Posted on August 1, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Product Reviews: Knilling Perfection Planetary Pegs Product Reviews: Knilling Perfection Planetary Pegs Reviewed by Randy DeBey Originally published in American Lutherie #100, 2009 By now, just about everyone who works with stringed instruments has at least heard of Pegheds or Knilling Perfection Planetary Pegs. These are geared tuning pegs that look very much like ordinary ebony friction pegs, but work more like fine tuners. They contain a set of planetary gears, which reduce the rotation by a rate of 4:1 for violin family instruments and flamenco guitars, and 16:1 for steel string guitars. Those who haven’t yet taken the plunge and installed a set are probably waiting to have various concerns answered. I’ll try to explain how they are constructed, so you can imagine for yourself how well they might work, and also relate some of my own experience with them. I’ve installed over 100 of the pegs, mostly in violins, but also in cellos, ouds, a banjo, and a guitar. 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: Baxter’s Database of Violin and Bow Makers v3.0 by Edward D. Baxter Review: Baxter’s Database of Violin and Bow Makers v3.0 by Edward D. Baxter Reviewed by Randy DeBey Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 Baxter’s Database of Violin and Bow Makers v3.0 Edward D. Baxter CD-ROM, 2002 www.violinmakersdb.com. On the rare occasions that I need information about the maker of a particular instrument, I don’t like to spend a lot of time getting it. Due to the ridiculously high prices of violin-maker reference books, I have to get whatever I can from the web, and sometimes that’s a complete waste of time. Now there’s another option that’s less expensive than buying books, and likely more productive than web searching. Edward Baxter of West Camp, New York, has compiled a database from twenty-four violin and bow maker references. He actually started his database several years ago, and the version reviewed here (v3.0) was released in June 2004. It contains information for 19,506 makers. The ViolinMakers Database software was created for PCs running Microsoft Windows (sorry Mac users). It comes on one CD and is easy to install. It includes a stand-alone version of the Microsoft Access database query engine dedicated to searching this database. 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.
