Tag Archives: Barnes¸ Samuel

Samuel Barnes

New Guild member Sam Barnes is a husband, father, and teacher who enjoys refactoring complex concepts into tangible analogies and actionable tasks. When not herding cats in the professional world or training budding project managers in academia, Sam enjoys football (soccer for the Yanks), cycling with his wife, and playing music with his kids. He has designed a bass guitar for his eldest son, and maintains lofty luthieristic aspirations, but has never actually constructed a guitar. He secretly hopes that his writings will inspire donations to his burgeoning workshop.

▪ bio current as of 2022

Meet the Maker: Thomas Beltran

2025
AL#155 p.6               
Samuel Barnes   Thomas Beltran                                                                                       

▪ Are you like me? (That is to say, a self-starting kid who managed to cobble together a working guitar in the 1960s)? If so, you’ll understand the journey of Tom Beltran, another of our tribe of pioneers. Or if you have not yet started receiving Social Security checks, you may be amazed at the perseverance he showed, battling through the pre-GAL wilderness to become a successful and respected maker of classical guitars. Either way, you’ll be touched by his story of kind strangers and generous mentors. Touched, but not surprised, because that’s the story of the American Lutherie Boom, which is a wonderful, significant, and righteous thing. We all built it together. Thanks, everybody. Mentions David Russell Young, Paul Estenson, Irving Sloane, Arthur Overholtzer, Jose Romanillos, Bob Mattingly, Lloyd Baggs, John Carruthers, Frederick Noad, Greg Brandt, Max Krimmel, Richard Schneider, Michael Kasha, Vicente Gomez, Christopher Parkening.

Closing Up Shop

2022
AL#146 p.23               
Samuel Barnes                                                                                           

▪ Remember those heroic old days when a few of us self-starting hippies dreamed of a forging a renaissance of guitar making in America? Well if you do, you are probably already past “retirement age.” What will become of all your tools and wood? Will your grandkids just toss them out? Time to start thinking about it. Sorry.