Posted on September 11, 2026October 9, 2026 by Dale Phillips Sustain and Electric Guitar Neck Joint Type Sustain and Electric Guitar Neck Joint Type by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #91, 2007 A long-standing bit of conventional wisdom has it that the type of construction used in the neck joint of an electric guitar has some influence on the duration that notes will sustain. A straw poll taken in preparation for the research detailed in this article suggested the perceived ordering of this influence is as follows: ■ Longest sustain is associated with neck-through construction, where the shaft of the neck structure continues right through the body of the instrument. ■ Shortest sustain is associated with bolt-on neck construction, where the neck shaft is attached to the body via wood screws. ■ Set neck construction, where the neck is glued to the body in some fashion, offers sustain somewhere between that of the other two neck joint construction types. 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, 2026September 29, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: R.M. Mottola Meet the Maker: R.M. Mottola by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 R.M. Mottola is one of those rare individuals who can delve into serious matters without taking himself too seriously. The formal nature of his reporting in American Lutherie often keeps this from coming through, so we’re pleased to introduce him to you in a friendlier setting. We think you’ll be surprised. You’re involved in a pile of different lutherie activities. Maybe we can first quickly go through your lutherie history and then probe some areas a bit deeper. How did you get started in lutherie? 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 July 6, 2026July 6, 2026 by Dale Phillips Fretboard/Top Plate Geometry of the Flattop Guitar Fretboard/Top Plate Geometry of the Flattop Guitar by R.M. Mottola¸ Originally published in American Lutherie #111, 2012 The geometric relationship between the fretboard of the flattop guitar and the top of that instrument is an interesting one, if for no other reason than that a number of the critical dimensions of the instrument such as action and bridge height are affected by it. The geometry of these components is also the source of many technical questions from luthiers attempting to make design departures from conventional instruments, and from those who are simply curious about how all this fits together. This article will discuss the topic using basic examples from conventional instruments. The math will be presented for readers who want to make use of it in their design efforts. Diagrams and textual descriptions are also included, and wherever possible I’ve attempted to discuss the practical ramifications of some typical approaches to this aspect of guitar design. This latter part is generally limited to the basic mechanics of how the parts of the instrument fit together. Although it could be fruitful to widen the scope here to include discussion of general mechanics and acoustics of the instrument, I am not dwelling much in these areas. There is enough to cover just discussing the geometry and assembly considerations. To begin, I’d like to introduce some basic concepts and terminology. Some of these concepts are both generally understood and are described using standard terminology. Terms like bridge height, action, and neck angle are familiar, but let me quickly define each of these as they are used in this article. Bridge height is the nominal height of the bridge from the top of the guitar to the top of the saddle at the instrument’s centerline. Neck angle is the angle between the nominal plane of the top and that of the surface of the neck shaft that contacts the underside of the fingerboard. A positive neck angle means the neck is angled toward the back of the body. Action is the height of the strings above the fret crowns. More specifically (as used here), it is the height of the nominal string-bottom plane over the nominal fret-crown plane. 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 16, 2026June 16, 2026 by Dale Phillips An Enhancement to the Outside Mold An Enhancement to the Outside Mold by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #79, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The outside mold is a useful tool for side bending. If the side slat is bent to roughly the ultimate shape of the side and then clamped into the mold while still hot and damp, the slat will conform to the shape of the mold while it cools and dries. This works pretty well for the following reason. If you make a bend in wood, as it cools and dries it tends to revert to its original shape. This springback phenomenon causes all manner of grief with some approaches to side bending, but it can be used to advantage when using a mold. Sides can generally be over bent slightly and then clamped into the mold, where they will relax into the shape of the mold as they cool and dry. So for the most part, when using an outside mold you can just bend the wood to only the roughest approximation of the final shape and let the mold and springback take care of the rest. This technique works great for all of the areas where the mold is on the outside of the curve, but doesn’t work at all where the mold is on the inside of the curve, such as at the waist bends in an outside mold. That’s because springback makes the bent sides pull away from the mold at the waist as the wood cools and dries. 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 12, 2026June 12, 2026 by Dale Phillips The “Mysteries” of Panormo The “Mysteries” of Panormo by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #132, 2017 One of the classics of lutherie literature is the book, The “Secrets” of Stradivari by violin historian Simone F. Sacconi. This thick book contains much detailed information on the instruments of the Cremonese master violin maker, enough so that, for some readers, what may have once been considered to be true secrets of design and construction are revealed. The title of this article is a takeoff on that of Sacconi’s book. Sacconi spent a lifetime researching the instruments detailed in his tome and so the information imparted there can be considered to be definitive. Having recently completed a single long construction project of a replica instrument by 19th century guitar maker Louis Panormo (Photo 1), I am in nowhere near a position to assume expertise in the “secrets” of Panormo’s guitars. But that project did introduce me to a number of features typical of instruments of that time and, in particular, of the instruments of that maker. 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.
