Posted on January 5, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: French Polishing for Guitarmakers 2.0 by Dr. Ronald Louis Fernández Review: French Polishing for Guitarmakers 2.0 by Dr. Ronald Louis Fernández Reviewed by Tom Harper Originally published in American Lutherie #97, 2009 French Polishing for Guitarmakers 2.0 Dr. Ronald Louis Fernández DVD 2005 53 minutes NTSC $49.95 Ron Fernández is a smart guy with an interesting set of life experiences, a number of which provide ample background to present the material found in this tutorial. His academic studies have provided significant experiences with research, teaching, and contact with Spanish and Portuguese cultures. The thesis for his doctorate in cultural anthropology examined the interaction of Spanish and Portuguese immigrants living in the Quebec area of Canada. While doing his research, he was also a sought-out guitar player for various events within these communities. Contact with the guitar world began earlier than his doctoral research, however. His father, who was Spanish, had an import/export business that sold goods in Spain. One of the tricks for this business was getting money made in Spain out of it. The Franco regime allowed foreigners to spend money but not take Spanish money out. Fernández senior solved this by buying Spanish goods with the profits and importing them into the United States. These goods included guitars which gave Ron, who traveled with his father, direct contact with some great builders such as Manuel Rodríguez and the builders at the José Ramírez firm. His father’s business was even supplying western red cedar to Ramírez for a period of time. Several of these business relationships turned into friendships, which allowed Ron to see firsthand the building and finishing of fine instruments. The techniques he demonstrates on the DVD are a record of Ron’s observations and discussions with the builders he has visited in addition to his personal experiences with French polishing. 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 5, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: More on Somogyi’s Responsive Guitar Review: More on Somogyi’s Responsive Guitar Reviewed by Michael Sandén Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 I first meet Ervin in 1984. I was in my second year as a wannabe guitar builder, and already I had read about him in Frets magazine. Over the years we have met a few times when I have passed through San Francisco and of course at Guild conventions. I have listened to his workshops and I have read his articles in American Lutherie magazine. When I saw these two thick books of about 300 pages each, I got the feeling that Ervin had left nothing out. Finally someone has taken the time and effort to write all of this down. He goes through the many aspects of the guitar and just tells you his experience (which spans over four decades) of how everything works. Ervin makes a full chapter of some topics that are barely mentioned in many guitar building books. Take for instance the chapter, “The Functions of the Guitar Back.” I have been building guitars for almost thirty years. To now be able to read about these things that have been in my head for so long gives me great satisfaction. 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 5, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: The Mandolin Project by Graham McDonald Review: The Mandolin Project by Graham McDonald Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #97, 2009 The Mandolin Project Graham McDonald ISBN (paperback): 9780980476200 Graham McDonald Stringed Inst., 2008, $37.50 It’s funny how the cover of a book can prepare you for what’s inside. The cover of The Mandolin Project is about the same color as a brown paper bag, with type in a darker brown — in other words, nicely plain. It looks like a work book, which put me in a pretty good mood for what was inside. This is serious stuff, the making of instruments. Save the glitz for the useless coffee table books. “Roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work,” the cover says. I like that. But first, (snore) a little history. Most instrument building books feel compelled to explain the origins of the instrument before the woodwork begins, as if we didn’t know. Much of the time it just seems to pad out the book to help justify a higher price. But McDonald is a cerebral kind of guy with serious intent and he wouldn’t jerk us around like that. The first thirty pages of his manual trace the life of the mandolin using some very nice color graphics and text that you may or may not find interesting, depending on how eager you are to finish your mandolin and finally learn to play “The Rights of Man.” Suffice it to say that if you wish to place yourself amid the human calender as a mandolin builder, the first chapter is for you. If not, well, the photos are so good that I’ll be surprised if you don’t at least find yourself skimming the text for the names that match the pictures. And you know what? There was a lot of information I didn’t already know. 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 5, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: Building the Selmer-Maccaferri Guitar by Michael Collins Review: Building the Selmer-Maccaferri Guitar by Michael Collins Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #96, 2008 Building the Selmer-Maccaferri Guitar Michael Collins Acoustic Guitar Resources DVD, 14 hours Available from Stewart-MacDonald, $159.98 The Selmer-Maccaferri guitar, whether D-hole or oval hole, is unlike any other commonly encountered. As far as I know, this DVD set and the accompanying book (available separately) are the only thorough guides to the construction details and how to put one together, though the DVDs only cover the oval hole model. Although Michael Collins makes references to the book and plans to help clarify specific details, I haven’t seen them, so we’ll have to examine the DVDs on their own. The most obvious and remarkable aspect of the DVDs is their ten volume, fourteen-hour run time. Editor Tim Olsen’s e-mail to his crew hoping to find a reviewer asked, “Is anyone not in prison going to have time to watch these?” Well, there I was with my cybernetic arm waving in the air. I guess I’m just a glutton for this stuff. I must confess, though, that while I try to watch video media at least twice before reviewing, once through had to suffice for this set. 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 5, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: La Chitarra di Liuteria — Masterpieces of Guitar Making by Stefano Grondona and Luca Waldner Review: La Chitarra di Liuteria — Masterpieces of Guitar Making by Stefano Grondona and Luca Waldner Reviewed by Tom Harper Previously published in American Lutherie #93, 2008 La Chitarra di Liuteria — Masterpieces of Guitar Making Stefano Grondona and Luca Waldner ISBN 8886949189 l’officina del libro, 2001 Hardback, 213 pages plus audio CD Italian text with English translation Stefano Grondona, world class performer and teacher at the Conservatory of Vicenza, and Luca Waldner, an Italian performer turned luthier, have created a beautiful text chronicling the significant achievements of guitar building from the late 18th century to the mid-20th century. The text was inspired by a well-received series of exhibitions at the Conservatory of Vicenza displaying the instruments found in the text. Rather than attempt another survey of guitar history, the authors state in the preface that they wanted to start with the intrinsic value of each instrument and “convey first and foremost what might be described as an emotional understanding of them, historical points of reference being of only secondary importance.” Their approach has created a text by which to judge others. Everything about this book is first-rate. It is well constructed, delightful to browse, and interesting to read. The content is more than a history of the instruments. It portrays a cultural context for each instrument, and when useful, states the authors’ well thought-out hypotheses about some of the mysteries of guitar history. They are good about letting the reader know when an opinion is being stated. 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.
