Luthier on Luthier with Michael Bashkin

Abe Wechter has done it all: From building guitars one-at-a-time, to running guitar factories both domestically and abroad. For Episode 41 of the podcast, Abe and I take a walk to escape the noise at the 2020 NAMM show. His story takes many twists and turns including successes and failures, corrupt business partners, heartbreak and romance.

Nik Huber comes from a long line of woodworkers, and he carries on his family trade with his team of eight employees that craft exceptionally fine traditionally influenced electric guitars. For episode 40 of the podcast, I met up with Nik at the 2020 NAMM show where he tells us how he got started under the guidance  of Paul Reed Smith after finishing an apprenticeship in cabinetry. Nik also shares his views on woods, finishes and hardware and more.  This episode is sponsored by Dream Guitars. 

Kathy Wingert crafts some of the best and most beautiful acoustic guitars being made today out her shop in Los Angeles. For Episode 39 of the podcast, I sit down with Kathy and talk about photographing and marketing guitars, the development and design of her models and her experience as a female in craft with an abundance of men.

Martin Keith makes acoustic guitars and electric basses out of his one-man shop in Woodstock, New York. For our 38th episode, Martin tells us about his early careers as a journalist and professional bass player before landing a job with Joe Veillette. There, he made over 1000 guitars before starting his own brand. Martin also discusses guitar design and builders that he draws inspiration from. He also tells us about running the Beacon Banjo Company founded by his father, Bill Keith, in the 1960s.  

Award winning guitarist Al Petteway has been performing since the age over 12 across a variety of musical styles. These days, he is best known as a Celtic fingerstyle guitarist and for the gorgeous soundtracks he composes for documentary films. On this episode, Al traces the path of his musical history, and shares several great stories along the way. He also gives advice to musicians and guitar builders about how to make better music and instruments.  

Sam Guidry not only teaches at the Galloup School of Guitar Building, but he also makes world-class acoustic guitars. For Episode 36 of Luthier on Luthier, Sam tells us the unexpected way he started at the Galloup School and what he enjoys about teaching. Sam also runs us through some his guitar's unique design features, and how he uses a top rating measurement system to achieve consistency and get the sound that he wants.

Legendary guitar maker Ken Parker is known worldwide for his innovative archtop guitars. For Episode 35 of the podcast, we caught up with Ken after the first-ever Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival. Ken shares how he blends his deep understanding of classical methods with modern techniques and materials to achieve his goal of making the ultimate acoustic instrument.  

Archtop guitar maker Bill Comins started his career as an aspiring jazz musician. Because of that, he brings the player's viewpoint into all of his guitars. "If I go overboard on making things very resonant, I'm going to be fighting inconsistencies, and as player that is useless to me on the bandstand," he says. For our 34th episode, I sit down with Bill at the Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival, where he shares his player-led insights into archtop guitar design, voicing and amplification

With encouragement from his friend Richard Hoover, Michael Hornick (Shanti Guitars) made his first guitar in 1985. He has not stopped building since. Michael also runs the instrument building workshop at the Bluegrass Academy, which started at the 1992 Telluride Bluegrass festival and is now held yearly at Rockygrass. For episode 33 of the podcast we catch up with Michael on a sunny afternoon during Rockygrass.

Trevor Gore has a goal to build better guitars. To that end, he has applied the full force of his expertise as a professional engineer to research and document the physics of how acoustic guitars work and develop the methods to control the sound. Trevor lays all this out in his two-part book, Contemporary Acoustic Guitar Design and Build, co-authored with Gerard Gilet. For episode 32 of the podcast, he gives us an overview of his approach to designing guitars.

When you look at a Sean Kochel guitar you'll notice the shotgun shell knobs, the bullet casing fret markers, and the 100 year-old woods from demolished buildings that are featured in all his guitars. For episode 31 of the podcast, we visit Sean's remote shop in Montana. It takes us a little while to discuss to his cool guitars, because Sean has quite a history: from working in Alaska's oil fields, to snowboarding and bee keeping, all before starting his successful guitar business.

For our 30th episode of the podcast, we talk with Colorado-based instrument builder Jeff Bamburg. Jeff tells us about his multifaceted approach to the guitar business; including running a retail shop, his custom line of Bamburg guitars, his production line of Rocky Mountain guitars, as well as teaching lutherie and doing repairs. Jeff also explains why one of his goals is to build a business that he can sell,  and about his experiments with double-top and true-tempered guitars.  

Roger Sadowsky makes guitars for many of today's top professional guitarists, and his instruments are in heavy rotation on stages and in studios across the world. For episode 29 of the podcast, we caught up with Roger at the 2019 winter NAMM Show. Roger shares his thoughts on electric guitar tonewoods, neck design, and much more! https://www.sadowsky.com/

Michael Watts is a London-based guitarist deeply steeped in the custom guitar world. Michael knows how to have the "tone talk" both with guitar builders and players. For our 28th episode, Michael discusses his latest CD, gives advice on ordering a custom guitar, and shares his insights into the relationship between luthiers and musicians.   https://michaelwattsguitar.com/home

For Episode 27 of Luthier on Luthier, we sit down with Farhad Soheili,  who was as self-described guitar-infatuated teenager playing and working on instruments 10 hours a day. More than 20 years later, Farhad now owns FSC guitars based in Brooklyn, New York, where he builds incredible vintage-inspired electric guitars and runs a full service repair shop. Farhad shares his insights into running a small business in a big city and how he keeps inspired.