Posted on July 30, 2026July 30, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: Acquired of the Angels: The Lives and Works of Master Guitar Makers John D’Angelico and James L. D’Aquisto by Paul Schmidt, third edition Review: Acquired of the Angels: The Lives and Works of Master Guitar Makers John D'Angelico and James L. D'Aquisto by Paul Schmidt, third edition by Mike Doolin Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 Acquired of the Angels: The Lives and Works of Master Guitar Makers John D’Angelico and James L. D’Aquisto, Third Edition Paul Schmidt ISBN 978-0692165515 DHR Publishing, 2018 Paul Schmidt’s Acquired of the Angels was a landmark book when it first appeared in 1991. Schmidt’s research yielded an enlightening portrait of two of the most influential luthiers of the 20th century, whose work largely defined the ideal form of the archtop guitar. Since the 1998 second edition was insightfully reviewed by Linda Manzer in 1999, (AL#59, Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five) I’ll mostly focus on the differences in the latest, third edition. The biggest change from second to third edition, and maybe the best reason to purchase the latter, is the physical format. The new edition is nearly double the size, more of a coffee-table-book format, and the photos benefit greatly from the expanded real estate. In particular, Josh McClure’s studio shots dazzle with detail, color, and lighting. Closeups of tailpieces and headstocks show the maker’s meticulous attention to detail. The cover photo on the paper jacket will catch most people’s eye as the low E string of the guitar has shifted out of its notch in the saddle. Be sure to read the Unofficial Official Photography Artist section to read the humorous story behind that error. 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 July 28, 2026July 28, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: Logistimatics Micro 299 Mini GPS Tracker Review: Logistimatics Micro 299 Mini GPS Tracker by John Mello Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 Logistimatics Micro 299 Mini GPS Tracker logistimatics.com/shipping In the midst of the pandemic I shipped one of my guitars Next Day Air to a client in Chicago from my shop in the San Francisco Bay Area, by a carrier that will remain unnamed. Not only did it not get there the next day, but they lost track of it, finally delivering it a stomach-churning week later. Not wanting to feel quite so helpless when I needed to ship a second guitar to the same client via the same outfit, I, with the help of my more tech-savvy son, located and purchased the Logistimatics Micro 299 Mini GPS Tracker. At a mere 2 1/2˝×1˝×5/8˝, it slipped easily into the storage compartment of a guitar case. Setup was quite easy, and once I downloaded the app and turned it on, it reported its location hourly on a phone, tablet, or computer. Mine ran for at least two weeks on a single charge, and it should last up to five weeks if you adjust the report frequency. 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 July 23, 2026July 23, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: Electric Guitar Building with Mike Snider (video download) Review: Electric Guitar Building with Mike Snider (video download) by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 Electric Guitar Building Mike Snider and Robert O’Brien obrienguitars.com Video download, $237. Running time 14:38:25 Any beginner who has decided to start his building career with electric guitars simply because they are easier to make than acoustics has not thought their decision through very carefully. In the most simplified version of the electric guitar, they may be correct, but at the full-blown, detailed, professional level there are just as many considerations to approach as an acoustic instrument. This video set of 161 lessons teaches the construction of a Telecaster-style guitar with a bolt-on neck and a Les Paul-style guitar with a set-in neck and the full Gibson treatment. 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 July 8, 2026July 8, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: Vincente Arias (1833-1914) The Forgotten Luthier Review: Vincente Arias (1833-1914) The Forgotten Luthier by Kevin Aram Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021 Vicente Arias (1833-1914), The Forgotten Luthier Alberto Martinez, Clémentine Jouffroy, Editors (many other contributors) ISBN 979-1090267-56-5 Camino Verde, Paris France, 2021 https://caminoverde.com I first became aware of Vicente Arias in 1978 when I bought a copy of the book Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock by Tom and Mary Anne Evans. In the section entitled “The Modern Classical Guitar,” there is a listing for an Arias guitar from 1874. The entry has a short description of the guitar together with the dimensions, three photographs, and the information that he lived and worked in the town of Ciudad Real which is in the Provence of La Mancha in Spain. Fast forward to 1984 when my wife and I spent a month driving around Central, Southern, and Eastern Spain. As a part of this holiday we decided to follow the journey taken by Don Quixote in the famous book, and so, tourist brochure in hand, we visited and stayed in a number of towns in La Mancha including Ciudad Real. 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 29, 2026June 29, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: Michael Bashkin Fretting Course from ObrienGuitars.com Review: Michael Bashkin Fretting Course from ObrienGuitars.com by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021 Fretting Course with Michael Bashkin Video download ObrienGuitars.com, $134 Twenty-seven lessons, 4:21:49 run time Viewing Michael Bashkin’s video fretting course strongly reminded me that lutherie is a thinking person’s profession. No matter how we learn an operation, and even if we work in the darkest isolation, the work slowly begins to evolve in technique, first in our minds and then on the bench. The goals of lutherie — to produce and maintain the most playable, best sounding instruments — never change, but the ways we get there change all the time. It is difficult to imagine that a luthier might so slavishly follow a teacher that his methods never develop beyond his initial instruction. Michael Bashkin is certainly one of those thinking men, and this course is not a generic description of applying frets to a guitar neck that we’ve all been exposed to those over the years. It is an in-depth method of discovering problems in a guitar neck/fretboard and solving them in such a way that the frets are perfect once they are installed, no final fret dressing required — just polish and play. 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.
