Posted on May 6, 2026May 6, 2026 by Dale Phillips Seven-String Surgery Seven-String Surgery by Robbie O’Brien with Antonio Tessarin Originally published in American Lutherie #127, 2016 The 7-string guitar is a very popular instrument in Brazil. It is used as an accompaniment instrument for a style of music known as chorinho. However, many classical players also find themselves migrating to the 7-string instruments. So, what do you do if you currently have a 6-string instrument but desire the broader range of possibilities that a 7-string instrument can offer? You take your guitar to Brazilian luthier Antonio Tessarin and let him work his magic. Antonio taught me guitar building years ago when I lived in Brazil and we often exchange pictures and information about projects that are on our benches. The following pictures were recently sent to me by Antonio. They show the process of him converting one of his 6-string guitars into a 7-string guitar. With his permission I am sharing them with the Guild of American Luthiers so that others may benefit. Warning: Contains graphic images that may not be for the faint of heart! 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 May 5, 2026May 5, 2026 by Dale Phillips Carl Samuels: Lutherie Before the Information Age Carl Samuels: Lutherie Before the Information Age or The Pilot, the Brain Surgeon, and the Pole-Vaulting Banker by Tom Harper Originally published in American Lutherie #116, 2013 Since the inception of the Roberto-Venn School, thousands of students have gotten their start in the lutherie world by following its well-thought-out curriculum under the guidance of experienced instructors. But what was John Roberts’ introduction like? More generally, how did the small club of DIY guitar builders get their start back in the days before there were instruction books, classes, or the Internet? GAL member Carl Samuels was one of those rare folks, and he related an interesting story that fills in some of the answers. His experience involved a broken $5 classical guitar from Nogales, Mexico, a job hunt, and the three freight-train boxcar loads of wood that John Roberts hauled back from Nicaragua. Samuels started playing violin at the age of five and was playing with the pit orchestra for Handels’ Messiah by the age of eight, a job he kept for the next seventeen years. He started college with a violin scholarship playing in the college symphony while studying biological psychology. His master’s degree research studied the behavioral effects of psychedelic drugs on animals and an attempt to isolate that portion of the drug molecule responsible for the behavioral effects. He later got a PhD studying the effects of selected drugs on the nervous system. 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 April 30, 2026April 30, 2026 by Dale Phillips Product Reviews: Garrett Wade Versatile Vise Product Reviews: Garrett Wade Versatile Vise by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #119, 2014 Garrett Wade Versatile Vise #05R10.10, $84.70 garrettwade.com The item reviewed in the following paragraphs was provided to American Lutherie for review. A draft of this review was sent to the supplier prior to publication so that any factual errors in the review could be corrected. A long time ago, before I started doing any serious woodworking, I had the pleasure of visiting the shop of a local woodcarver. In addition to a bewildering collection of gouges and mallets, he had a cool work-holding vise which could be positioned to hold the work in just about any position. I had forgotten most of the details of that visit soon after, but when it came time to begin equipping my own lutherie shop, I remembered that vise and considered it would be just the thing as the primary work-holding device. With only a description of what it could do, I rooted around for information and finally found that it was called a Versa Vise and was American made. That was the good news. 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 April 30, 2026April 30, 2026 by Dale Phillips Making Bridge Plates: A Huss & Dalton Shop Story Making Bridge Plates: A Huss & Dalton Shop Story by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #75, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Consider the humble bridge plate. There’s no consensus on its shape, size, the material it should be made from, or even its real function. Certainly it supports the ball ends of the strings and protects the top wood from damage. But is it a brace that helps prevent top deformation? Does it help shape or alter the voice of the guitar? Does it really give bridge support? You tell me; I really don’t want to get in on the argument. Vintage Martin people have definite ideas about what size and shape the bridge plate should be, and it better be made of maple. Most guitarists probably don’t give a thought to the bridge plate, which places it firmly in the lap of the luthier. 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 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.
