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Fall Collection 2024

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Radiation from Lower Guitar Modes by Graham Caldersmith (1985)
Caldersmith discusses the efficiency and pattern of sound radiation in the classic guitar produced by the four lower resonance modes, which he calls monopole, cross dipole, long dipole, and tripole.

Inside Pacific Rim Tonewoods by Steve McMinn (1993)
McMinn’s lutherie wood business has turned out to be a pretty big deal. Here we gain perspective by seeing it at the very beginning.

The Great White Sitka by Jeffrey R. Elliott (1993)
Holy Moby Spruce! How does one hack a log that’s eleven feet wide into 4000 guitar tops? Very carefully! By the way, this is a log that Steve McMinn rescued from the pulp mill.

Meet the Maker: Bernard Millant by Jonathon Peterson (2006)
Millant is a violin maker, a bow maker, an appraiser, an author, and a man of high repute within the violin world. The depth of training behind many old-school fiddle people will astonish most guitar makers, and it makes for entrancing reading.

Meet the Maker: Dmitry Zhevlakov by Federico Sheppard (2007)
This is not only the story of a Russian luthier who also makes beautiful rosettes for other builders, but is another example of how the Internet has changed the world — in this case for better.

Aluminum Sonatas: A Brief History of Aluminum Stringed Instruments in the Last 120 Years by James Condino (2007)
Every luthier knows how fickle and finicky the market is, so it’s no wonder that musical instruments made of aluminum didn’t catch on. Examined here are a violin, a mandolin, and a pair of bass viols. Fun stuff!

Mechanical Compliance for Soundboard Optimization by David Hurd (2007)
Hurd believes that the fastest way to great instruments is science, and it’s hard to argue with such a rational man. His jigs measure the deflection of top plates while under tension, and once he carves the top and braces to the numbers he wants, he’s done. This could be math heavy, but he offers an Internet spread sheet to ease the pain.

Construction of the Colombian Tiple by Anamaria Paredes Garcia and R.M. Mottola (2007)
Cross a 12-string flattop with a classical guitar and you get the Colombian tiple. The tiple has four courses of three steel strings, but on the inside, it’s a classical. Follow Alberto Paredes as he builds the instrument in this photo tour. See GAL Plan #51.

Meet the Maker: Mervyn Davis by Rodney Stedall (2007)
Davis’ South African upbringing inspires a wonderful decorative sense in his instruments. He’s built a ton of different stuff but may end up best known for his wildly unique modular guitars called Smooth Talkers.

Cricket: A Reclaimed Salvage Recovery by James Condino (2007)
Condino’s mandolin is made from recycled materials, mostly Douglas fir and katalox. It is unique and beautiful, and the story behind it is pretty cool, too.

Grading on the Curves: Fitting Bars and Bridges on Archtop Guitars by Steve Andersen (2007)
This is a very detailed look at how a notable builder of archtop guitars fits tone bars and bridges to his instruments.

The Venezuelan Cuatro by Aquiles Torres (2008)
Traditionally, this instrument is a small 4-string guitar with 14 frets clear, no frets over the body, a flush fretboard, and a large veneer tap plate. Note that the cuatro built for the article has 17 frets clear of the body. See GAL Plan #58.

The MacRostie Mandolin Deflection Jig by Don MacRostie (2008)
MacRostie’s clever jig measures the top deflection of a carved mandolin under string load at any stage of its construction. It is a valuable tool within the reach of any luthier.

The “Corker” Guitar: A Sideport Experiment by Alan Carruth (2008)
Carruth built a classical guitar with many small ports drilled in the side. By plugging the ports in various combinations he investigated the usefulness and physics behind them. Though this guitar did not make a believer out of him, he admits that his results are somewhat inconclusive.

Electric Guitar Setup by Erick Coleman and Elliot John-Conry (2009)
Two disciples of Dan Erlewine explain the latest techniques of setting up the electric guitar. All the details and specs are there, as well as a bit of philosophy.

Dulcimer 101 by John Calkin (2009)
Dulcimers are needlessly maligned and in need of advocates, and the author is a strong one. Tools and jiggery are kept to a minimum to make construction of this entry level instrument as accessible as possible.

The Guitar as a Structure and Some Practical Information on Bracing by James Blilie (2009)
A structural engineer and guitar builder sees the guitar as a thing buffeted by forces and stresses.

Total Flame Out: Retopping a Harp Guitar by Harry Fleishman (2009)
Harry replaces the failed soundboard on a complicated instrument with as little refinishing and other stress as possible.

Strings: The (Often) Forgotten Accessory by Fan Tao (2010)
D’Addario's resident scientist Fan Tao helps us understand string issues in relation to custom instruments and customized tuning.

Practical Acoustics by Michael Cone (2010)
Cone describes his advanced apparatus and method for acoustically testing classical guitars.

Meet the Maker: James Ham by Roger Alan Skipper (2010)
Ham operates from a shop in Victoria, B.C. where he repairs and restores violin family instruments and constructs world class double basses.

It’s All About the Core or How to Estimate Compensation by Sjaak Elmendorp (2010)
Mathematics and parameters used to address the problem of string compensation estimation.