Posted on October 1, 2026October 26, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Makers: David and Rob Rodgers Meet the Makers: David and Rob Rodgers by Cyndy Burton with Jeffrey R. Elliott¸ Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 About thirty-five years ago, a very successful design engineer discovered that the best tuners found on classical guitars did not work very well. He had previously designed and made large equipment like precision grinding machines and saws for cutting metal joists. While still working at his day job, he experimented in his home workshop and figured out how to make precision tuning machines that not only work very well, but are beautiful. In May of 2010, Jeff Elliott and I met David Rodgers and his wife/partner Muriel in the Leicester train station (about 75 miles north of London), where they greeted us like old friends, though we knew each other only through our business correspondence. (Full disclosure: Yes, we’ve been Rodgers’ customers for over thirty years.) They drove us to their home in nearby Kirby Muxloe, where we spent a delightful few days in their home and shop, and visited as well with their son and business partner Rob in his shop just across the road. After sitting down with our requisite tea, we began our conversation. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on September 10, 2026October 8, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Collectors: Forderer and Westbrook Meet the Collectors: Forderer and Westbrook by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #94, 2008 At the 2006 GAL Convention I spoke to Jim Forderer from California, and Jim Westbrook from Brighton, England, about their collections of historical guitars and their adventures in building those collections. At both the 2004 and 2006 GAL Conventions they arrived together in Forderer’s outsized RV packed to the ceiling with the most incredible road show this interviewer has had the pleasure to see. I began by asking Jim Forderer how he started collecting. I played violin as a kid, starting as a four-year-old and playing through school and with a Country and Western group in college. Then I began to be interested in guitar, and bought a $10 guitar in Mexico. I played that guitar until it wore out. After I left school I didn’t play guitar for many, many years. I had a career as a horseman, and then got married and had a number of children, about thirty-two.... Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Kevin Aram Meet the Maker: Kevin Aram by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #104, 2010 In May of 2010, Jeff Elliott and I celebrated thirty years together in life and lutherie by traveling to England. The trip was conceived twenty years ago after the 1990 GAL Convention, when husband and wife Kevin and Alison Aram visited us following the convention where Kevin gave a comprehensive lecture on Julian Bream’s 1973 José Romanillos guitar. He presented not only the plan of that landmark guitar, but the fascinating story surrounding it in AL#25 (BRBAL3). Kevin and Alison had long ago given up that we’d ever make it across the pond, but we did (on luthier time!), and they graciously welcomed us into their home. They live on a very old farm in north Devonshire in a substantial stucco-faced stone building that once housed dairy cows. They are surrounded by stunningly beautiful rolling countryside and the sounds of sheep and cows in the neighboring pastures and their own hens clucking nearby. The nearest town is ten miles down a mostly single-lane road. But they have wireless, and UPS delivers. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 22, 2026June 22, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Géza Burghardt Meet the Maker: Géza Burghardt by Cindy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #61, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 I met Géza and his wife and business partner, Tini, at the 1998 GAL Convention in Tacoma. I’d been hearing about him for several years and was really looking forward to our chat. Three hours whizzed by as Géza told his remarkable story, a true immigrant success story. He, Tini, and their young daughter Eszter arrived in Vancouver, B.C. in 1988 with little more than the shirts on their backs. They spoke very little English. Twelve years later they have a thriving lutherie business, a beautiful shop, and a comfortable life. What follows is Géza’s story in his own words. I was fourteen years old when I became an apprentice in a special woodworking school in Hungary for three years to become a pattern maker. This is an extremely complicated job requiring great precision. We were taught to do everything by hand. We were not allowed to use any power machines, not even a grinder to grind the chisels. After you were done with a job it was sent to a special room for checking. There was no tolerance — not even a tenth of a millimeter. They’d send it back and you’d have to fix it, and your salary went down. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on May 1, 2026May 1, 2026 by Dale Phillips Remembering Manuel Remembering Manuel by Eugene Clark, Armin Kelly, Robert Ruck, Jeffrey Elliott, Cyndy Burton, and Paul Szmanda Originally published in American Lutherie #119, 2014 Manuel Velázquez was making fine guitars in the 1940s, before I knew what a guitar was. I had always assumed his presence, that he would always be with us, like the New York Yankees, like the Statue of Liberty. But now he is gone. Manuel visited Tacoma with his son Alfredo in 2006. Alfredo thanked me for recognizing his father in some of my published articles. I explained that Manuel meant a lot to me — not so much for the guitars he made, but for the man he was. I have said to many people over the years that the most important thing in making guitars is the name that is on the label. It is because of Manuel that I have come to that position. Manuel’s guitars do not sound like the work he has copied ever so carefully. They sound like Manuel — warm and loving, very clear, very Latin. His student-grade guitars, better than many first-class guitars, are very popular in New York City. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
