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Review: The New Yorker Special by Frederick Cohen

Review: The New Yorker Special by Frederick Cohen

Reviewed by Tim Olsen

Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000



The New Yorker Special
Frederick Cohen
Available from Filmakers Library, Inc

This charming little film is a valentine to a guy who deserves one: Jimmy D’Aquisto. Jimmy was my childhood hero, and visiting him in his shop in 1977 only built my admiration and affection for a man that to me is a genuine paradigm for luthiers.

This film is far above the average coverage that luthiers generally get from journalists. You know the type: They breeze in, ask a few irrelevant questions, then write a piece that makes you seem like something between a wacko and a wizard. Frederick Cohen obviously knows something about guitars, as well as being a fine filmmaker. He has succeeded in producing a film which is perfectly suitable and entertaining for the uninitiated, yet one in which the luthier will find many informative gems half-buried.

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Review: From the pages of Experimental Musical Instruments, Volume 1

Review: From the pages of Experimental Musical Instruments, Volume I

Reviewed by Tim Olsen

Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000



From the pages of Experimental Musical Instruments, Volume I
Experimental Musical Instruments
Out of print

Ever wonder what it would sound like if the wind blew through 19' stainless-steel bands attached to your roof? If so, you are the kind of person to relish this intriguing and enlightening little effort from the different drummers over at Experimental Musical Instruments magazine.

The wind instruments on the compilation provide the most “musical” (accessible) selections while the percussion instruments provide the sort of material that goes well on art-film soundtracks. Of particular value to luthiers are the four tracks which feature strange and wonderful string instruments.

The Puget Sound Wind Harp is hybrid of an aeolian harp and a small house. The wind plays upon the 3/8" steel ribbons to make sounds of a predictably low frequency. The tape gives a hint of what must be a sort of tooth-rattling “om.”

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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.

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Review: First Bass

Review: First Bass

Reviewed by Tim Olsen

Originally published in American Lutherie #17, 1987



First Bass
9 Fair-at-Essex
Hackensack, NJ 07601
$5/year

I’m looking at the premier edition of First Bass, and while one can’t help but notice that the spelling, punctuation, typesetting, and page layout are mighty loose, this is an impressive opener. The 32 pager features interviews with Jamaaladeen Tacuma, John Entwistle, and Jack Bruce, and a great little first-hand story about Jaco Pastorius giving a wild solo concert standing on a truck with amps wired to a Greenwich Village lightpole. The Winter 1989 issue went out free to almost 30,000 industry types.

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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.

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