I have been wrestling with lutherie since 1981 (I joined the Guild in 1983, if I recall correctly). My long-suffering wife and sons have tolerated and supported my affliction. I have built about 350 classical guitars along the way. I find it never really gets old because it is so hard to meet my expectations.
▪ bio current as of 2018
2018
AL#134 p.34
Greg Byers
▪ So you made a classical guitar, and it sounds good. You want your next one to sound good, too. You want your output to be consistently good. How do you do that? After decades of lutherie experience, Byers has developed a method of recording the frequency responses of the soundboard at each major stage of construction. Does the tap-tone of the raw top set tell the whole story? No, but it can help you steer the project to a successful conclusion.
2008
AL#96 p.70
Greg Byers
▪ Figuring the placement of the nut and additional fret on extended range classical guitars with additional bass strings.
2006
AL#85 p.38 ALA3 p.40
Woodley White Greg Byers
▪ Byers has been around for a long time. He has an intuitive idea of what sound he is seeking in his guitars and a clinical approach to finding it. That’s quite a combination, and he is quite an interesting fellow. With 7 photos.
2005
AL#84 p.6 BRB7 p.392
Greg Byers
▪ With tools you’ve probably already got in your shop you can make mosaic rosettes that look modern and yet somehow traditional. The techniques differ from the bricks and tiles made of old and are more akin to the processes of making fancy purflings. Cooler than anything, but not for the impatient among us. With 31 photos and a pair of diagrams.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2004
AL#77 p.68 BRB7 p.107
John Greven Eugene Clark Charles Fox Greg Byers Gernot Wagner
▪ A rationale, acoustic or structural, for single blocks VS solid linings VS kerfed linings between the sides and back and the sides and top when building a first guitar.
2001
AL#65 p.57 BRB6 p.215
Greg Byers
▪ Sealing the interiors of fretted instruments: most builders don’t.
2000
AL#64 p.6 BRB6 p.118
Jeffrey R. Elliott Greg Byers Eugene Clark Gary Southwell
▪ Four note-worthy builders of the classical guitar talk about their influences, their building philosophies, and some of the their construction techniques in a panel discussion that should inspire anyone interested in the instrument. With 26 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1996
AL#47 p.34 BRB4 p.368
Greg Byers
▪ Finding perfect intonation through deep math and jiggling the string length at both ends. For some luthiers the quest for perfection knows no bounds. The rest of us are just jealous.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1988
AL#14 p.4 BRB2 p.38
Cyndy Burton Greg Byers Robert Steinegger Buzz Vineyard
▪ This workshop lecture and its audience participation make a wonderful case for the value of collected experience. These 7 pages of text and photos offer tips and information not to be found in any of the French polishing videos and articles that have come out since, as well as explaining the basics of finishing with shellac.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.