Some Thoughts on Fiddling – Colin Blair
The fiddle: shrouded in mystery, heralded as one of the most powerful musical instruments, a natural bridge of humanity for the past 350 years, transcending social status to become a favorite pastime of the rich and the poor. The traditional styles played on the…
Resophonic Basics
In the 1920s, the ensemble music of the day began to drown out the guitar. Trumpets, saxophone, and banjos all had a natural volume that simply was too much for guitars to stand up to. George Beauchamp, John Dopyera, and his brother, Rudy, joined…
Interview with Gallagher Guitars
As part of our ongoing Luthier Interview series, we present our conversation with Don Gallagher, chief luthier with Gallagher Guitars. MF: When you first started building guitars, what innovations or craftsmanship did you feel made your guitars different? Are those goals the same today?…
Interview with Huss and Dalton
As part of our ongoing Luthier Interview series, we present our conversation with Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton. We will follow with another interview every few weeks through the next couple of months. MF: When you first started building guitars, what innovations or craftsmanship…
Guitar Bracing
Guitar bracing performs two wildly different functions: strengthen the top of the guitar while allowing it to sufficiently vibrate to produce a warm and resonant tone. In a standard scale guitar with medium guage strings, the guitar’s top withstands approximately 185 lbs of constant…
