Posted on August 12, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips An Ingenious Epinette An Ingenious Epinette by John Bromka Originally published in American Lutherie #31, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 While attending a festival of bourdon (drone) instruments in Lissberg, Germany in May of 1991, I saw and heard this ingenious épinette des Vosges, made by Gilles Pequinot, a native of the Vosges region of France. He was interested in hearing about the GAL and very happy to share his design with fellow luthiers through American Lutherie. The traditional soundbox for the épinette is found on this example in the slender, tapered, rectangular box that constitutes the middle portion or upper deck. Gilles has added a fancier and much bigger secondary soundbox underneath the ancestral original soundbox, as seems to be the custom now for the new breed of more cosmopolitan épinette players. It’s rather like what we Americans are doing with hollowed fingerboards on mountain dulcimers, only more so. As you might imagine, the sound of this épinette is hereby amplified to a rich, silvery ringing presence. And it even held its own while Gille’s wife led us through a workshop of dancing bourrées. 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, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: Guitars and Mandolins in America Featuring the Larsons’ Creations by Robert Carl Hartman Review: Guitars and Mandolins in America Featuring the Larsons’ Creations by Robert Carl Hartman Reviewed by John Bromka Originally published in American Lutherie #2, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Guitars and Mandolins in America Featuring the Larsons’ Creations Robert Carl Hartman Maurer & Co., 1984 $39.95 from amazon.com (1999) Every fine luthier of creative and abundant output should be so lucky as to have a memory book devoted to preserving his art and times. Robert Carl Hartman has done a thorough job of this for his grandfather Carl Larson and Carl’s brother August, who together maintained a lutherie business from the 1880s to 1944. A great portion of the Larsons’ output was built to order to receive the manufacturers’ and distributors’ labels of Maurer, Prairie State, Dyer, and Stahl. If you are not yet familiar with the Larson brothers or their instruments (am I too far east of Midwest?), you’re in for a treat. The Larsons built beautiful and highly original instruments, and a large sample of designs are given here among the book’s 150 photographs and drawings. Included are mandolins, mandolas, mandocello and bass, flattop and archtop guitars, acoustic bass guitar, and harp mandolins and guitars. A chart of measurements is given with each instrument. Reprints of the guitar patents give very thorough drawings, descriptions, theory, and reasoning behind such innovations as laminated braces, further developed X bracing, through-the-body truss rods, and building under tension. Testimonials from Stefan Grossman, George Gruhn, and Johnny Cash, and a humorous reminiscence from Les Paul give further incentive to look into the Larsons’ designs. 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.
