American Lutherie #120 Winter 2014 On this issue’s cover shows the interior of Catalan luthier Josep Melo’s acoustic flattop guitar, made of lovely figured bird’s-eye maple. The body shape and the bracing reflect the influence of Steve Klein, his friend and one of the luthiers featured in Josep’s book, Following the Masters. Photo by Josep Melo American Lutherie #120 – Winter 2014$5.00 – $7.00 Choose Membership Status Choose an optionMemberNon-memberClear American Lutherie #120 - Winter 2014 quantity Add to cart SKU: N/A Category: American Lutherie Additional information Additional information Choose Membership Status Member, Non-member Related products American Lutherie #130 – Summer 2017 $8.00 – $10.00 Select options American Lutherie #108 – Winter 2011 $5.00 – $7.00 Select options American Lutherie #119 – Fall 2014 $5.00 – $7.00 Select options The Business of Doing Business from his 2014 GAL Convention workshop by Evan Gluck Evan Gluck is doing just great as a one-man guitar repair operation, working out of his apartment in New York City. He has some simple and effective ideas about promotion and customer relations that really hit the spot with his audience at the recent 2014 GAL Convention. On this issue’s cover shows the interior of Catalan luthier Josep Melo’s acoustic flattop guitar, made of lovely figured bird’s-eye maple. The body shape and the bracing reflect the influence of Steve Klein, his friend and one of the luthiers featured in Josep’s book, Following the Masters. Photo by Josep Melo American Lutherie #120 – Winter 2014$5.00 – $7.00 Choose Membership Status Choose an optionMemberNon-memberClear American Lutherie #120 - Winter 2014 quantity Add to cart SKU: N/A Category: American Lutherie Additional information Additional information Choose Membership Status Member, Non-member Related products American Lutherie #132 – Winter 2017 $8.00 – $10.00 Select options American Lutherie #126 – Summer 2016 $8.00 – $10.00 Select options American Lutherie #109 – Spring 2012 $5.00 – $7.00 Select options The back cover montage shows Josep’s new workshop. Josep designed and built his ideal workspace in keeping with principles of Catalan architecture, which always maximizes the use and effect of light. That’s Jeff Elliott in the back pouring over some of the most gorgeous wood he’s ever seen. Photo by Cyndy Burton Meet the Maker: Josep Melo by Mónica Esparza Melo has been making guitars since the ’60s. In the ’90s he began to seek out and collaborate with the makers whose work he found the most inspiring. He published a gorgeous coffee-table book about it called Following the Masters. His deepest collaboration has been with fellow Spaniard José Romanillos. Ironically, they met at the 1995 GAL Convention in Tacoma. So there’s a life lesson for you, kids. You gotta attend the GAL Convention. Just sayin’. Eight Days to a Dream by David Smith David Smith is a guitarist and lutenist who has wanted to make guitars and lutes for decades. But he was distracted by school, career, family, and stuff like that. His self-starting lutherie adventures never took off. Recently he signed up for an eight-day one-on-one session with lutherie teacher Robbie O’Brien, and finally got that guitar built. Meet the Maker: Jayson Bowerman by Tom Harper Many of us in the Lutherie Boom generation started as pre-teen modelmakers or would-be wood crafters. Not Jayson Bowerman. He was studying manufacturing processes in college when he did his first woodworking in a shop class. Soon he was doing R&D at Breedlove. Making Matching Templates by Jayson Bowerman Bowerman steps us through the process of making an exactly-matching outside template from an existing inside template. The process is useful for making body molds and side-bending jigs from half-patterns. Building the Tanbour by Nasser Shirazi Mr. Shirazi has given us articles and plans about other instruments used in Persian classical music in the past. He adds to the collection with GAL Instrument Plan #69, the Tambour, a long-necked lute with three thin steel strings. GAL Instrument Plan #69: Tanbour Drawn by Nasser Shirazi Reduced plan image appears in article. For more information on the full-scale instrument plan, see GAL Instrument Plan #69. Ukulele Neck Pocket Joints by Jerry Hoffman Hoffman’s ukes look like their necks have no heels. They do, he says, but the heels are just on the inside of the body. He gives us a detailed look at building two different styles. The Birth of the Tenor Lap Steel by David Schneider Keep it simple. Sketch an outline on a piece of butcher paper. Go down to the Home depot and get a few boards of that pink stuff that they call “mahogany.” Saw it up, bend it freehand, glue it onto blocks. Pretty soon you have a lap steel, no forms, jigs, or patterns needed. Product Reviews by Eron Harding Techy gizmos soon go from being cutting-edge miracles to being commodified trinkets, and that can bring the price down like crazy. Harding ordered a cheap borescope from Amazon. The crazy thing doesn’t even have a brand name on it. But the bang per buck is hard to beat. It Worked for Me by Tom Harper, Jack E. Johnston, Greg Nelson, and Len Laviolette Harper makes a downdraft table for a drill press sanding drum. Johnston hangs a speaker from a suction cup, and makes a special clipboard for sandpaper. Nelson makes a handle for sanding the bottom of a guitar bridge. Laviolette makes classic guitar arm rests from scrap. Questions edited by R.M. Mottola How do I get vinegar stains out of wood? Shall I use a plain string or a wound one? How do I keep French Polish from imprinting? Where is all the red spruce coming from? How do I cut accurate slots for classical guitar sides? Do the different top wood species really have their own sound? 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
