Posted on February 20, 2026February 20, 2026 by Dale Phillips Refining Factory Setups on Electric Guitars: Going the Extra Mile Refining Factory Setups on Electric Guitars: Going the Extra Mile by Erick Coleman and Evan Gluck from their 2011 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #110, 2012 Erick Coleman: Evan has operated New York Guitar Repair in Manhattan since 2004, and in that time he’s seen more than 10,000 guitars. I work at Stewart-MacDonald and I have my own repair shop, so I see a lot as well. Today we’re going to talk about fine tuning brand-new electric guitars: the fret work may not be perfect, nuts can be improperly cut, and bridges may be set up incorrectly. We ordered brand-new inexpensive but decent Fender and Gibson guitars in the $500 street-price range. Now we’re going to open the boxes for the first time and address any problems. Evan Gluck: A lot of these guitars are set up for instant gratification at the store; the action is high, so there are no buzzes. Erick: I have a Gibson Melody Maker. Evan: This is a newer-style Fender Jazzmaster called a Blacktop. 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 March 1, 2025May 13, 2025 by Dale Phillips Thoughts on 12-String Guitars Thoughts on 12-String Guitars by Roger Alan Skipper Originally published in American Lutherie #113, 2013 We at the Guild of American Luthiers are quite often asked about 12-string guitars: What should be done to beef up a 6-string guitar plan to make it suitable for a 12-string configuration? What have the major builders done in the past, and how successful were their efforts? What are current builders doing? To find the answers to these questions, we queried several experienced luthiers: Dana Bourgeois of Pantheon Guitars in Lewiston, Maine ◆ Frank Ford of Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, California ◆ Charles Freeborn of Freeborn Guitars in Portland, Oregon ◆ David Freeman of Timeless Instruments in Tugaske, Saskatchewan ◆ Evan Gluck of New York Guitar Repair in Manhattan, New York ◆ John Greven of Greven Guitars in Portland, Oregon ◆ George Gruhn of Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee ◆ Arnold M.J. Hennig of Elderly Instruments in Lansing, Michigan ◆ Bruce Petros of Petros Guitars in Kaukauna, Wisconsin ◆ Andy Powers of Taylor Guitars in El Cajon, California ◆ Tim Shaw of Fender Guitars in Scottsdale, Arizona ◆ Marc Silber of Marc Silber Music in Berkeley, California ◆ Robert Steinegger of Steinegger Guitars in Portland, Oregon. Though this article is arranged as though we were having a roundtable discussion, it was assembled from individual responses; differing opinions are simply the results of varying experiences, rather than dissension. 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.
