https://acousticguitar.com lessons, music to play, and how-tos for all guitarists Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:27:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/acousticguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/AG_Favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 https://acousticguitar.com 32 32 103806923 https://acousticguitar.com/tonewoodamps-helene-webman-on-her-companys-unique-gear-and-mission/ https://acousticguitar.com/tonewoodamps-helene-webman-on-her-companys-unique-gear-and-mission/#comments Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=142520 Webman tells the story behind one of the most intriguing pieces of guitar technology to emerge in the past decade.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/tonewoodamps-helene-webman-on-her-companys-unique-gear-and-mission/feed/ 3 142520 https://acousticguitar.com/how-guitar-makers-are-responding-to-climate-and-supply-threats/ https://acousticguitar.com/how-guitar-makers-are-responding-to-climate-and-supply-threats/#respond Sun, 05 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=141900 Guitar manufacturers are rethinking their processes in a world where climate change and deforestation are no longer abstract problems.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/how-guitar-makers-are-responding-to-climate-and-supply-threats/feed/ 0 141900 https://acousticguitar.com/noemi-schembri-has-dedicated-herself-to-a-life-in-lutherie/ https://acousticguitar.com/noemi-schembri-has-dedicated-herself-to-a-life-in-lutherie/#comments Sun, 29 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=141821 Her instruments, evenly divided among steel-string, nylon-string, and crossover guitars, have earned rave reviews.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/noemi-schembri-has-dedicated-herself-to-a-life-in-lutherie/feed/ 4 141821 https://acousticguitar.com/reuben-cox-old-style-guitar-shop/ https://acousticguitar.com/reuben-cox-old-style-guitar-shop/#comments Sun, 10 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=141048 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.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/reuben-cox-old-style-guitar-shop/feed/ 3 141048 https://acousticguitar.com/john-monteleones-exquisite-archtops/ Sun, 09 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=138670 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.]]> 138670 https://acousticguitar.com/lillian-werbin-new-co-owner-and-president-of-elderly-instruments/ https://acousticguitar.com/lillian-werbin-new-co-owner-and-president-of-elderly-instruments/#respond Sun, 25 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=135597 Werbin talks about balancing dreams and realities at the celebrated East Lansing, Michigan, music store founded by her father, Stan Werbin, in 1972.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/lillian-werbin-new-co-owner-and-president-of-elderly-instruments/feed/ 0 135597 https://acousticguitar.com/luthier-william-eaton-has-made-a-life-in-music-with-a-passion-for-unconventional-instruments/ https://acousticguitar.com/luthier-william-eaton-has-made-a-life-in-music-with-a-passion-for-unconventional-instruments/#respond Sun, 09 Apr 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=134944 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]]> https://acousticguitar.com/luthier-william-eaton-has-made-a-life-in-music-with-a-passion-for-unconventional-instruments/feed/ 0 134944 https://acousticguitar.com/a-visit-with-archtop-luthier-tim-frick/ https://acousticguitar.com/a-visit-with-archtop-luthier-tim-frick/#respond Fri, 31 Mar 2023 15:56:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=104813 For the last decade, luthier Tim Frick has quietly been pushing the envelope on the design of the archtop guitar.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/a-visit-with-archtop-luthier-tim-frick/feed/ 0 104813 https://acousticguitar.com/maegen-wells-is-building-next-level-archtop-guitars-in-her-northern-california-workshop/ https://acousticguitar.com/maegen-wells-is-building-next-level-archtop-guitars-in-her-northern-california-workshop/#respond Fri, 10 Mar 2023 17:05:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=125766 “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.”]]> https://acousticguitar.com/maegen-wells-is-building-next-level-archtop-guitars-in-her-northern-california-workshop/feed/ 0 125766 https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-linda-manzers-sunflower-guitar-for-ukraine/ https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-linda-manzers-sunflower-guitar-for-ukraine/#respond Wed, 01 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=134906 Renowned Canadian luthier Linda Manzer made the "Sunflower Guitar" to raise funds to aid the Ukrainian people.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-linda-manzers-sunflower-guitar-for-ukraine/feed/ 0 134906 https://acousticguitar.com/steve-nall-steps-into-a-big-new-role-at-collings-guitars/ https://acousticguitar.com/steve-nall-steps-into-a-big-new-role-at-collings-guitars/#respond Sun, 29 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=134142 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.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/steve-nall-steps-into-a-big-new-role-at-collings-guitars/feed/ 0 134142 https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-a-loyal-customer-inspires-a-bold-new-big-hollow-jumbo/ https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-a-loyal-customer-inspires-a-bold-new-big-hollow-jumbo/#respond Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=134097 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.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-a-loyal-customer-inspires-a-bold-new-big-hollow-jumbo/feed/ 0 134097 https://acousticguitar.com/5-luthiers-30-and-under-share-their-stories-and-talk-shop/ https://acousticguitar.com/5-luthiers-30-and-under-share-their-stories-and-talk-shop/#respond Sun, 20 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=133545 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.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/5-luthiers-30-and-under-share-their-stories-and-talk-shop/feed/ 0 133545 https://acousticguitar.com/handsome-instruments-from-retired-industry-icon-dick-boak/ https://acousticguitar.com/handsome-instruments-from-retired-industry-icon-dick-boak/#respond Sun, 09 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=133274 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.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/handsome-instruments-from-retired-industry-icon-dick-boak/feed/ 0 133274 https://acousticguitar.com/rick-turners-personal-2007-compass-rose-model-guitar/ https://acousticguitar.com/rick-turners-personal-2007-compass-rose-model-guitar/#respond Sun, 04 Sep 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=132501 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. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/rick-turners-personal-2007-compass-rose-model-guitar/feed/ 0 132501 https://acousticguitar.com/bob-taylor-richard-hoover-dana-bourgeois-50-years-of-guitar-making/ https://acousticguitar.com/bob-taylor-richard-hoover-dana-bourgeois-50-years-of-guitar-making/#respond Mon, 08 Aug 2022 15:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=129193 Bob Taylor (Taylor Guitars), Richard Hoover (Santa Cruz Guitars), and Dana Bourgeois (Schoenberg, Bourgeois Guitars) reflect on 50 years of guitar making.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/bob-taylor-richard-hoover-dana-bourgeois-50-years-of-guitar-making/feed/ 0 129193 https://acousticguitar.com/classical-guitar-builder-joshia-de-jonge-on-experimentation-and-a-life-of-lutherie/ https://acousticguitar.com/classical-guitar-builder-joshia-de-jonge-on-experimentation-and-a-life-of-lutherie/#respond Sun, 31 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=120924 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.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/classical-guitar-builder-joshia-de-jonge-on-experimentation-and-a-life-of-lutherie/feed/ 0 120924 https://acousticguitar.com/remembering-luthier-rick-turner-and-his-many-contributions-to-the-guitar-world-and-beyond/ https://acousticguitar.com/remembering-luthier-rick-turner-and-his-many-contributions-to-the-guitar-world-and-beyond/#respond Sun, 24 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=132661 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.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/remembering-luthier-rick-turner-and-his-many-contributions-to-the-guitar-world-and-beyond/feed/ 0 132661 https://acousticguitar.com/paul-reed-smith-took-inspiration-from-torres-for-his-acoustic-guitar-design/ https://acousticguitar.com/paul-reed-smith-took-inspiration-from-torres-for-his-acoustic-guitar-design/#respond Sat, 23 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=132928 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.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/paul-reed-smith-took-inspiration-from-torres-for-his-acoustic-guitar-design/feed/ 0 132928 https://acousticguitar.com/thomas-ripsam-c-f-martin-and-co-s-first-non-family-ceo/ https://acousticguitar.com/thomas-ripsam-c-f-martin-and-co-s-first-non-family-ceo/#respond Wed, 22 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=131970 Thomas Ripsam’s path to CEO at C.F. Martin & Co.’s Nazareth, Pennsylvania, headquarters is even more unlikely than most.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/thomas-ripsam-c-f-martin-and-co-s-first-non-family-ceo/feed/ 0 131970 https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-custom-21-style-cowardin-000/ https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-custom-21-style-cowardin-000/#respond Sun, 15 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=128853 A friend commissioned Jack Cowardin to build an understated 000 acoustic guitar to complement his 1938 Martin 000-18. The result was much more than just wood and metal.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-custom-21-style-cowardin-000/feed/ 0 128853 https://acousticguitar.com/remembering-guitar-innovator-rick-turner-1943-2022/ https://acousticguitar.com/remembering-guitar-innovator-rick-turner-1943-2022/#respond Thu, 21 Apr 2022 20:09:57 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=130992 Remembering guitarist, luthier, electronics designer, and Acoustic Guitar contributor Rick Turner, who passed away April 17, 2022 at age 78.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/remembering-guitar-innovator-rick-turner-1943-2022/feed/ 0 130992 https://acousticguitar.com/kathrin-hauser-and-her-familys-guitar-making-dynasty/ https://acousticguitar.com/kathrin-hauser-and-her-familys-guitar-making-dynasty/#respond Wed, 09 Mar 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127809 The Hauser guitar making dynasty started in the late 19th century with Josef Hauser (1854–1939) and continues today with Hermann Hauser III and his daughter Kathrin Hauser.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/kathrin-hauser-and-her-familys-guitar-making-dynasty/feed/ 0 127809 https://acousticguitar.com/jeff-jewitt-dual-roles-finishing-supplier-and-guitar-luthier/ https://acousticguitar.com/jeff-jewitt-dual-roles-finishing-supplier-and-guitar-luthier/#respond Thu, 06 Jan 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127010 Without any formal training in lutherie, Jewitt, now in his late 60s, has made a name for himself as a sought-after boutique guitar maker.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/jeff-jewitt-dual-roles-finishing-supplier-and-guitar-luthier/feed/ 0 127010 https://acousticguitar.com/how-i-learned-to-make-guitars/ https://acousticguitar.com/how-i-learned-to-make-guitars/#respond Mon, 22 Nov 2021 16:09:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=113962 What does it take to go from loving acoustic guitars to actually building them? To answer this, we asked a handful of luthiers to tell us their origin stories.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/how-i-learned-to-make-guitars/feed/ 0 113962