Posted on July 8, 2024October 1, 2024 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Jose “Pepito” Reyes Zamora Meet the Maker: Jose “Pepito” Reyes Zamora by C.F. Casey Originally published in American Lutherie #88, 2006 I first met Pepito Reyes by phone, when I called him to ask some questions for my review of his book El Tiple Puertorriqueño. About a year later, I had a chance to meet him face to face, at the Tiple Conference in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and later at his home and workshop in Jayuya. As we talked, I gained more and more respect for a man who, after ending one successful career, immediately created a second: to dedicate himself to giving back to the environment and culture that nurtured him. Pepito is a man filled with passion for his cause, which is to ensure that traditional Puerto Rican culture, especially its music, and more especially yet, the Puerto Rican tiple, will not vanish into the mists of time. When did you build your first tiple? I built it in 1989 and I still have it; it’s in good shape. It’s traveled to Texas, Florida, and France, and it’s been used in recordings. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 7, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Charango Plans Questions: Charango Plans by C.F. Casey Originally published in American Lutherie #104, 2010 Gerald Mercer from Angels Camp, California asks: I am looking for plans for a South American charango. These are often 10-string, 5-course instruments and made using the shells of armadillos. C.F. Casey from Winnipeg Beach, Canada answers: The website below will get you going on building a charango. The title calls it a ronroco, but it’s the same thing. They even use the two terms interchangeably in the site. http://jlfeijooi.en.eresmas.com/Construccion_de_un_ronroco.htm Here we’re dealing with a charango that’s carved out of solid wood, rather than using an armadillo shell for the bowl. Most charangos I’ve seen lately have been the carved variety, and the last few times I’ve visited my friendly neighborhood wood-pusher, they’ve been fresh out of armadillos. The site is in Spanish, but Google’s translation is no more horrible than such things usually are. In any case, the sketches have the main dimensions, which is the most important thing. ◆
Posted on June 28, 2019March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips The Trio Romantico and the Requinto The Trio Romántico and the Requinto by C.F. Casey previously published in American Lutherie #89, 2007 Picture it: You’re sitting in an open-air courtyard, perhaps in Guadalajara, perhaps in San Juan, perhaps in Buenos Aires. Your surroundings are lit only by the candles on the tables and the stars above. The air is like a caress on your skin. Across from you sits someone you care about very much. Nearby, in the semi-darkness, a small group wanders from table to table. You hear voices in close harmony, singing in Spanish, singing of love. Two guitars throb in the rhythm of a bolero or a tango. And above, between, and around the words, a third guitar pours out cascades and arabesques of clear, shimmering notes. As the song ends and the group moves on, you gaze through the candle light, deep into the eyes of your companion, and say: “I’d love to get a closer look at that lead guitar; it’s got a really unique sound. Maybe I could get my inspection mirror inside it and get a look at the bracing.” We can’t help it: we’re luthiers. You were listening to the sound of a trio romántico, and the lead instrument was a requinto, a smaller version of the regular nylon-string guitar, tuned a perfect fourth higher (ADGCEA). 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 recieve 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 14, 2010March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: Folk Harp Design and Construction by Jeremy H. Brown Review: Folk Harp Design and Construction by Jeremy H. Brown Reviewed by C.F. Casey Originally published in American Lutherie #83, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Folk Harp Design and Construction Jeremy H. Brown www.musikit.com 150 pp. You’ve got to like a book that begins, “Anybody can spout off his own opinions into a book if he puts his mind to it. Why a person would want to go to such trouble is a question I’ve been asking myself lately.” I should point out that there’s an alias at work here. Jeremy H. Brown, author, is in another life Jerry Brown, founder and head honcho of Musicmaker’s Kits, Inc. (See John Calkin’s “Kit Review: Musicmaker’s Regency Harp” in AL#69, BRBAL6.) Does that mean the book is a shill for selling kits? Not at all. Naturally, most of the references are to Musicmaker’s designs. That’s reasonable enough; they are, after all, the designs Brown would be most familiar with. You wouldn’t expect Chris Martin to write a book on Gibson designs. However, Brown doesn’t stop there. I counted over two dozen references to the approaches and opinions of other harp builders throughout the eight chapters of the book. 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 14, 2010March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: El Tiple Puertorrqueño: Historia, Manual y Método by José Reyes-Zamora Review: El Tiple Puertorrqueño: Historia, Manual y Método by José Reyes-Zamora Reviewed by Fred Casey Originally published in American Lutherie #81, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 El Tiple Puertorriqueño: Historia, Manual y Método José Reyes-Zamora ISBN: 0-942347-55-2 Ediciones Puerto, Inc., 211pp., 2002 www.edicionespuerto.com The tiple. Oh, yeah, that’s that South American instrument, like a guitar but triple-strung. I remember repairing one that had a soundbox made from an armadillo shell, like a charango. Then there was the adaptation that Martin came up with, putting tiple-type stringing onto a ukulele (see article and plan by Jorge Gonzalez in AL #39, BRBAL4). And one time I came across an old bowl-back mandolin that had twelve strings, arranged tiple-fashion. Yeah... the tiple. Forget all that. 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.
