Dale Fairbanks Blends His Jazz Background with a Passion for Crafting Vintage-Inspired Guitars
The Fairbanks Guitars founder talks about his journey from being a jazz trumpeter and guitarist with coffee-shop day jobs to becoming a master luthier.
Scott Memmer’s Charmed Life Picks Offers Handcrafted Alternatives to Tortoiseshell Plectrums
A conversation with Scott Memmer, whose cutting-edge products have brought him lots of fans in the world of acoustic instruments.
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Cat Fox of Sound Guitar Repair Fixes and Restores Instruments for Stars and Hobbyists Alike
The acoustic instrument "health and wellness" expert talks about her training, memorable repair jobs, and her recent move to New England.
Santa Cruz Guitar Company’s Richard Hoover Brings out His Choicest Tonewoods for the Stunning New Vault Series
Hoover enlisted the most skilled luthiers in his workshop to build a series of instruments that would represent the state of the art of the steel-string guitar.
The Secret to Shubb Capos’ 50 Years in Business? It’s the Little Things
Checking in with Rick Shubb, founder of Shubb Capos, on his company’s 50th anniversary.
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Rosie Heydenrych of Turnstone Guitar Company Incorporates English and Other Tonewoods in Her Stunning Custom Instruments
Founded in 2015, Turnstone has been gaining accolades and visibility in the custom-built acoustic world.
ToneWoodAmp’s Helene Webman on Her Company’s Unique Gear and Mission
Webman tells the story behind one of the most intriguing pieces of guitar technology to emerge in the past decade.
How Guitar Makers are Responding to Climate and Supply Threats by Turning to Sustainable Sources, Alternate Materials, and More
Guitar manufacturers are rethinking their processes in a world where climate change and deforestation are no longer abstract problems.
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Sicilian Luthier Noemi Schembri Has Dedicated Herself to the Craft of Guitar Making
Her instruments, evenly divided among steel-string, nylon-string, and crossover guitars, have earned rave reviews.
How Reuben Cox of L.A.’s Old Style Guitar Shop Came to Build and Tweak Guitars for Stars and Hobbyists Alike
Whether working on guitars for Jackson Browne, building a rubber bridge for an instrument powering a Taylor Swift hit, or setting up some kid’s cheap acoustic, Cox keeps chasing a sound—and inviting the world along for the ride.
John Monteleone’s Exquisite Archtop Guitars Are Seen in the Hands of Top Players and Museum Display Cases
If there’s a living heir to the great mid-20th-century luthiers like John D’Angelico and James D’Aquisto, John Monteleone would have to be it.
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Checking In with Lillian Werbin, the New Co-owner and President of Elderly Instruments
Werbin talks about balancing dreams and realities at the celebrated East Lansing, Michigan, music store founded by her father, Stan Werbin, in 1972.
Luthier William Eaton Has Made a Life in Music with a Passion for Unconventional Instruments
William Eaton has made many unconventional instruments since the mid-1970s, and he has helped students learn how to build much more straightforward guitars at Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery
A Visit with Archtop Luthier Tim Frick
For the last decade, luthier Tim Frick has quietly been pushing the envelope on the design of the archtop guitar.
Maegen Wells Is Building Next-Level Archtop Guitars in Her Northern California Workshop
“I don’t ever say that I chose to get into guitar making,” says archtop guitar maker Maegen Wells. “I felt like I was surrendering to a mission.”
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Great Acoustics: Linda Manzer’s Sunflower Guitar for Ukraine
Renowned Canadian luthier Linda Manzer made the "Sunflower Guitar" to raise funds to aid the Ukrainian people.
Steve Nall Steps into a Big New Role at Collings Guitars
Steve Nall recently took over selecting tonewoods and voicing the tops and backs of all Collings acoustic guitars after working for decades with mentors Bill Collings and Bruce VanWart.
Great Acoustics: A Loyal Customer Inspires a Bold New Big Hollow Jumbo
When a repeat customer asked Big Hollow Guitars' Bevan Frost to build a large-bodied guitar with unique inlays, the luthier rose to the challenge.
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Young at Art: Five Luthiers 30 and Under Share Their Stories and Talk Shop
Five promising young luthiers—Brian Itzkin, Oliver Marchant, Eve Meister, Max Spohn, and Olivia Elia—chat about their personal visions and approaches to the craft of building guitars.
Great Acoustics: A Trio of Hand-Built Instruments from “Retired” Industry Icon Dick Boak
Since his retirement in 2018, former C.F. Martin & Co. mainstay Dick Boak has continued hand-building instruments like this dreadnought-ukulele-small-bodied-guitar trio.
Great Acoustics: Rick Turner’s Personal 2007 Compass Rose Guitar Speaks to His Forward-Thinking Style
Rick Turner created many unique Compass Rose acoustics, but this one—regarded as among his finest—was the luthier’s personal guitar and a showcase of both his bold concepts and skilled execution.
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Golden Jubilee: Bob Taylor, Richard Hoover, and Dana Bourgeois Reflect on 50 Years of Guitar Making
Bob Taylor (Taylor Guitars), Richard Hoover (Santa Cruz Guitars), and Dana Bourgeois (Schoenberg, Bourgeois Guitars) reflect on 50 years of guitar making.
Classical Guitar Builder Joshia de Jonge on Experimentation and a Life of Lutherie
Classical guitar builder Joshia de Jonge talks about experimenting in her own shop after years of working alongside her father & other facets of a life of lutherie.
Remembering Luthier Rick Turner and His Many Contributions to the Guitar World and Beyond
Alembic, Turner, The Dead's Wall of Sound—The late luthier Rick Turner, who died last April at 78, had such an illustrious career that to fully describe it, one would need to write a medium-size book.
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Paul Reed Smith Took Inspiration from Torres for His Acoustic Guitar Design
When Paul Reed Smith first heard an 1800s acoustic guitar built by Antonio Torres, he knew his own steel-string guitar designs would borrow structural elements from Torres.