Posted on July 1, 2024May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Fleishman and Fabio Lutherie Class Letter: Fleishman and Fabio Lutherie Class by Mike Moger Originally published in American Lutherie #68, 2001 Tim: I was sanding the top of a classical guitar recently with 600-grit paper. When I thought the job was about done, I walked out into the sunlight, held the instrument up to the light, and looked closely. I wasn’t nearly finished, and was glad for having made the trip. It reminded me of Fabio Ragghianti, the luthier who taught me to take that short walk. And of Harry Fleishman, the man who offered me the opportunity to study under him. I encourage anyone interested in becoming a better luthier to take a class. I’d built furniture for many years, and had wanted to build a guitar, but had no idea how even to begin. Books helped , but the class I took this past June in Boulder, Colorado at the Luthier’s School of the Rockies was invaluable. The school was run by Harry, with thirty years of experience in designing and building guitars. Four students worked under Fabio, an Italian luthier who has been building classical instruments for twenty years. Fabio provided the plans and the primary teaching; we used Harry’s tools. Harry looked over our shoulders and constantly added to the exchange of ideas. The rules were easy. You do your best to build a guitar that is structurally strong, with a great sound, and beautiful. Nothing is done without knowing the reason for doing it. One great benefit was to compare Harry’s modern methods and machinery to Fabio’s methods that have been used in Europe for 200 years. Fabio’s quiet patience allowed for mistakes to be made, followed by lessons on how to correct them. Harry’s energy and enthusiasm filled us with different ways to accomplish the same things. And Fabio’s French polishing demonstration alone was worth all that we’d done before it. They are more than creative and quality-driven professionals. They are great teachers, fun to be with, and willing to give us everything we could soak up during the class. So I built my guitar, and will build many more. And each time I walk out into the sun to look closely at what might be a finished job, I’ll remember the class, and thank two good men for what they gave us. PS: Harry has closed the school in Boulder. He’s now the Director of the Luthiers School International. Harry Fleishman 1533 Welter Ct. Sebastopol, CA 95472-2655 707-823-3537 guitars@fleishmaninstruments.com Fabio Ragghianti lives and works in Italy, and can be reached at raguitars@libero.it. ◆
Posted on July 1, 2024May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Romanillos Seminar Letter: Romanillos Seminar by Stephen Frith Originally published in American Lutherie #68, 2001 Dear Tim, I joined the GAL a couple years ago, and this philosophy of openness, sharing, and frank exchange is right on the ball. I saw a free ad in American Lutherie: “Master-classes in Spain, make a guitar with José and Liam Romanillos.” A chance of a lifetime? The Romanillos family hosted a fortnight working holiday, which was busy, friendly, happy, and constructive. Set in the Sigüenze hillsides, we were the comfortable guests of the Hermanos Maristas. In the spirit of openness and sharing, José and Liam helped us consider each piece of wood, as we made our guitars. A quote: “If we know, we tell you.” Based on José‘s first successful instrument in the Spanish tradition of Torres, our work was guided with strategies and beliefs. Secrets don’t exist in good news. On the front bench were all the planning forms and construction templates needed to make a Romanillos and Son guitar, and copying of these was firmly encouraged. The method was straightforward, sensible, and uncomplicated, one that can be easily replicated in my own workshop. I’ve brought home my own Frith/Romanillos. Sounds great! Speaking as an old London College of Furniture boy, I have to say the Sigüenza 2001 course was brilliant. The cost was reasonable, and returning next year for some fine-tuning would be exciting for a full-time luthier like me. I hope it runs and runs, there is always more to learn. It was great to meet members from all over: Texas, California, Canada, England, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Japan. Sigüenza 2002? Go for it! ◆
Posted on June 6, 2024May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Public School Lutherie Class Letter: Public School Lutherie Class by Glen Friesen Originally published in American Lutherie #91, 2007 Dear Tim, I am a high school industrial arts teacher at Waldheim School Industrial Arts. Waldheim is a small community of about a thousand people located about thirty-five miles north of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the heart of the Canadian prairies. I have constructed electric guitars and basses with students for years, but this year one of my 12th grade students, Trevor Boehm, completed our shop’s first steel string guitar. Traditional woods were used: mahogany, Sitka spruce, and ebony. Trevor added a number of personal touches such as using abalone for the peghead inlays, rosette, and pick guard; cocobolo and poplar purfling and binding; and a Tru-Oil finish. This is not a kit guitar. Each of the pieces was cut from larger dimensional stock. What makes this project even more amazing is that it was constructed in a multi-activity shop environment. Oxyacetylene and plasma cutting, arc and MIG welding, several furniture projects, and two electric guitars were all being done in the same small shop while Trevor was constructing his guitar. This is Trevor’s third guitar. His 10th grade project was a 6-string electric, and in 11th grade he designed and constructed a unique electric baritone guitar. Trevor will be graduating in June and hopes to explore a career in lutherie. Both photos by Glen Friesen Trevor’s steel string guitar marks the culmination of several years of planning and jig construction. We were really excited to hear the first notes from it. In my opinion, he did an exceptional job. The steel string is now a project that students can choose to attempt if they desire. All of this would have been a lot more difficult if I had not had access to your publications. I just felt that I needed to thank you. ◆
Posted on July 8, 2022May 12, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Guy Rabut Meet the Maker: Guy Rabut by Tim Olsen Originally published in American Lutherie #32, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 On a recent trip to New York, I had the good fortune to visit Guy Rabut in his uptown Manhattan apartment above a small grocery store. We sat in his tiny shop, which was piled high with cardboard boxes in anticipation of Guy’s imminent move into a freshly renovated space in Carnegie Hall. He made the move in October, and now shares this classy address with two violin dealers, Charles Rudig and Fred Oster, and Michael Yeats, a bow maker. Artifacts of wide-ranging artistic sensitivities surrounded us, including Northwest coastal Indian carvings which Guy made during a summer seminar with renowned artist Bill Reed; his intriguing logo in which the proper curves of a violin appear in a cubist jumble; a glass case holding a few of his beautiful finished fiddles; and a pine mock-up of a banjo he plans to build someday. Guy Rabut is one of the Guild’s most faithful members. The May ’74 issue of the GAL Newsletter listed him as a new member, and he hasn’t missed a day since. He is also a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers. 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 July 1, 2022May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Kevin La Due Meet the Maker: Kevin La Due by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #81, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The fall colors of upstate New York were in full regalia as my sister and I drove towards Binghamton, New York, to meet my niece for lunch. She had just started a new job at nearby Vestal High School, where she’d met a teacher named Kevin La Due, who is teaching high-school kids to make guitars. It sounded like a story asking to be told. Please tell me about your program. I teach two sections of lutherie per year, one each semester, which distills down to about sixty class hours each semester, not really enough time to make a guitar. Most students work extra time before and after school and during their free class periods. Although about fifty students apply, we only have room for fifteen seniors at a time because of facility, prep time, and budget limitations. 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.
