Posted on January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Shoptalk 6 Review: Shoptalk 6 Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #73, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Shoptalk 6 Stewart-MacDonald Video, 90 minutes, 2002 www.stewmac.com I look forward to each new edition of the Shoptalk videos. They show off the new Stew-Mac tools in the best soft-sell manner by simply demonstrating how they work in a real guitar shop; and on top of that there is always plenty of good randomly gathered information that has nothing to do with selling stuff. The camera work has become excellent, Stew-Mac has developed a fine team of on-camera luthiers, and the cost of the videos is always too low to pass up. You couldn’t beat that combination with a stick. Dan Erlewine leads off with an exhibition of nifty new tools. The BridgeSaver is a set of small hand tools used to repair worn bridge plates and to restore the bridge-pin area of guitar tops. Removing a shot bridge plate has become a last-ditch effort that is frowned upon by vintage folks who wish to maintain instrument originality as much as possible, and by luthiers because it is time consuming and sometimes dangerous to the guitar top. The BridgeSaver removes wood around wallowed-out or misplaced bridge-plate material and/or top material and cuts a mating disk of new wood (not included) to precisely mate with the newly formed hole. The exact procedure is better seen than described. The catalog pictures are good enough to give you the idea, but the video ought to light you up if you’ve done any old-style bridge-plate work in the past. 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 January 16, 2010June 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips In Memoriam: Jim Mouradian In Memoriam: Jim Mouradian April 2, 1950 – January 24, 2017 by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #130, 2017 Boston area luthier and repairman Jim Mouradian died on January 14, 2017, at the age of sixty-six. With his son Jon, Jim ran the largest guitar repair shop in the New England area. He was also an electric bass player and played for a long time in the R&B band, Ronnie Earle and the Broadcasters. Jim was a masterful repairman who brought the same level of precision and care whether working on the instruments of famous professionals or beginning guitarists. He was probably the most happy and content guy I have ever met. He expressed gratitude daily that he got to do work that he loved for a living, and that he got to work beside his son. His list of clients and list of dear friends were one and the same. He was generous to a fault, particularly with his time. I met him before I had any connection with lutherie. I had brought him a cheap electric bass in need of a part. We talked for a long time — about the bass, people we knew in common, and about hot rods (Jim was an avid fan of muscle cars from the 1960s). Then he rummaged around in a parts box, pulled out the part needed to fix my bass, handed it to me, made sure I understood that he was confident that I could do the repair myself, and sent me on my way, no charge. His death brought forward dozens of similar stories of his generosity. His rates were more than reasonable and he regularly lowered them substantially for folks with limited ability to pay. Photo courtesy of Jon Mouradian In addition to repair work, Jim built a couple of different lines of solidbody electric basses. He got into lutherie in what he has described as “backwards.” His very first lutherie project was a custom electric bass for Chris Squire of the band Yes. This instrument is played in the band’s Owner of a Lonely Heart video. I personally owe Jim a great debt of gratitude for having gotten me started in lutherie. From his initial suggestion that I build an instrument, through his continued advice and guidance and encouragement, he gave me a focus and a purpose at a time of great need in my life. I miss him terribly.
Posted on January 14, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound by Chuck Traeger Review: The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound by Chuck Traeger Reviewed by James Condino Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound Chuck Traeger with David Brownell and William Merchant Henry Strobel ISBN 1-892210-06-1 www.henrystrobel.com Every once in a while a book comes along in a particular field that sets a new standard for future titles to strive for. Chuck Traeger’s The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound is one of those gems. As a regular gigging double-bass player and luthier, I have been waiting for this text since I first picked up the instrument. Failed neck joints, broken scrolls, huge moisture cracks, and the general wear and tear of dragging around a very fragile refrigerator-sized item are part of daily life for the bass player and repairman. Chuck Traeger, who is referred to as “the Mercedes-Benz of (bass) repairmen” by his longtime friend and customer Ron Carter, didn’t come upon this overnight. He made his first professional jazz recordings in 1945 and played the double bass for over twenty years prior to becoming a repairman who specializes in the bass. His customer base and writing cover both the jazz and classical sides of the instrument. Chuck is a trained civil engineer from Columbia University. As such, his approach is that “there is a reason for everything. I want people to think in a different way about... the instrument, its repair, and setup.” To him it is a specialized art. 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 January 12, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Dan Erlewine Lutherie Videos Review: Dan Erlewine Lutherie Videos Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #72, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Dan Erlewine’s Lutherie Videos and DVDs Dan Erlewine’s Guitar Shop, 2001 Dan Erlewine’s Guitar Shop has introduced a new series of lutherie videos that will likely set the standard for such work for some time to come. The most basic volume will help the tyro evaluate a guitar before and after purchase, explain how repairs are dealt with, and give the guitarist a sense of whether he truly wants to enter lutherie or not. It’s easy to conjure up a desire to fix or improve instruments, but it’s much harder to do the actual work. It seems contradictory, but some very fine guitarists are too fumble fingered to cleanly complete even the most basic repair or setup work. The sooner they learn that commercial lutherie is not for them, the better off they’ll be. Which doesn’t mean they won’t enjoy the rest of the series. Any guitar freak might like to watch fine luthiers in action. But any decisions that are potentially life altering ought to be informed and then honestly considered. Once the jump into lutherie has been made — for better or for worse — acquiring the best instruction only makes sense. I’m so book oriented that it’s a hard confession to make, but as a visual learner I believe that video has made books obsolete for many applications. 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 January 11, 2010May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Shoptalk 5 by Todd Sams, Don MacRostie, Dan Erlewine Review: Shoptalk 5 by Todd Sams, Don MacRostie, Dan Erlewine Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #59, 1999 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 Video: Shoptalk 5 Todd Sams, Don MacRostie, Dan Erlewine Stewart-MacDonald At the ’99 Merlefest in North Carolina I had the good fortune to find myself manning a booth next to Stew-Mac. It was a pleasure to meet Todd Sams and get to know Jay Hostetler better. It was also astonishing to hear so many self-proclaimed luthiers confess that they had never heard of Stewart-MacDonald. Where do these luthiers buy their tools? My guess is that they aren’t buying them at all, that what they can’t find at Ace Hardware or cobble together in the shop they are doing without; that they don’t even know about the tools that could make their work better and their lives easier. 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.
