Luthiers I have known

[monk]

Bill Grahams story about the luthier who knows how to take his time got me to thinking about some of the luthiers I have known. When it comes to my musical education about instruments an old adage comes to mind: wisdom comes from poor judgment. I placed my instruments in the hands of some very inexperienced luthiers before I learned whom to trust. My favorite luthier, who has since moved out of my area, was temperamental, opinionated and not inclined to small talk, but I liked him and he loved what he did. He worked and lived out of a garage that was packed with splinters and planks of wood. There were guitars, mandolins and fiddles hanging from the rafters. The place smelled great, like resin, varnish and wood shavings. And he treated me and my instrument, whether it was an old run-of-the-mill bowl-back mando or good guitar, with respect. And he did some fine delicate work that I still delight in looking at. The guy never made any money to my knowledge, but he was an unsung hero for anyone who needed an instrument repaired.

So, the point of my rambling, is to ask if you have any memorable luthiers and stories you would like to share.

[Fliss]

I love visiting luthiers' workshops.

When I was considering buying a new mando a couple of years ago I made a trip, with a friend of mine, down to the Bristol area to visit luthier Phil Davidson. Phil is a brilliant character who has been making instruments for a long time, and his workshop is a single-story stone building, formerly a piggery, located on a farm. The workshop is one of those that has instruments hanging from the rafters (including an amazing harp guitar) and interesting racks of tools all round the walls. It also has a Harley Davidson parked in one corner and a wood-burning stove into which I understand he consigns any instruments in progress that fail to meet his standards. He had another customer coming in to talk to him about banjos, so after we'd had an initial chat, he left me and my friend with four mandos to play around with and we spent a very happy hour or so just playing those mandolins while he chatted to his other customer.

I did enjoy that article of Bills, and I agree that luthiers seem to exist in a different time zone.

Fliss

[Mark Walker]

I'm pretty sure I've been to the same luthier's home on the top of the mountain as Bill Graham, and can attest to the fact he does indeed work most things slowly and by hand. (Very few power tools used after some initial cuts and so on.) I confess - other than an instrument repairman I know who also takes his time in repairing instruments (especially re-fret jobs) - I've not been to other luthiers' shops - though Hans Brentrup is on my list to visit. (He's only a couple states away.)

As far as that goes, I should also go visit Dan Voight and Gary Tope - they're not too far from me either.

[Erik Thomas]

As an engineer/scientist I have often been obsessed with somehow possessing the most playable, loud, and beautifully toned instrument possible, but my approach in this regard has been left-brained, controlled by the approach of the scientific method, despite the fact that my playing is dominated by right-brained creative process, largely focused on improv.

I approached a luthier I'd never known before, a guy in Grass Valley, California named Michael Lewis who at the time (1981) hadn't made any F-5s yet--though he'd been building banjos and guitars for years--to help me finish a basket-case kit mando I had 1/2 finished. He accepted, and we talked a lot about what I was looking for, playability, volume, and tone in that order, and so he proceeded to finish (make) his first F-5 with what I had done and the remaining parts.

My uncle Louis Main was a renouned classical violin luthier who had won awards of great merit around the world, and he and his family were close to mine, and he took care of all my mom's violins--kept them in perfect playable condition. She was a very famous child prodigy violinist who went on to become the most famous female violin soloist of the 20th century, Camilla Wicks, and she owned a Stradivarious (the "Duke of Windsor") in the 50s-60s that she sold for $10K but that's another sad story.

But before he died, Louis shared some amazing stories with me about some violin making secrets the Italians kept to themselves that contributed to 1.) longevity - Italian violins that are more than 300 years old still stand up to the environment, and 2.) volume and tone. These secrets that he shared with me and Michael led to this custom mandolin becoming an amazing anachronism of sorts. It was the loudest and most bassy mandolin anyone has heard. We applied the "secrets" of pre-aging the wood and man did it ever work!

However, after playing it for a few years in bands, my tastes changed, and I decided to go for something a little different, with an emphasis on mid-tones (not all bass and chop) but with a "ringy" A and E string, like many good Loars, including Butch Baldasarri's and John Reischman's Loars. I've played both John's and David Grisman's Loars a few times over the years and fell in love with that sound, but the playability of both those instruments was a little unscientific, that is, they both were a little hard to play, though John's is about as easy to play as any Loar I've tried which I think numbers at around 10.

In any case, I had many conversations with Michael about playability and tone, etc. over the years since that first experiment, and he continued making mandolins and became what is in my opinion, one of the best luthiers alive today. He has built many dozens of high-end mandos that are played by all kinds of great musicians, and I own two more that he built. One of them was painstakingly replicated from David's Loar. David loaned his Loar to Michael and he got an MRI or CAT scan done on it so he had all the dimensions.

My favorite Lewis F-5 is an exact replica of David's '29 Loar--well, as exact as you can get without the wood or the years--and it just smokes for tone and volume, but it's at least twice as playable as David's mando because it has a compound radiused fingerboard (flat at the bridge), and Michael's amazing attention to all the variables that go into a super-playable, pro-level mando just made it an amazing instrument.

I think Michael's mandos are the best I've heard, with amazing detail, finish, looks, but most of all, volume, tone, and playability.

Mike, you rock my friend!

Just had to put in the plug. Follow Michael's link in my signature to learn more.

[Michael Lewis]

Erik, thanks for your confidence in me and your trust. It has been nearly a 20 year process getting you the mandolin you REALLY wanted. You pushed me in the beginning, made me reach farther than I was comfortable at times, but I thank you for the educational experience of the process. It is obvious to me that if it were not for your intervention into my comfort zone that I would not be making mandolins today, and certainly not at the current level.

A couple minor corrections, David's Loar is a '23 I think. I wrote the serial number in my notes but I was more focused on getting the measurements and soaking up the "essence of Loar". The CAT scan is of a different Loar.

[lenf12]

Hi Erik,

Are you going to share some of Uncle Louis's secrets to the longevity and especially the tone of Italian violins that can be applied to modern mandolin building. I assume that Michael Lewis knows these secrets and may want to keep them propietary but, if not, why not share them with the rest of the mando world??

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[James P]

A mutual friend introduced me to J.V. Starck about 27 years ago. We all got together at a fernbar after work and she looked so cute with plane curls clinging to her apron. So I asked her out and a few months later we got married.

By far the best move I ever made. :mandosmiley:

[Erik Thomas]

Hi Erik,

Are you going to share some of Uncle Louis's secrets to the longevity and especially the tone of Italian violins that can be applied to modern mandolin building. I assume that Michael Lewis knows these secrets and may want to keep them propietary but, if not, why not share them with the rest of the mando world??

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

Maybe, I'm talking it over with Michael now. More later...

[D C Blood]

Anybody remember Scotty Jackson? He only made twenty-six mandolins in his career, but they were good ones. I had one for several years, and unfortunately had to sell it during an unemployed period. I first met him some thirty-five years ago at one of the early festivals. During his younger years he played banjo with Earl Taylor, played with the Cincinnati/Dayton crowd, I believe...He was from Indiana, moved to Nashville and worked in the Gruhn repair shop for a while. Finally opened his own shop in downtown Nashville. He ended up having to do more repair work than building, but mandolins were his first love. Unfortunately, he passed on a few years ago, but we spent a lot of time remembering the old days, and I'll never forget him. :(

[Cosmic2012]

Anybody remember Scotty Jackson? He only made twenty-six mandolins in his career, but they were good ones. I had one for several years, and unfortunately had to sell it during an unemployed period. I first met him some thirty-five years ago at one of the early festivals. During his younger years he played banjo with Earl Taylor, played with the Cincinnati/Dayton crowd, I believe...He was from Indiana, moved to Nashville and worked in the Gruhn repair shop for a while. Finally opened his own shop in downtown Nashville. He ended up having to do more repair work than building, but mandolins were his first love. Unfortunately, he passed on a few years ago, but we spent a lot of time remembering the old days, and I'll never forget him. :(

Of course I remember him, he is my father :) I know this is an old forum thread, but while searching for information about my father and his instruments my friend came across this forum. I appreciate the kind words about him and his work, which was his life.

Thanks so much,
Derrik Jackson

[Big Joe]

I had never seen this thread before, but I think it is certainly interesting. I have always been thrilled with instruments and the men/ women who work on and build them. I have visited so many shops with so many great luthiers and they have all been just wonderful to me. They are eager to share their knowledge and wisdom and show me wonderful things that make it such a joy to know these wonderful guys. I have been in shops that include, but not limited to Leo Fender, James Olsen, Lynn Dudenbostal, and a ton of others. They were all great to visit.

My most memorable experience was with a luthier that many may not know. He is located in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He builds mandolins and guitars and does a wonderful job. I called him one day many, many years ago and asked if I could visit his shop. I was going to be in his area and was interested in seeing his place. He was so kind to invite me to his place and treat me as if I were a part of the family. He showed me the shop, so many instruments that he had made or owned. He and his wife fed me, made me feel as if I were a part of the family. In all the shops I've been to, and most were far more elaborate, but never have I had such a wonderful experience. I have tried to use that as a guide on how to treat others as they come to our shop.

I have had such a wonderful time with so many luthiers, and many who are here on the cafe. I certainly would not want to short any of them, but this thread is about the one experience and that one is mine. Lloyd LePlant is a great friend to this day, and he makes a great instrument. He built the best 12 fret acoustic guitar I've ever played. It still haunts my dreams all these many years later. Every time I see Lloyd at festivals or SPBGMA or IBMA he is always teh consumate gentlemand and still a joy to be around.

[Loretta Callahan]

Well, then there's our own mandomedic: Ken Cartwright out of Stayton, Oregon. He saved my tail after an unfortunate online purchase. At the time, I could only afford a lay away mandolin .... and not only did the mandolin arrive sans setup, but the dealer didn't even bother to open the box from the manufacturer.

This poor mandolin arrived with a tuning peg fallen off ... it was a mess. Ken's name encouraged the manufacturer to ship two replacement mandolins ... quickly. Three mandolins later ... I got a decent mandolin with a stellar setup. Ken is a true musicians advocate.

Fretworks in Portland, OR did a great setup on my ancient Gibson ukulele. And there's a guy who works out of the Brass & Reed Store in Vancouver, WA who did an amazing setup on my first mandolin. It was cheap, but plays very, very well.:grin:

[Bill Van Liere]

A few shops that I have stopped by-

Paul Newson
Bryan Galloup-Galloup Guitars, Big Rapids, MI
Chris Baird-Arches Mandolins, Moab, Utah
Del Langiens (sp) same name guitars, Holland, MI
James Condino-big bass shop, Asheville NC
Chris Abel- Asheville, NC, premier wooden flutes & whistles
Mike Kemnitzer
Ben Wilcox-BRW, Ostrander, Ohio shop
225 Parsons St. Kalamazoo, MI

I love these guys that build this stuff, a bred unto their own. What a privilege it is to see where these works of art come from.

[D C Blood]

Hey Derrik...It is good to see you on the Cafe. I would love to keep in touch with you. I imagine George Gruhn could tell you some stories about your Dad...get hold of him at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. Also, I believe Tim Carter of the Carter Brothers Band in Ridgetop, Tn knew him pretty well. Mike Long, who makes Long Guitars here in Nashville was also a friend. I wish I still had my Jackson mandolin. I bought it in '96 and loved it. He was an artist with his work, and left us way to soon.

[D C Blood]

Ken Ratcliff, maker of Silverangel Mandolins, is a special artist when it comes to mandolins. Living in northeastern Kentucky, he has been building high quality mandolins since 1982. His is a one man operation (though for a short time his now ex-wife was building with him) and most of his work is done by hand. He is easy to work with when you order a mandolin, and works extra hard to get you exactly what you want in an instrument. He is known especially for his top of the line mandolins with his oil paintings and relief carving on the backs, and for his wonderful distressed models. He learned his craft from his father, Buddy Ratcliff, who is a violin builder, and has a brother who is a violin builder and repair worker. They both live near Ken and still do a lot of work with violins.