Posted on April 27, 2026April 27, 2026 by Dale Phillips Elliptical Legacy Elliptical Legacy by James Condino and John Monteleone Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 Recently I had the good fortune to examine and draw the beautiful D’Aqusito mandolin in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. While in the area, I visited several great guitar builders and got a chance to play dozens of fine D’Aquisto and D’Angelico instruments, most of them still in the trenches, gigging hard with the local fellows. John Monteleone did the restoration and finish work on the mandolin for the museum, and I stopped by John’s place for a bit of laughter and to pick a few tunes. The shop is an icon of 20th century guitar building. The walls are lined with photos of famous people and their instruments, along with little glimpses of the history of our craft. The original iconic photograph of a young Jimmy D’Aquisto standing next to an older John D’Angelico outside the Kenmore Street shop hangs on the wall. There are amazing instruments in various stages of construction and repair, and his old upright bass is instantly accessible right next to the main workbench in case a nice old jazz standard comes up on the radio and the moment strikes him. John’s wonderful stories connected the soul and craft of the mandolin and guitar from his shop on Long Island, through the traditions of some of the greatest luthiers of all time, all the way back to the origins in Italy. 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 February 19, 2026February 19, 2026 by Dale Phillips Arched Plate Carving, Part Two: Graduating the Top Plate and Cutting the f-Holes Arched Plate Carving, Part Two: Graduating the Top Plate and Cutting the f-Holes by Chris Burt Originally published in American Lutherie #85, 2006 See also, Measuring Archtop Musical Instruments by Chris Burt Arched Plate Carving, Part One by Chris Burt Arched Plate Carving, Part Three by Chris Burt This is the third article in this series, which takes you from measuring worthy instruments to carving plates in the image of the instruments of your dreams. To date you’ve measured one or more fine instruments and have carved a couple of plates that require final graduation. The thickness maps you’ve recorded when measuring instruments will tell you nothing about tap tones, but they will provide a view into at least one graduation scheme that works and a general goal towards which to work. So, how do you decide when you’ve finished graduating a plate? I can only describe my method. But heck, it’s a method based on both tradition and science. Some prefer tradition, some prefer science, some follow their imagination. I like the first two with a little of the third thrown in for fun. The techniques I describe in this article are based on more than faith. I learned them from teachers more knowledgeable than I. I also learned them through study, insight, and refinement gained through practice. Also, I once deviated from these techniques to build a viola graduated strictly by thickness. The wood I used turned out to be less stiff than any I’d previously used. The resulting plates were not stiff enough. The mode 2 tap tone for the top was down around C and C♯. I didn’t like the viola’s sound and never tried to sell it. I should have kept the plates thicker. I’ve since accepted that each piece of wood is unique and varies from other pieces in both density and stiffness. 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 February 1, 2026March 3, 2026 by Dale Phillips Fluorescent Inspection Lamp Fluorescent Inspection Lamp by Kent Rayman Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #119, 1979 and Lutherie Tools, 1990 Materials: Switch Small fluorescent bulb Ballast 115V for 4, 6, or 8W bulb Starter assembly Coil telephone receiver cord Metal chassis box Rubber grommets (2) All photos by Kent Rayman. This lamp puts out a lot of even, shadow-free light, and it fits through f-holes. A retractable phone cord works well. Solder the leads right to the lamp’s prongs, then tape (crude, but it works). ◆
Posted on October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Classical Cremonese Violin Soundhole Placement Classical Cremonese Violin Soundhole Placement by Michael Darnton Originally published in American Lutherie #76, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2013 Several systems have been proposed to explain the layout of Cremonese violin f-holes. The only surviving pieces of evidence we have, other than the instruments themselves, are some Stradivari drawings. After passing through the possession of Stradivari’s son Paolo, and a series of Italian connoisseurs and makers, the drawings are now in the Stradivari Museum in Cremona. They are also reproduced in S.F. Sacconi’s book, The “Secrets” of Stradivari. Sacconi also provided photos of marks inside violins which corresponded to some of those in the drawings, but the details of how those drawings were generated and what actual workshop method would have been used for placing the holes on violins is unknown. I believe that some aspects of the drawings are absolutely misleading. 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 21, 2025September 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Helmholtz Resonance The Helmholtz Resonance A Brief and Not-Too-Technical Introduction to the History and Theory of the Lowest Sound-Producing Mode, and Some Practical Considerations for Instrument Designers by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #82, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Research in physics and acoustics of stringed instruments shows us the mechanism by which sound is produced by those instruments. The plates of the instruments and the air inside vibrate in various patterns, each pattern producing sound in a range around a certain frequency. Each of these patterns can be considered to be a resonator, each with its own characteristics. Some of these resonators exist as modes of vibration of different areas of the plates of an instrument, and some are modes of vibration of the air inside the instrument. One of the air resonators is composed of the mass of air inside the instrument and the mass of air within and around the soundhole. The natural frequency of this resonator is near the lowest note that an instrument can make. It is generally labeled the A0 resonance, the letter A standing for the word “air” and the numeral 0 indicating that this is the first in a series of air resonances. This resonance is also referred to as the so-called Helmholtz resonance. Understanding how this resonance works in stringed instruments is not difficult, particularly given a historical perspective. Complete understanding involves some math, but a practical understanding can be had without it. Therefore, I am putting off presenting the formulae in the main article and have included them in a sidebar. 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.
