American Lutherie #96 Winter 2008 This issue’s front cover shows Manuel Velázquez at work on a new instrument. Photo by Alfredo Velázquez This issue is out-of-print. A Life in Lutherie: A Discussion with Manuel Velázquez and His Son Alfredo with Jeffrey Elliott and Robert Ruck Manuel Velázquez was an accomplished luthier in America before the Beatles were born. And he had already been building guitars in his native Puerto Rico for over ten years. He is still an active builder, now well into his nineties. Bob Ruck and Jeff Elliott, each a mature master builder in his own right, collaborated with Manuel’s son Alfredo to celebrate Manuel’s career at our 2006 Convention. This article appears in our anthology book Classical Guitars. This issue’s front cover shows Manuel Velázquez at work on a new instrument. Photo by Alfredo Velázquez This issue is out-of-print. Our back cover shows Manuel tap-tuning a soundboard in the Florida shop that he shares with his son Alfredo. Photo by Alfredo Velázquez Meet the Maker: Kathy Wingert by Cyndy Burton Although Kathy Wingert was a guitarist, she didn’t approach guitar making until her kids were grown. Her systematic and committed approach has spelled artistic and business success. This article appears in our anthology book Flattop Guitars. The Jimmi Inlay Experience Cyndy Burton interviews Jimmi Wingert Jimmi Wingert’s inlay work graces the instruments of several builders, including her mom Kathy Wingert. Curtate Cycloid Arching by Dave Cohen Ever think it might be a good idea to design the arching of a violin with a Spirograph? Mathematicians think Golden Era Cremonese luthiers might have done something like that by drawing curtate cycloid curves. This article goes deep to give you the geometric lowdown. The Colombian Andean Bandola by Luis Alberto Paredes Rodríguez and Manuel Bernal Martínez The bandola is a 6-course, short-scale traditional instrument of the Andes. Sr. Paredes has accelerated its evolution by giving it a structural harp a la Smallman and developing alto and bass versions to form a family of bandola instruments. Co-Author Bernal plays the bandola bajo in the quartet Perendengue, which was a big hit at the recent GAL Convention. This is a reduced version of GAL Instrument Plan #59. GAL Instrument Plan #59: Colombian Andean Bandola Drawn by Luis Alberto Paredes Rodríguez Reduced plan image appears in article. For more information on the full-scale instrument plan, see GAL Instrument Plan #59. Meet the Maker: Ted Davis by James Condino Ted was an early contributor to GAL publications, instrument plans, and conventions, and even served on the Guild’s Board of Directors in the 1980s. In this interview we discover that his real interest is not lutherie, but vintage car restoration. Who knew? Just before this issue went to press, we learned that Ted had passed away. A Homemade Magnetic Thickness Gauge by Alain Bieber Here’s a fun project: make an accurate thickness gauge out of a couple magnets, some scrap plywood, and an elastic thread. Uke Making for Guitar Makers by Bob Gleason Bob Gleason started out as a guitar maker, but has been just making ukes for years. He gives a few pointers for making the “fleas” with respect and authenticity. Blind Listening Evaluation of Classical Guitar Soundports by R.M. Mottola Imagine you are playing a classic guitar, blindfolded. It has a soundport. Do you think you could tell the difference between having the soundport open or closed? Do you think you could even tell that there was a difference? Reliable methods of collecting such data are well developed. The results of one recent trial may surprise you. This article appears in our anthology book Classical Guitars. Peg Shapers That You Can Adjust by David Golber Typical peg shapers go out of adjustment when you cinch them down. Oh, I hate when it does that! Here’s one that doesn’t. Inlaid Splices by John Thayer Here’s a cool way of inlaying a splice of cross-grain wood to reinforce a soundboard crack, which does not add mass and does not provide a starting place for a new crack. Darn clever, these luthiers. Google Calculator and the Guitar’s Magic Number by William Leirer Google is taking over the world. Now you can throw out your $5 calculator and use the Google command line. A few simple equations reveal all kinds of useful relationships relating to pitch, fret placement, and intonation. This should make it worthwhile to get one of those fancy new phones with the internet on them. Questions edited by R.M. Mottola What other woods are good for fingerboards? Who made the planes used by D’Angelico and D’Aquisto? How do you fit and extended 7th string to a classical guitar? Web Extras View photo gallery for this issue of American Lutherie. American Lutherie #135 – Winter 2018 American Lutherie #134 – Summer 2018 American Lutherie #133 – Spring 2018 American Lutherie #132 – Winter 2017 American Lutherie #131 – Fall 2017 American Lutherie #130 – Summer 2017 American Lutherie #129 – Spring 2017 American Lutherie #128 – Winter 2016 American Lutherie #127 – Fall 2016 American Lutherie #126 – Summer 2016 Journal
