Makers & Shakers: A Visit With Eric Schoenberg
“I’ve always been ‘the OM guy,’” says Eric Schoenberg, from his shop in the tiny enclave of Tiburon, California, just north of San Francisco.
Innovation Through Tradition: Four Modern Luthiers Discuss Their Craft
The world of guitar making is in an exciting moment, with exceptionally skillful luthiers handcrafting instruments to the highest standards. Many of these artisans are making instruments in ways that draw from traditional techniques and designs while bringing them into the contemporary world—through everything from porcelain resonator cones and tiny…
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Makers & Shakers: Talking Shop with Steve Uhrik of Retrofret Vintage Guitars
If you met Steve Uhrik, the founder of Retrofret Vintage Guitars in Brooklyn, New York, out of the context of his shop, you would likely have no idea he was “somebody” in the vintage guitar industry. In fact, he would probably reject that description entirely and turn the conversation towards…
Tony Klassen of New Era Guitars Is a Revivalist of Under-Appreciated Designs
The Indiana-based luthier, who runs a one-man operation, produces impressive reproductions coveted by collectors and pros alike
The Ebony Project: Taylor Guitars Plants Trees in Cameroon to Preserve This Vulnerable Tonewood
Taylor Guitars has long been a leader in responsible guitar making, working with domestic and international suppliers to ensure that its instruments are made of sustainable tonewoods. In 2011, Taylor took its biggest step to date when it teamed up with the Spanish luthier supply company Madinter to purchase an…
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The Hands Behind the Hands: Albanie Falletta’s Single-Cone Resonator
Bonham Design is immersed in the hand-making of many things, resonator ukuleles and guitars among them.
George Gruhn on the State of the Vintage Guitar Market
As Gruhn Guitars approaches its 50th anniversary, Gruhn, has plenty to say about prewar instruments, speculators and collectors, old guitars vs. new ones, and more.
Adam Buchwald of Iris Guitar Company & Circle Strings
“I wanted to make guitars for working musicians, and most musicians—at least the ones I know—can’t afford to spend $4,000 on a custom guitar,” Buchwald says.
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Wood Science: Tom Bedell’s Commitment to Sound Optimization and Sustainability
Commitment to understanding variations in the trees that become guitars are the pillars of his design philosophy at Bedell Guitars and at Breedlove
Scott Baxendale is ‘Remanufacturing’ Old Harmony and Kay Guitars
His conversion process is centered on replacing ladder-style bracing with his proprietary scalloped X-bracing.
Canadian Luthier Builds Guitars with Wood from Jimi Hendrix’s Childhood Abode
Reuben Forsland of Vancouver Island’s JOI Guitars forged an agreement with Experience Hendrix, the Hendrix family–owned business that controls Jimi’s estate, to build guitars using materials from a modest home that Jimi lived in for several years after his father Al purchased it in the spring of 1953.
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Fraulini Guitars’ Todd Cambio Digs for Inspiration in the Overlooked Guitars of the Past
The Chicago native specializes in building instruments like those used by such early guitar heroes as Lead Belly and Eddie Lang
A Friday Afternoon Visit to the Collings Shop
On a blazing hot July afternoon in Austin, Texas, a patter of guitarspeak could be heard in the front office of Collings Guitars.
Martin Celebrates Its Flagship D-28 With a New Exhibit
Standing in front of the display cases and taking it all in, it’s easy to witness the dynamic nature of the D-28’s history and that of its predecessors.
Makers & Shakers: Matt Eich of Mule Resophonic Guitars
"I wanted to make a resonator guitar that was closer to an acoustic instrument, with traditional resonators that sounded and looked different, and were warmer."
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Taylor Guitars Rolls the Dice—Again
Taylor looks to the future with its new V-Class bracing system, which was designed to boost the volume and sustain of its instruments, while also improving their intonation.
George Lowden, Building Guitars His Own Way for 43 Years
Northern Ireland’s Lowden Guitars recently celebrated the production of its 20,000th guitar with a commemorative model called Genesis. This instrument marks over 40 years in lutherie for George Lowden, whose journey has brought him to the upper echelons of guitar makers worldwide. Working with a small crew that includes members…
A Shop Visit with Luthier and Restorer David Eichelbaum
Luthier and instrument restorer David Eichelbaum's M.O. stems from one simple tenet: Do no harm.
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Makers & Shakers: Kathy Wingert Reveals Her Unlikely Path to Lutherie
On a Sunday last June, I couldn’t help but notice a strange wooden creation resting on a purple towel on Kathy Wingert’s workbench. It was the rough and elongated soundboard of a harp guitar, the historic instrument that Wingert and a select cohort of modern luthiers have been revisiting in…
Great Acoustics: Greg Brandt’s “Bubbles” Guitar
Maybe it’s the glint in his eye, but you get the impression that luthier Greg Brandt has a whimsical soul. And one look at his guitar “Bubbles” confirms it.
Guitar Makers Challenged by New Rosewood Restrictions—and What This Means for Players
If you don’t already know all the materials used in creating your instrument, now is the time to find out.
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Linda Manzer, Jean Larrivée, Grit Laskin, and More Luthiers Honor Canada’s ‘Group of Seven’ Painters with Artful Guitars
Seven Canadian luthiers spent months building guitars inspired by Canada's famed "Group of Seven" painters.
Jack Casady’s Custom Acoustic Bass Leads Luthier Tom Ribbecke to a Higher Calling
When legendary bass player Jack Casady’s beloved wife Diana passed away, the Hot Tuna bassist went to luthier Tom Ribbecke's shop in search of a new guitar.
Highlights from the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase 2016 [Photos]
A photo gallery from the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Showcase 2016.
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Artist William Matthews Keeps Western Tradition Alive with Martin’s 2016 LE Cowboy Acoustic Guitar
The Golden Age of the cattle drive lasted a mere 20 years, from 1866–1886. But the cowboy has since occupied a distinct role in American consciousness. A lone figure, often on a horse, tending to nature’s perilous landscapes and occasional scofflaws, the cowboy is seen as a folk hero, a…
