Posted on October 25, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips ’Way Down Upon the Amazon River ’Way Down Upon the Amazon River by John Curtis from his 1986 GAL Convention talk Originally published in American Lutherie #10, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 There are many South American exotics that are perfectly viable species for instrument building. It’s hard to get luthiers to go along with that, however. Everyone wants perfectly-quartered Brazilian rosewood. The reason I mention alternative woods is that the true Dalbergia nigra, the Brazilian rosewood that luthiers love and would sell their cars and dogs for, is getting to be very hard to find. We at Luthiers Mercantile found this out the hard way a few years ago, in much the same way that the Martin Co. did. You have to pay for the wood up front, which puts you at great risk; you just have to trust the person you are buying from. 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 September 22, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Osage Orange: American Gold Osage Orange: American Gold by Ted Davis Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 12 #4, 1984 and Lutherie Woods and Steel String Guitars, 1998 The greatest classical guitars are made from Brazilian rosewood and European spruce, true or false? I am sad to say, the usual answer is “true.” Did you ever wonder why? Does Brazilian rosewood possess some magic component which causes it to respond to musical excitation? Is the same true of European spruce? Or is it perhaps that circumstances during the 18th and 19th centuries caused the old masters to use wood that was available? If Torres had been an American, would the classical guitar have been developed using some American wood for back and sides? If the old masters had had access to some of the rosewoods that today’s luthier does, would we today still be led to feel that Brazilian rosewood possesses some mystic element? Would we still look down our noses at a classical guitar if its back and sides happen to be yellow instead of brown? In my search for native American wood suitable for great classical guitar back and sides, I stumbled upon Osage orange or bodark, as it is sometimes called. This wood grows in my area of East Tennessee, not abundantly, but it is available if I do my own felling, bucking, and milling. It has most of the desirable qualities of Brazilian rosewood and is in fact vastly superior to rosewood in one important quality: Osage orange is almost unaffected by changes in humidity. How many old Brazilian rosewood guitars have you seen that weren’t cracked? Think too of the impact this could have for violin and lute pegs. 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 August 12, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Some Alternative Lutherie Woods Some Alternative Lutherie Woods by Tom Ribbecke from his 1992 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #35, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 My name is Tom Ribbecke and I’m on the staff of Luthiers Mercantile, pretty much the technical guy there. What I’ve brought to this presentation is based on my years of building and repairing guitars along with my four years at Luthiers Mercantile. I’m not a botanist or scientist, no more than any of you are... except for the botanists and scientists who are here. (laughter) I know there are many here as I caught Nick Von Robison’s workshop earlier today. So when I was asked to do this presentation, I thought, what could I do to focus on the alternative woods situation which is pretty much on all our minds these days? I’ve brought woods which have come up in my discussions with customers, things that we sell, and just about anything I could get ahold of on short notice. When I look at materials, and people present them to me, I see things in blocks and 1" thick material and it’s hard to make judgments on what will sound good. Most guitar makers, like myself, like to hold, fondle, mutilate, and bang on the material in dimensions that are appropriate for the guitar. So this is what I’ve brought — woods of many species that could be used or considered for guitar building in appropriate sizes and thicknesses. I’ve brought some things that are commonly available, some not so available, and some which might be considered exotics. Many of these I’ve lacquered — usually with a lacquer gun in one hand and a phone in the other. The lacquer will give you an idea of the color of these materials. 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 August 11, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Ocelot Ear and Spruceana Ocelot Ear and Spruceana by Don Musser Originally published in American Lutherie #2, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 With regard to the problem of Dalbergia nigra and related Brazilian rosewoods: True Dalbergia nigra is scarce because most of what little remains is being processed into veneer. I’ve worked with a very active importer of Brazilian exotics for several years and have seen crates containing thousands of feet of beautiful nigra, but it was all veneer. Occasionally he will run into a farmer with some miscellaneous trees or old logs of true nigra but that is rare. With the purchase of veneer he also has the option of buying backing boards and nigra lumber otherwise unsuitable (usually too hard) for slicing. I’m able to select guitar-quality boards from his shipments and resaw sets but there is never enough to meet the demand. As far as other Dalbergias from Brazil being substituted for nigra I’ve seen two that are very close, and to the unfamiliar, almost undistinguishable. 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 August 11, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Alternative Lutherie Woods List Alternative Lutherie Woods List by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in American Lutherie #35, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Western larch. Larix occidentalis. Western tamarack, hackmatack. Western U.S. and Canada. 37 lbs/ft³; S.G. 0.59. Heartwood pale red-brown with clearly marked growth rings. Straight grained with fine, uniform texture. Low stiffness, low shock resistance, and only medium bending strength. Very poor steam-bending classification. Dries fairly rapidly with tendency to distort. Kiln dries well but produces softer wood. Small movement in service. Very easily worked but knotty material is a problem. Difficult to harvest, moderate price, limited supply. Finishes well. 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.
