Category Archives: classical

Free Plate Tuning, Part Two: Violins

1992
AL#29 p.42   BRB3 p.136            read this article
Alan Carruth                                                                                           

▪ Carruth tries to keep it light as he describes the glitter dances that should improve your violins, and even sheds light on cello plate tuning. If you feel threatened by the dryness of science just relax and give it a try. Carruth is on your side. Really. With a whole bunch of drawings. Part One was in AL#28. Part Three follows in AL#30. The entire series appears in BRB3.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

The Spanish Guitar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

1992
AL#29 p.6   BRB3 p.194   ALA3 p.2         
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Brune outlines the first major exhibition of Spanish guitars ever mounted in America. With 8 photos, including one of Santos Hernandez. Also mentions Torres, M. Ramirez, Segovia, Simplicio, Barbero, Romanillos, and others.

Review: The Modern Classical Guitar for Friend or Builder by Donald M. Sprenger

1991
AL#27 p.60   BRB3 p.465            read this article
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds this book to be mostly a rehash of Irving Sloane’s Classic Guitar Construction.

Review: Fine Woodworking Design Book Five

1991
AL#26 p.59   BRB3 p.464            read this article
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer admires the beauty of the book’s photography, but seems hesitant to recommend it since so little of it is dedicated to musical instruments.

Using Your Work Space from the 1990 GAL Convention panel

1991
AL#27 p.4   BRB3 p.80            
Chris Brandt   R.E. Brune   Jeffrey R. Elliott   Richard Schneider   Ervin Somogyi   David Wilson                                                                       

▪ A look inside the shops of six professional luthiers, featuring floor plans, tooling descriptions, notes on lighting and specialized machinery, and ideas about how work space can help (or hurt) your lifestyle. With a good Q&A segment and 63 photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.

A Day on Lost Mountain

1991
AL#27 p.52   BRB3 p.122   ALA5 p.21         
Jonathon Peterson                                                                                           

▪ Richard Schneider discusses his current work at “the most beautifully situated guitar shop in the world.” The Kasha influence upon the classical guitar keeps evolving in the hands of this masterful builder/teacher.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Bending Sides with Silicone Blankets

1991
AL#25 p.52   BRB3 p.30            read this article
Michael Keller                                                                                           

▪ Silicon heat blankets are good for more than bending sides. Keller touches upon other uses, but his instructions for making forms and putting them to use is the focus here, and they cover about all you need to know. Once you have the blanket, the forms are cheap to make.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Looking at Lutherie Schools

1991
AL#25 p.6   BRB3 p.16            
Steve Banchero   David Freeman   Larry Kirmser   David Vincent   Donald Warnock                                                                           

▪ A panel of lutherie teachers talks it over at the 1990 GAL Convention.

Julian Bream’s 1973 Romanillos Guitar

1991
AL#25 p.22   BRB3 p.2            
Kevin Aram                                                                                           

▪ Aram offers an anecdotal history of one of the most influential classical guitars of our time. With 26 photos. Mentions Hauser I, Torres.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Lutherie in Romania

1990
AL#23 p.54   BRB2 p.420            
Gabriel Petric                                                                                           

▪ AL #23 takes its second glimpse at instrument making in a strange land and finds that the concerns of luthiers are the same the world over. With 7 photos.

Meet the Maker: George Smith

1990
AL#23 p.20   BRB2 p.398            
Jonathon Peterson   George A. Smith                                                                                       

▪ Smith is a veteran builder of many instruments who prefers to specialize in guitars and harpsichords.

Meet the Maker: Jose Yacopi

1990
AL#23 p.24   BRB2 p.414            
Roberto Blinder   Jose Yacopi                                                                                       

▪ Blinder interviews an Argentine instrument maker about his career, his guitars, wood, and strings. With 4 photos.

Andalusia and the Modern Guitar

1990
AL#22 p.10   BRB2 p.372            
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Brune maintains that strict definitions separating the classical and flamenco guitars were not formulated until the 1950s, before which they often shared many of the characteristics that now separate them.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Lutherie — The Hard Way

1990
AL#22 p.18               
John Larsen                                                                                           

▪ Larsen built his first guitar in 1950. His article describes the difficult road folks had to follow before the Information Age engulfed lutherie.

On the Path of Utter Dedication

1990
AL#21 p.8   BRB2 p.346            
Jose Romanillos                                                                                           

▪ A dedicated person lives a life of joy and frustration. Finding a suitable balance is the tough part. Romanillos aims his thought at the guitar and strikes a much larger target.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Reflections on Segovia’s Guitars at the Metropolitan

1990
AL#21 p.32   BRB2 p.358            
Jeffrey R. Elliott   Cyndy Burton                                                                                       

▪ The authors make a cross-country pilgrimage to examine two world famous classical guitars, one by Manuel Ramirez and one by Hermann Hauser Sr. The wonder is that there are riddles there yet to be solved.

Questions: Cantos Guitars

1989
AL#20 p.58   BRB2 p.482            
J.G. Molnar   Marc Silber                                                                                       

▪ Cantos work was primitive but his materials good; the flamencos being of real Spanish cypress with fairly good spruce tops.

A Baroque Guitar Restoration

1989
AL#19 p.24   BRB2 p.250            
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ A guitar that may have belonged to Marie Antoinette is brought back to playing condition. This article gives a good picture of what goes into the restoration of a museum-quality instrument. With 13 photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Review: Antonio de Torres, Guitar Maker — His Life and Work by Jose Romanillos

1989
AL#19 p.56   BRB2 p.496            
Jeffrey R. Elliott   Cyndy Burton                                                                                       

▪ The reviewers find this book to be “a significant resource. . .densely packed with information both useful and interesting.” The evolution of the classical guitar, as described by Romanillos, should be of interest to all contemporary builders.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Toward a Classic Guitar Family

1989
AL#18 p.20   BRB2 p.222            
Graham Caldersmith                                                                                           

▪ Caldersmith and the Canberra Guitar Ensemble work toward developing a series of classical guitars to match the range of the violin family.

Finite Element Simulation of Guitar Top Vibration

1989
AL#18 p.38               read this article
Phil Banks                                                                                           

▪ Banks, like many before him, attempts to display on paper the movements of an excited guitar top.He is uncertain of his results, but his illustrations are certainly foxier than a normal graph or oscilloscope printout.

The “Belly Art” of Japanese Lutherie

1988
AL#15 p.46   BRB2 p.86            
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ An intense description of Japanese classical guitar making taken from Brune’s convention lecture. Life in Japan is probably not much like you imagine it to be, it is far more interesting. The Q&A segment deals more with Brune’s own guitar work. With 21 photos inside a Japanese “factory.”

Letter to the Editor: Errors in AL#8/AL#13

1988
AL#16 p.3   BRB2 p.80            
Beverly Maher                                                                                           

▪ Maher adds corrections to AL # 8 and #13. She mentions that Segovia’s famous Hauser guitar was from 1937, and that it is at home in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A Sort-Of-Controlled Bracing Experiment

1988
AL#14 p.59               
Richard Jordan                                                                                           

▪ Jordan used spruce of different stiffness to brace three nearly identical classical guitars, and found the differences to be dramatic. His stiffness test was especially easy to run.

Review: Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology by William R. Cumpiano and Jonathan D. Natelson

1988
AL#14 p.60   BRB2 p.490            
Cyndy Burton                                                                                           

▪ This book, which has since become sort of the Bible of guitarmaking, is described by the reviewer as “the book we’ve all been waiting for.”

Harmonic Analysis of String Excitation Methods

1988
AL#13 p.40   BRB2 p.20            
J. Jovicic   O. Jovicic                                                                                       

▪ This is a scientific analysis of how variations in picking a note change the response of the classical guitar. Translated from the French.

The Effect of Bracing on Guitar Resonance Part 2

1987
AL#12 p.14   BRB1 p.402            
J. Jovicic   O. Jovicic                                                                                       

▪ This article is more technical talk translated from the original French publication in Acustica. With 51 reproductions of laser interferograms. Part 1 was in American Lutherie #10.

An Interview with Jeffrey R. Elliott

1987
AL#12 p.22   BRB1 p.454   ALA3 p.4         
Joseph Bacon   Jeffrey R. Elliott                                                                                       

▪ A lengthy interview with the well-known maker of classical guitars covers such subjects as training, wood seasoning and supply, finishes, and boomerangs. Cyndy Burton participates. Mentions Hauser Sr., Michael Kasha, Richard Schneider, Ralph Towner, and Julian Bream. With 4 photos.

Review: The Flamenco Guitar by David George

1987
AL#12 p.64   BRB1 p.503            read this article
David Macias                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer encourages all students of the guitar to read this book, regardless of their special interests.

The Maestro’s Hauser

1988
AL#13 p.7   BRB2 p.4            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Huttig relates a story about the instrument that was the center of the classical guitar universe for decades, the Hauser played by Segovia.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

The Effect of Bracing on Guitar Resonance Part 1

1987
AL#10 p.48   BRB1 p.402            
J. Jovicic   O. Jovicic                                                                                       

▪ Serious research using a classical guitar with four different brace patterns. The experiment started with a simplified fan brace pattern, and fan braces were added for subsequent evaluation. Translated from the French. Part Two is in AL#12.

Review: A Guitar Maker’s Manual

1987
AL#10 p.62   BRB1 p.500            read this article
Cyndy Burton                                                                                           

▪ Workbook format, large, 160 photos and diagrams, and spiral binding are great advantages of this nuts and bolts straight method book.

Innovative Concepts within Fixed Limits

1987
AL#11 p.12   BRB1 p.420            
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ Eban builds Kasha-style classical guitars. She comments at length about how her aesthetic concept for the guitar evolved, and offers many details of her construction procedures. Her descriptions of her work are so entrancing that you will long for more photos than the five that are offered. With rosette drawings.

The Spanish Patron

1987
AL#9 p.52   BRB1 p.344            
William Conrad                                                                                           

▪ A Patron is the workboard used to build a guitar in the Spanish style. Conrad explains how to build one, and the reasoning behind it.

Review: Jose Oribe: The Fine Guitar

1987
AL#9 p.56   BRB1 p.498            
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer believes that the book may help an experienced luthier adjust his “attitude” toward his craft and thereby make a better instrument. The beginner may not find it so useful.

Review: Guitar and Vihuela: An Annotated Bibliography by Meredith Alice McCutcheon

1987
AL#9 p.56   BRB1 p.499            read this article
Joseph R. Johnson                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that the book “falls short of being a thorough international bibliography, but will prove valuable to guitar and vihuela teachers, students, and luthiers.”

Memories of Vladimir Bobri

1987
AL#10 p.6   BRB1 p.358            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Bobri was an artist and a patron of the arts, a composer and transcriber of guitar music, president of the New York Guitar Society, and editor of Guitar Review. Huttig’s admiration for the man is obvious in this salute following Bobri’s death by fire.

Compensating Classic Bridge

1987
AL#9 p.32   BRB1 p.330            
H.M. Kolstee                                                                                           

▪ Kolstee’s adjustable bridge saddle is made of bone, except for the locking set screw. It is easily adjustable for intonation and uses shims to adjust the string height.

Musical Strings

1987
AL#9 p.36   BRB1 p.334            read this article
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Have you ever wondered how cat gut strings were named? This article suggests an answer as it delves into some string facts and fictions.

Cutting Classic Head Slots

1987
AL#9 p.42   BRB1 p.336            
Richard Jordan                                                                                           

▪ Jordan’s article outlines all the steps he uses to shape a classical headstock. He cuts the slots with Dremel router, router base, and fence, and they come out very clean.

Kasha Soundboard without Waist Bar

1986
AL#8 p.8   BRB1 p.266            
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ Eban charts the design evolution of the Kasha system of classical guitars as applied to her own instruments. With many drawings, glitter tests, and a discussion of different materials.

Conrad Color System

1986
AL#8 p.16               
William Conrad                                                                                           

▪ Conrad finds that spruce tops can be graded for density by the color of the light that shines through them, and uses a camera light meter to calibrate them.

An Overview of the Hauser Tradition

1986
AL#8 p.18   BRB1 p.274   ALA3 p.8         
Jeffrey R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ This lecture transcription presents a chronological overview of the work of Hermann Hauser Sr. 26 photos and 3 drawings complete the article. A major investigation of some important guitars.

GAL Instrument Plan #12: 1943 Hauser Classic Guitar

1986
AL#8 p.28   BRB1 p.283   ALA3 p.16         
Jeffrey R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ Elliott offers a scale drawing, dimensions list, and a bill of materials for a Hauser guitar. The drawing is a reduced version of our full-scale Plan #12.

Meet Gregg Smallman

1986
AL#8 p.30               
Graham Caldersmith   Jim Williams                                                                                       

▪ This interview covers the evolution of Smallman’s guitars as he worked his way toward the lattice bracing system for which he has become famous. Classical guitar lore from the outback of Australia.

Nylon/Steel String Guitar

1986
AL#8 p.35   BRB1 p.463            
Francis Kosheleff                                                                                           

▪ Kosheleff changes the treble quality of his classical guitars by using three steel strings run through the standard bridge and then attached to a tailpiece.

Relation of Science to Aesthetics in Lutherie

1986
AL#8 p.36   BRB1 p.290            
Michael Kasha                                                                                           

▪ Kasha firmly maintains that science has much to offer instrument design, but also claims that the best tone may be simply what the public is used to, and that this interesting variable can be tracked but not predicted. He believes that tone perception is as important as tone production.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Bars and Struts

1986
AL#8 p.38   BRB1 p.292   ALA5 p.7         
Jose Ramirez III                                                                                           

▪ Ramirez expounds upon his experiments with classical guitar top thickness and bracing patterns and size to achieve the best tone and stability.

Letter to the Editor: Dionisio Aguado Y Hernandez

1986
AL#8 p.3   BRB1 p.466            
J.G. Molnar                                                                                           

▪ Molnar shares interesting anecdotes about the difference between Spanish guitars made for export, which he maintains reach our shores unfinished, and those finished by the shops for use in Europe.

Letter to the Editor: Kasha Question

1986
AL#8 p.3               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Brune maintains that innovations in the classical guitar have happened on a regular basis in recent history, and do not depend solely on the work of Dr. Kasha to bring the instrument up to date.

Review: Julian Bream: A Life on the Road

1986
AL#5 p.53   BRB1 p.496            read this article
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be of interest to the luthier, even though it offers little technical information about guitars.

Interview with William DelPilar

1986
AL#5 p.10   BRB1 p.150            
Ted Davis   William DelPilar                                                                                       

▪ Davis offers his conversation with a professional luthier who made over 800 classical guitars between 1956 and 1986.

Letter to the Editor: Kasha Design

1986
AL#5 p.7               
Jim Williams                                                                                           

▪ Williams endorses scientific guitar design and refers to the work of Australian guitar maker Greg Smallman. Also brings up the names of Kasha and Brune.

Letter to the Editor: Data Sheet #290 Feedback

1986
AL#5 p.7               
Peter Estes                                                                                           

▪ Estes mentions the negative feedback he received about his GAL contribution, Data Sheet #290, in which he recommended a specific method of fitting backs to guitars.

A Chat with Don Manuel

1985
AL#4 p.11   BRB1 p.99            
William Cumpiano   Manuel Velazquez                                                                                       

▪ Velazquez fields a number of questions about the specifics of building the nylon-strung guitar, including types of glue, choice of wood, construction design, and finishing.

Tarrega Played a Maple Guitar

1985
AL#4 p.20   BRB1 p.114            
David Macias                                                                                           

▪ Macias relates an interesting anecdote about the first maple classical guitar he built, then translates a Pujol description of the Tarrega guitar made by Torres.

In the Ramirez Workshop

1985
AL#4 p.36   BRB1 p.140   ALA5 p.2         
William Tapia                                                                                           

▪ Tapia relates the history of Ramirez guitars and tells of his time there learning to properly repair them.

Comments on the Kasha Question

1985
AL#4 p.42               
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ Eban takes on Paul Wyzskowski as she champions the design innovations of Michael Kasha. She has incorporated many of Kasha’s changes into her own classical guitars. Her rebuttal mentions Richard Schneider, Jamey Hampton, and Graham Caldersmith.

Comments on the Kasha Question

1985
AL#4 p.42               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Brune, a defender of traditional values, defends his criticism of the Kasha innovations, along the way mentioning Schneider, Hampton, and Segovia.

Practical Guitar Maker’s Bibliography

1985
AL#3 p.19               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ Sixty books and articles dealing with guitar acoustics are rated for legitimacy, clarity, and usefulness.

Manuel Velazquez: An Appreciation

1985
AL#4 p.8   BRB1 p.96            
William Cumpiano                                                                                           

▪ Cumpiano shares a pleasant visit with Velazquez in Puerto Rico where the conversation is all about classical guitars, wood, compensation factors, and balancing the tone of the instrument.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Review: Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock by Tom and Mary Ann Evans

1985
AL#2 p.53   BRB1 p.488            read this article
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer calls this the best of the popular (as opposed to scholarly) histories of the guitar.

Letter to the Editor: Brune’s Role of Science in Lutherie

1985
AL#3 p.2               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ Wyszkowski rebuts R. E. Brune’s criticism of the work of Dr. Kasha in AL#1 and mentions the work of Richard Schneider, then goes on to counter a criticism of the GAL.

Letter to the Editor: Brune Critique of Kasha

1985
AL#3 p.5               
Jamey Hampton                                                                                           

▪ Hampton counters R. E. Brune’s criticism of Michael Kasha in AL#1, and draws upon Jose Ramirez III to help defend the scientific philosophy of guitarmaking.

Review: Classic Guitar Making by Overholtzer

1985
AL#1 p.54   BRB1 p.486            
William McCaw                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer praises the book as the most logical of the construction methods he has read, but takes issue with some specific techniques.

Radiation from Lower Guitar Modes

1985
AL#2 p.20   BRB1 p.68            
Graham Caldersmith                                                                                           

▪ 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. Mentions Tom Rossing, Gila Eban, Paul Wyzskowski, Fred Dickens, Michael Kasha, Richard Schneider, and Greg Smallman.

Letter to the Editor: Critique of Article in Vol. 12 #4

1985
AL#1 p.5               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ Wyszkowski defends assertions he made in a previous article (Vol. 12, #4, GAL Quarterly) concerning sound radiation of the (1,0) mode in the classic guitar. His assertion is based on the work of William Strong and Graham Caldersmith. Criticism was made by Gila Eban.

Lutherie: Art or Science?

1985
AL#1 p.38               read this article
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Brune criticizes the theoretical design work of Dr. Michael Kasha, concluding that it is in fact less scientific than the empirical work of luthiers untrained in physics.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Guitar Back Fitting Jig

1985
AL#1 p.42   BRB1 p.13            
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ Davis presents a drawing of a jig for properly forming the sides and lining of a guitar to accept a domed back. The sides are held in a mold while a sanding stick, held by a central post, is passed over them.

Bob Mattingly’s Building Process

1984
DS#289   BRB2 p.456            
Duane Waterman   William Tapia                                                                                       

▪ Mattingly was one of the most respected classical builders in America before his death. This article examines some of the unusual construction techniques he used.

Classic Guitar Soundboard Part 2

1984
DS#294   BRB2 p.340            
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ Various theories and attempts to involve more of the top of classical guitar in sound production, including the methods of Robert Bouchet.

Remembering Hermann Hauser II

1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.10   BRB2 p.154            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ The author visited Hauser in Germany in 1966. This short biography and remembrance adds a bit of humanity to a man who is usually only thought of in terms of the guitars he left behind when he died. With 2 photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

An Interview with H.E. Huttig

1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.12   BRB2 p.109            
David Fisher   H.E. Huttig                                                                                       

▪ H.E. Huttig, wood merchant, writer, world traveler, experimenter, practical musicologist, lover of life, guitar maker.

Evolving the Classic Guitar Soundboard

1983
DS#238   BRB2 p.340            
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ The author began building classical guitars before there was much written help out there, and he evolved his design specs by making a lot of guitars. Some of these have been absorbed into the general body of classical guitar literature, other remain unique. With 14 drawings and 2 photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

GAL Instrument Plan #5: Kasha Guitar Soundboard

1983
DS#243   BRB1 p.214            
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ Eban offers an eloquent argument for trying the Kasha system in your own shop, as well as many details of her own guitars. A page-sized blueprint is included. She maintains that there is a philosophy and an aesthetic behind the Kasha design that is self-revealing and pleasing to work with, and that the design will always be under-realized until a larger number of builders have come to understand and absorb it.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Dissolving the Mysteries

1982
GALQ Vol.10#4 p.8   BRB1p.346            read this article
Graham Caldersmith                                                                                           

▪ Caldersmith loves the scientific aspects of instrument design, and offers this primer to help explain what’s going on in an excited classical or steel string guitar without going off the scientific deep end. The most interesting part is that in his update (17 years later) he has reversed is position on how to use this information. Information doesn’t change as much as how we use it, and we can’t use it if we don’t understand it. That, in a nutshell, is the acoustician’s tenant.

Structural Considerations

1983
DS#235   BRB2 p.452            
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ It’s well known that designing a guitar for longevity and designing a guitar for best performance may drag the designer in opposite directions. Guitar construction is a compromise (like life itself). The author takes a closer look at the situation. With 1 drawing.

Making Bridges Using Power Tools

1982
DS#204   BRB2 p.289            
Kent Rayman                                                                                           

▪ The author uses a table saw and no jigs to help speed up the creation of classical guitar bridges. With 5 drawings.

Head V-Joint

1981
DS#183   BRB2 p.282            
Duane Waterman                                                                                           

▪ The author uses a series of drawings to help explain the creation of a unique but tradition method of attaching the headstock to a guitar neck.

Soundboard Bracing Considerations

1981
DS#171   BRB2 p.201            
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ The author uses a light approach to science to explain the function of the classical guitar top and attempts to translate the functions of physics into a form the luthier can use at the bench.

Evolution of the Classic Guitar- A Tentative Outline

1977
GALQ Vol.5#4 p.12               
Wilfrid M. Appleby                                                                                           

▪ Parts 4, 5, and 6 of this series from the old Guitar News magazine of England. You can find it at www.digitalguitararchive.com/2019/11/guitar-news

Evolution of the Classic Guitar- A Tentative Outline

1977
GALQ Vol.5#3 p.6               
Wilfrid M. Appleby                                                                                           

▪ This lengthy article originally appeared in a six part version in Guitar News, which has long since ceased publication. But you can find it at www.digitalguitararchive.com/2019/11/guitar-news.

Guitar Sound Criteria

1977
DS#44   BRB2 p.200            
Thomas Knatt                                                                                           

▪ Knatt discusses the elements of classical guitar construction that help create the sound he is after, such as thinning the top, the characteristics of the action and saddle, accuracy of fret placement, and the effects of brace shaving. Mentions Carleen Hutchins.

Tuning the Guitar

1977
DS#45   BRB1 p.288            
Ian Noyce                                                                                           

▪ ‘Bet you thought you knew how to tune a guitar. Some are fussier than others, right? Noyce explains that fussiness, and by examining the fussiness it can in part be designed out of the guitar. On the other hand, part of the problem is psycho-fussiness, meaning that you have to tune to suit the peculiarities of human hearing. They say that horses have perfect pitch, so tuning up must be much less of a chore for them.

Flamenco Capo

1977
DS#46   BRB2 p.25            
Don Alfieri                                                                                           

▪ Flamenco guitars are very light in weight, and a conventional capo could unbalance them and even change their sustain. This all-wood capo should correct the problem.

Manuel Davila: Renaissance Man

1975
GALNL Vol.3#2 p.1   BRB2 p.61            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Hutting happens across Manuel Davila in Guatemala City, who builds guitars that are completely original and do not follow tradition in construction and decoration.

Epitaph for a Luthier: Miguel Company

1975
GALNL Vol.3#5,6 p.25   BRB2 p.23            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ A number of builders impacted the lutherie scene simply by keeping the craft alive during the dark days of the ’50s and early ’60s, even though they are all but forgotten today. Company fled Castro’s Cuba to Florida, where he made all manner of guitars and Latin instruments.