before finishing. They are too long for my lathe, so I rigged this temporary reciprocating or “pole” lathe to spin them and sand them. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 7, 2024May 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Unified Repair Pricing Questions: Unified Repair Pricing Originally published in American Lutherie #25, 1991 John Kitakis from Hendersonville, NC writes: I’ve enjoyed toying with the idea of unified repair pricing throughout North America. To me, it seems unprofessional to have a wide variety of charges for the same repair. I suppose everyone has different needs and wants, and overheads vary, so this “discrepancy” may never be resolved. The repairman down the road (who says he doesn’t need much) will continue to charge $100 for a fret job, and $20 to reglue the bridge. I continue to have plenty of business, so I’ll continue to charge more. Below is a list of a few prices. My complete list is available upon request. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 7, 2024June 12, 2025 by Dale Phillips Violin Q&A, Part One Violin Q&A, Part One by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #9, #10, #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 In the last year I have received many letters concerning the repair articles I have written for American Lutherie. For the most part, the writers have thanked me for my willingness to share with the membership. Along with the comments on past articles, there are always a few questions asking my opinion about what to use or where to buy, and so on. I’d like to share some of those questions, along with my replies. No matter what I use to polish a violin, it never seems to clean it completely. Do you have any suggestions? I have never found a product that cleans as well as polishes, although many manufacturers claim that their product will do both. Taking into consideration the instrument’s age, type of varnish, and how dirty it is, there are a number of cleaning products that you can use. Example: a French violin, ca. 1875, covered with a thin spirit varnish, with enough caked-on rosin so that ridges have formed on either side of the fingerboard. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 30, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Total Flame Out: Retopping a Harp Guitar Total Flame Out: Retopping a Harp Guitar by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #100, 2009 Falling in love causes people to do crazy things. It made me build a harp guitar using a piece of redwood that was so obviously problematic that I should have run from it. But I fell in love with it for its beauty. I should have been faithful to the wonderful straight-grained wood I’d had such success with. But no; I was blinded by its gorgeous curls. Like a C-street politician, I’m paying the price now. Replacing the top on a complicated instrument is no picnic, I can tell you. The harp guitars I’ve made have no actual centerline and no points of symmetry. But once I made the decision to go forward with the retopping, I remembered a cool description of how Taylor Guitars does it. Bob Taylor has the good sense not to trash a guitar just because it doesn’t sound good. He also has the good sense not to sell a guitar that isn’t up to his standards. He also has a CNC machine and interchangeable parts for his guitars. Not I. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
