Posted on June 27, 2019May 26, 2025 by Dale Phillips Top 40 Wood List Top 40 Wood List by Nicholas Von Robison previously published in Lutherie Woods and Steel String Guitars, 1994 See also, “Taxonomy and Nomenclature” by Nicholas Von Robison “Glossary of Basic Wood Terms” by Nicholas Von Robison The contemporary luthier can be said to be either in a bind or in a unique evolutionary position, depending on one’s point of view. In the following list of lutherie woods, many will be noted as banned, extinct, prohibited, embargoed, unavailable, and/or expensive. In many cases I have listed viable alternative woods to replace the traditional species based on my own knowledge, education, experience, and on the advice, suggestions, and experience of respected, reputable wood specialists, dealers, and luthiers. While many species can be freely exchanged or adopted in place of the traditional woods of beauty and adornment, those that fall into the category of replacements for traditional resonant woods must be tried without any assurance or guarantee that musicians will accept these alternative woods. The acceptability of a wood species for the production of stringed musical instruments is largely dictated by the traditional practices and materials handed down through centuries. Many of the favored wood species are those that were available in commerce not only to the luthier but to the European furniture craftsmen as well. It can be very difficult for the luthier to obtain acceptance of new materials by the end user, the musician. The musician expects to hear a certain sound from an instrument, and any variation from that sound, as well as any variation in physical appearance, is suspect. In view of this, the chances of obtaining musical acceptance for instruments built with nontraditional woods has been slim in the past. 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 6, 2010May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Selected Articles from VSA Journal Review: Selected Articles from VSA Journal Reviewed by Ernest Nussbaum Originally published in American Lutherie #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Review: Selected Articles from VSA Journal Violin Society of America 48 Academy St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 Vol. VII No. 3. (All the articles in this issue were originally presented as papers at the VSA’s Tenth Annual Convention in November 1982, and include discussion based on questions from the audience.) Peggy Shipman: “Retouching: Methods and Materials.” Ms. Shipman’s paper mentions the use of water color; choosing the right wood for repairs and possible heat treatment for same, types of stains, color theory, the use of oil vs. alcohol varnish, pigments and coloring materials, and brush types. Herbert A. Wilson: “Space Age Technology for the Violin World.” Mr. Wilson manufactures an abrasive called “Micro-Mesh” which can be used for producing an ultra-fine finish on many surfaces including those of musical instruments. (The material is also sold on a foam backing under the name “Polysand.”) The paper deals with where, when, and how to use this material, how it acts on a surface, and how its action differs from that of other abrasives/polishing agents. 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 6, 2010May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: The Luthier’s Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers Review: The Luthier’s Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers Reviewed by Frederick Battershell Originally published in American Lutherie #4, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 The Luthier’s Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers The Luthier’s Mercantile P.O. Box 774, 412 Moore Lane Healdsburg, CA 95448 $19.50 + $3.50 (1999) If confession is good for one’s soul, then I must come forward and confess: I am an unabashed bibliophile! Yup! My library/bedroom is piled from floor to ceiling with books, catalogs, brochures, broadsides... anything at all connected (even remotely) with instrument making, music theory, cooking, philosophy, woodworking, boat building, toolmaking, and on and on. These are read and reread; each time they yield small portions of knowledge, personal insight, and genuine enjoyment. While I’m on the subject of genuine enjoyment, let me tell you about The Luthier’s Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers. Here is either a book that wants to be a catalog, or a catalog that wants to be a book. The staff at TLM deserve a loud bravo! for their combined efforts at getting this catalog together in a thoroughly enjoyable and readable format. 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 6, 2010May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: The Luthiers Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers Review: The Luthiers Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers Reviewed by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #29, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 The Luthiers Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers Luthiers Mercantile, 1990. 216 pp. At our 1990 GAL Convention in Tacoma, the word was floating around that the much anticipated new Luthiers Mercantile Catalog would soon be out. A prototype version lay on the exhibit table along with some great wood bargains. I remember I was particularly interested in the cutaway modification for the Universal Wood-Bending Machine, having recently built mine from the kit and thinking how great it would be to be able to do cutaways with the ease of just “normal” bending. So I peeked at Mark Campellone’s description and drawings for modifying the machine to do cutaways. This expanded information on the Universal Wood-Bending Machine (along with several other tips/improvements for the machine) is typical of how the “new” catalog is different from the old one. It’s better. Most of the old photographs are still there and many new ones have been added. The old catalog is simply used as a core for updating and expanding based at least partly on feedback from the people who buy and use LM tools and woods. (It has the feel of a GAL publication in that regard.) 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, 2010May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Guitar Voicing Class with Ervin Somogyi Review: Guitar Voicing Class with Ervin Somogyi Reviewed by Joe Herrick Originally published in American Lutherie #95, 2008 I’m a hobby builder making two or three guitars a year. I learned to make guitars six years ago by taking a two-week, one-on-one course with an experienced luthier. I went on to make seven more guitars exactly the way I was taught, just following the numbers for top thickness, brace height, brace profile, and so on. I didn’t want to make changes, only to have the guitars not be as good as I knew they would be if I just followed the “recipe.” They sounded good, but I was missing out on how much better they could be. I learned the mechanics of how to build a guitar from my first teacher. Ervin Somogyi’s class taught me the why and encouraged me to grow. Ervin gives you a starting point, and then the knowledge and the challenge to move beyond that starting point with your soundboards. Ervin is a fun, patient, and exceptional teacher, passionate about guitars and life. He enjoys being challenged and everything is fair game for further discussion. He does not come across as a know-it-all with canned responses for each question. He would often ask what we thought and then built on that with his own knowledge and experience. And he was not above saying, “I don’t know.” The class has a 4" binder of handouts. Ervin follows a syllabus that builds methodically from the ground up, but we tweaked the syllabus as we went along to delve into areas that we, as a class, wanted to pursue. 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.
