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Smokies Dulcimer Convention

Smokies Dulcimer Convention

by Vicki Runnion

Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, 5, #3, 1977



My good friends at the Folk Life Center of the Smokies, in Cosby, Tennessee, got together with some folks (now new friends from the Guild of American Luthiers and the publishers of Dulcimer Players News, and co-sponsored what I hope was the first of many annual dulcimer conventions there.

The beautiful wooded Folk Life Center land n Cosby was the site for a weekend (June 10-12) full of music and other delights. Players, builders and lovers of both the plucked mountain dulcimer and the hammered dulcimer came from near and far (Florida, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, etc.) to celebrate the dulcimer. Performer Bonnie Carol won the understanding laughter of the audience late Saturday evening, with a song (composed by friends of hers) that poked gentle fun at people who still manage to hold on to the view of the dulcimer as merely an uncomplicated traditional instrument capable of only the simplest style of playing. Had any of these people been with us this weekend, I’m sure they myth would have been exploded.

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The Luthier’s Library

The Luthier’s Library

by Fred Battershell

Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 3, #5 & #6, 1975



The Successful Craftsman — Making Your Craft Your Business
by Alex Bealer
Published by Barre Publishing
Distributed by Crown Publishers, New York 288 pp. $9.95

Here is a book that promises a great deal and delivers nothing of lasting value; and in so doing, manages to betray it’s author’s profession: advertising. Yes, fellow luthiers, here is ad executive Alex Bealer telling you how to gain fame and fortune from your chosen craft.

The blurb on the inside jacket cover of this book modestly advises the reader that this book... “answers some very tough questions facing the artist/merchant.” Questions such as how to find suppliers, how to market your product, how to price your wares, and where to work are alleged to be answered completely in this book. They are not.

Like so much of the products produced by the advertising industry, this book is actually a systematic collection of half-truths and some very half-answers.

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Product Reviews: Ameritage Cases

Product Reviews: Ameritage Cases

by R.M. Mottola

Originally published in American Lutherie #68, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013



Ameritage Cases

My friend and mentor Jim Mouradian of Mouradian Guitars is a clever guy. He builds a thoroughly modern electric bass called the Reality. It has a trim upper horn and swoopy waist cut that you would never confuse for a ’50s-styled Fender Jazz bass. But if you were to take just the outline of the Fender and lay it over the outline of Jim’s bass, you’d notice an interesting thing. The outline of the Reality is identical to that of the Jazz in a few places, and in the places where it is different, it is always smaller. Thus Jim’s instrument fits perfectly snug inside an off-the-shelf aftermarket Jazz bass case. This detail gives Jim a lot of options when it comes to cases. Like I said, he’s a clever guy.

Those of us who build instruments for which “standard” cases are not available have to have cases custom made. Some builders need custom cases simply because they don’t want their instruments seen in anything less. There are a number of custom case makers. I’d like to share my experiences with one of them. Ameritage Carrying Cases is the musical instrument division of GWW Inc., a manufacturer that makes cases for just about anything. I found them via their website and asked for quotes for four cases for acoustic-electric basses I was building. I knew that custom cases would be needed for these, and I knew they would fit into standard Jazz bass cases but would rattle around inside. This last bit of information turns out to be kind of important. You can look at an instrument case as having two major components — the outer hard shell, and the padding between the shell and the instrument. If a manufacturer has to custom build the shell, then you are looking at one expensive case. But if they can use one of their existing shells, then the only thing that is unique for your case is the padding, and that makes for a more reasonable price. My instruments would fit into the standard rectangular electric-bass case shell.

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A Survey of Guitar Making Books

A Survey of Guitar Making Books

by Graham McDonald

Originally published in American Lutherie #98, 2009



Over the years, I have accumulated quite a few books on building guitars and other stringed instruments, as I’m sure many other instrument builders have. While many of the newer publications get reviewed in American Lutherie and other specialist magazines soon after release, others fly pretty much under the radar and never get much attention or noticed at all.

This is a comparative look at most of the books that have been published (at least in English) as instructional manuals over the past fifty years or so. Most have remained in publication over the years and even the ones that are out of print are usually pretty easy to find, especially through such online retailers like AbeBooks (abebooks.com) or Amazon.

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Product Reviews: Knilling Perfection Planetary Pegs

Product Reviews: Knilling Perfection Planetary Pegs

Reviewed by Randy DeBey

Originally published in American Lutherie #100, 2009



By now, just about everyone who works with stringed instruments has at least heard of Pegheds or Knilling Perfection Planetary Pegs. These are geared tuning pegs that look very much like ordinary ebony friction pegs, but work more like fine tuners. They contain a set of planetary gears, which reduce the rotation by a rate of 4:1 for violin family instruments and flamenco guitars, and 16:1 for steel string guitars.

Those who haven’t yet taken the plunge and installed a set are probably waiting to have various concerns answered. I’ll try to explain how they are constructed, so you can imagine for yourself how well they might work, and also relate some of my own experience with them. I’ve installed over 100 of the pegs, mostly in violins, but also in cellos, ouds, a banjo, and a guitar.

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