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.
Guitarmakers and Guitarmaking
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.
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.
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.
Thomas Ripsam, C.F. Martin and Co.’s First Non-Family CEO, Combines a Love of Guitar with Global Business Experience
Thomas Ripsam’s path to CEO at C.F. Martin & Co.’s Nazareth, Pennsylvania, headquarters is even more unlikely than most.
A Guide to Identifying Common Acoustic Guitar Shapes and Sizes
The steel-string acoustic guitar appears in many different sizes and shapes. This guide gives a general understanding of the most common styles and what they may offer players