Dan Erlewine literally wrote the book on guitar repair: He's the author of The Guitar Player Repair Guide, which was first published in 1990. A well-worn, dog-eared copy of that book is always close to my bench and it's how I first learned guitar repair. (I bet it taught many of this podcast's listeners, as well.) Over his 50 year career, Dan developed many of the methods luthiers use today and he never shied away from taking on the most challenging repairs.
For the 52nd episode of the podcast, Dan tells us about his career as a touring musician, opening for some of the biggest acts in the late '60s. He also discusses the guitars he built for Albert King and Jerry Garcia, his time at Stewart MacDonald, some of his toughest repairs, his favorite tools, and his new signature model DE-11 guitar made by the Iris Guitar Company.
Links:
https://www.irisguitarcompany.com/
This episode is sponsored by Allied Lutherie, Dream Guitars and American Music Furniture.
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.
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.
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.
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/
This episode is sponsored by our friends at Dream Guitars.
Links
https://www.irisguitarcompany.com/
This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars.
This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars.
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/
This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars.
https://michaelwattsguitar.