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Luthier on Luthier with Michael Bashkin

Every month, luthier Michael Bashkin interviews his peers and guitar building heroes for the Luthier on Luthier podcast. Brought to you by the Fretboard Journal magazine.
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Now displaying: Category: Music,
Feb 22, 2021

Ian Davlin, who goes by the online moniker "Ian Hates Guitars," may have a complicated relationship with guitars, but he sure is good at fixing them. For episode 51 of Luthier on Luthier, Ian tells us about working for Breedlove Guitars and his eventful interview process at Nashville's famous Gruhn Guitars, where he worked for many years. 

Ian also tells us about the development of his heat stick neck removal tool and his popular finish touch up class he teaches at Dan Erlewine's shop. These days, in addition to doing repairs, Ian runs a Patreon supported guitar repair group which has proved to be an invaluable source for excellent information on all aspects of the business.  

Links: 

https://ianhatesguitars.com https://www.patreon.com/ianhatesguitars https://www.instagram.com/ianhatesguitars

This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars and American Music Furniture.

Jan 26, 2021

Tom Ribbecke is a lutherie legend and one of the originators of the custom guitar scene as we know it today. For episode 50 of the podcast, Tom walks us through his first 50 years of guitarmaking, including the evolution of his sound bubble guitar, his Halfling model, and his compliant rim guitars and basses. Tom also takes us back to the ‘70s guitar building scene in San Francisco and ends the podcast with some truly profound advice for aspiring builders.

Links:

http://www.jackcasady.com/the-diana-bass-by-tom-ribbecke/
https://www.facebook.com/tom.ribbecke
http://www.maegenwellsguitars.com/
https://www.lhtguitars.com/story
https://stuartdayguitars.com/

This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars and American Music Furniture.

Dec 23, 2020

Luthier Rosie Heydenrych is the builder behind England's Turnstone Guitar Company. On episode 49 of the podcast, she shares her approach to voicing instruments, including the use of tonewoods from her native England. She also discusses her views on women in lutherie, her work flow, and how she adopts new techniques and technology into her builds.

Link: Turnstone Guitar Company.

This month's episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars.

Nov 27, 2020
Nigel Forster started building guitars at age 17 as an apprentice with Stephen Sobell... and he stayed with Sobell for the next 15 years. Along the way, Nigel has taken some truly interesting globetrotting side trips, including studying in Buddhist monasteries. During one of those trips Nigel wrote a book titled, Making a Living in Lutherie, which is filled with both practical tips on running a shop and life advice that Nigel describes as "soft-core Buddhism." These days, Nigel is building a variety of acoustic instruments including steel strings flattops, tenor guitars, archtops, mandolins and Irish bouzoukis out of his shop in Queensland, Australia. 
 
Links:
https://www.nkforsterguitars.com/
https://www.nkforsterguitars.com/books/
http://www.sobellguitars.com/
 
This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars.
Oct 20, 2020

In 1969, Frank Ford and Richard Johnston started the legendary Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, California. On episode 47 of the podcast, Ford tells us what it is like to run one of the world's premiere repair shops for over 50 years.

We hear about the early days of Gryphon (including their initial attempts to build and sell handmade instruments). Ford also talks about the store today, his philosophy on communicating with customers, his favorite repairs, and how, thanks to Dan Erlewine, he got started in teaching.

Links:
https://www.gryphonstrings.com/
http://frets.com/
http://www.frets.com/HomeShopTech/

Sep 23, 2020
Nicolai Schorr makes instantly recognizable and remarkable electric guitars mostly with hand tools out of his home shop in Berlin, Germany. For episode 46 of the podcast, Nicolai takes us through the inspiration for and the development of his thoroughly original models. He also discusses his neck construction, artistic background, and his philosophy on enjoying work and the guitar building process.
 
Links-
http://schorrguitars.de/
https://www.instagram.com/schorrguitars/
 
This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars.
Aug 20, 2020
Michael Greenfield makes spectacular acoustic guitars out of his state-of-the-art shop in Montreal. For episode 45 of the podcast, he takes us through his thought process on designing multi-scale instruments for drop tunings, and the evolution of his models. Michael also discuses his journey into the profession, building for the high end custom market, final guitar voicing, and much more.
 
Links: 
https://www.greenfieldguitars.com/
https://charliehunter.com/
https://andymckee.com/

This episode is sponsored by our friends at Dream Guitars.

Jul 20, 2020
Mike Baranik has been making extraordinary world-class acoustic guitars for decades. On episode 44 of the podcast, Mike recounts the music influences that got him interested in guitars and tells us about his studies at the Roberto-Venn school in the early '90s. Mike also talks to us about his first guitar shows, finding his identity a a luthier, meeting deadlines, re-purposing tools, and using CNCs. Lastly, we get to hear all about Mike's successful venture into electric guitars and how it compliments his acoustics. 
 
Sponsored by Dream Guitars
 
Links
http://www.baranikguitars.com/
https://www.instagram.com/baranikguitars/
https://roberto-venn.com/
Jul 1, 2020
There is not much that Adam Buchwald doesn't do in the world of guitars. He owns Allied Lutherie (which he recently relocated from California to Vermont to better service East Coast builders), he builds Circle Strings guitars and is also the co-owner of the Iris Guitar and Mandolin company.  For episode 43 of the podcast, Adam tells us how a once-aspiring musician and music major at the University of Vermont ended up working at Retrofret Vintage Guitars and becoming a full-time luthier with a diverse business model.  

Links

https://alliedlutherie.com/

https://www.retrofret.com/

http://www.circlestrings.com/

https://www.irisguitarcompany.com/

 

Jun 5, 2020
Steve Klein and Steve Kauffman have been making some of the world's finest and most innovative guitars since their partnership began in the 1970s. For episode 42 of the podcast, I caught up with them at the 2020 NAMM show where they share their origins, give us their thoughts on Kasha designs and tonewoods, and tell us how they have been able to successfully collaborate for over 40 years.
 
This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars
 
Links
https://kleinsbench.com/
https://www.kleinandkauffmanguitars.com/
http://www.benstrano.com/

 

Mar 26, 2020
Nik Huber comes from a long line of woodworkers, and he carries on his family trade with his team of eight employees that craft exceptionally fine traditionally influenced electric  guitars. For episode 40 of the podcast, I met up with Nik at the 2020 NAMM show where he tells us how he got started under the guidance  of Paul Reed Smith after finishing an apprenticeship in cabinetry. Nik also shares his views on woods, finishes and hardware and more. 

This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars

Links: 
https://www.nikhuber-guitars.com/index.html
https://www.prsguitars.com/
https://formentera-guitars.com/
https://www.carymorin.com/
http://www.grantgordy.com/
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/keep-music-live-project-29989688540
Feb 28, 2020
Kathy Wingert crafts some of the best and most beautiful acoustic guitars being made today out her shop in Los Angeles. For Episode 39 of the podcast, I sit down with Kathy and talk about photographing and marketing guitars, the development and design of her models and her experience as a female in craft with an abundance of men. Kathy also tells us about her time in college studying and performing classical guitar and how she got started in luthiere with a violin maker at World of Strings music in Los Angeles.
 
Links:
http://www.wingertguitars.com/

This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars

Feb 2, 2020

Martin Keith makes acoustic guitars and electric basses out of his one-man shop in Woodstock, New York. For our 38th episode, Martin tells us about his early careers as a journalist and professional bass player before landing a job with Joe Veillette. There, he made over 1000 guitars before starting his own brand. Martin also discusses guitar design and builders that he draws inspiration from. He also tells us about running the Beacon Banjo Company founded by his father, Bill Keith, in the 1960s.  

Links:

http://www.veilletteguitars.com/

https://www.martinkeithguitars.com/

http://www.beaconbanjo.com/

This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars

Dec 26, 2019
Award winning guitarist Al Petteway has been performing since the age over 12 across a variety of musical styles. These days, he is best known as a Celtic fingerstyle guitarist and for the gorgeous soundtracks he composes for documentary films. Over his 50 year career, Al also worked as a photo editor for National Geographic. For Episode 37 of the podcast, Al traces the path of his musical history, and shares several great stories along the way. He also gives advice to musicians and guitar builders about how to make better music and instruments.  
 
Links
http://www.alandamy.com/bio.html
https://www.pearlworks.com/
http://kenburns.com/
http://www.tippinguitars.com/
http://www.circaguitars.com/
Nov 5, 2019
Legendary guitar maker Ken Parker is known worldwide for his innovative archtop guitars. For Episode 35 of the podcast, I caught up with Ken after the first-ever Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival. Ken shares how he blends his deep understanding of classical methods with modern techniques and materials to achieve his goal of making the ultimate acoustic instrument.  
 
Link: Ken Parker Archtops 
 
 

 

Sep 4, 2019
With encouragement from his friend Richard Hoover, Michael Hornick (Shanti Guitars) made his first guitar in 1985. He has not stopped building since. Michael also runs the instrument building workshop at the Bluegrass Academy, which started at the 1992 Telluride Bluegrass festival and is now held annually at RockyGrass.
 
For episode 33 of the podcast we catch up with Michael on a sunny afternoon during RockyGrass. Michael shares stories from building the spray booths at Santa Cruz Guitars to how he marketed his instruments largely through the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Even in his retirement, Michael has not slowed down a bit and is still in love with the craft. 
 
https://bluegrass.com/rga/classes/lutherie
http://shantiguitars.com/
https://santacruzguitar.com/ 
Mar 26, 2019
Michael Watts is a London-based guitarist deeply steeped in the custom guitar world. Michael knows how to have the "tone talk" both with guitar builders and players. For our 28th episode, Michael discusses his latest CD, gives advice on ordering a custom guitar, and shares his insights into the relationship between luthiers and musicians.  

https://michaelwattsguitar.com/home

 

Feb 25, 2019
For Episode 27 of Luthier on Luthier, we sit down with Farhad Soheili,  who was as self-described guitar-infatuated teenager playing and working on instruments 10 hours a day. More than 20 years later, Farhad now owns FSC guitars based in Brooklyn, New York, where he builds incredible vintage-inspired electric guitars and runs a full service repair shop. Farhad shares his insights into running a small business in a big city and how he keeps inspired. 
 
Links:
https://fscinstruments.com/
http://www.fslutherie.com/
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