Posted on July 17, 2026July 21, 2026 by Dale Phillips Let’s Catch Up With Fabio Ragghianti Let’s Catch Up With Fabio Ragghianti by Brian Yarosh Originally published in American Lutherie #114, 2013 Back in the spring of 2000, AL#61 was published with an interesting and well-written “Meet the Maker” article on Fabio Ragghianti by Harry Fleishman. Shortly after that article was published, I had the pleasure to meet Fabio at Harry’s shop in Boulder, Colorado. Now that I’ve become a close friend of Fabio’s and a fellow traveler on his most recent adventurers in lutherie, I felt it fitting to discuss with him what has gone on in the past thirteen years and what might be in store over the next thirteen. I’m sure there is a lot to cover since your interview with Harry back in 2000. First off, how are you doing? Family good? Besides a few minor health problems due to aging, I guess I’m fine all in all. I still live with my wife Luciana in the same 17th-century house with 80CM thick walls up on a hill in Tuscany. When Harry visited, my shop was here in the basement. Eight years ago, I opened a shop in the nearby town of Pietrasanta, specifically to make it easier for customers to find me. I still do a lot of repair, which pays the bills, and I like it. Repairs, besides the routine stuff, can be very challenging and require creativity, ingenuity, and intuition. But the most important change in my life was the birth of my grandson Milo, in September 2011. 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 5, 2026June 5, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Robbie O’Brien Meet the Maker: Robbie O'Brien by Brian Yarosh Originally published in American Lutherie #117, 2014 I’ve known Robbie O’Brien for more than five years through the local Colorado lutherie community, having taken his classes at Red Rocks Community College, and through his more recent association with the Colorado School of Lutherie. I can attest to his love of teaching and spreading the knowledge of guitar building throughout Colorado and the world. It was my privilege to sit down with him at his shop in Parker and get to know him a little better. Let’s start with some history. Tell us a little about yourself. My folks were military and I was born in Nuremberg, Germany. I don’t have German citizenship and I don’t speak German. I was there for about a year and a half before moving back to the States. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where my father was a commercial pilot for Delta Airlines. 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 April 6, 2026April 7, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Michael Bashkin Meet the Maker: Michael Bashkin by Brian Yarosh Originally published in American Lutherie #132, 2017 A Bashkin guitar really stands out. The design and artistry speak volumes. And once you have had the pleasure of hearing or playing one, you won’t forget it. The tone has an identity all its own. I have known Michael for many years. Every time we talk about lutherie, I learn something new. He is a great guy and has a wealth of knowledge that he is always willing to share. I sat down with Michael at the 2017 GAL Convention for a chat. Let’s start at the beginning. Where did you grow up? What did your parents do? When was your first introduction to guitars or woodworking? My grandparents emigrated from Poland and Russia to the USA about 1905. They were part of that big immigrant wave. They did typical immigrant things; they were in the garment industry and had to bootstrap their way up. My parents were born in Brooklyn in 1940s, and each was the first in their family to go to college. My dad taught high school at Brooklyn Tech for over twenty-eight years. My mom was an elementary school teacher, but when they had a family, she started staying home. I was born in New York City and lived in Brooklyn for a couple of years. Then we moved out to the suburbs in Teaneck, New Jersey, about six miles from the George Washington Bridge. Dad commuted in to the city every day. It still very much felt like we were in the New York area. So I had a pretty normal middle-class childhood, and I felt fortunate that I grew up in a racially mixed town. 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.
