At last year’s Fretboard Summit, lutherie legends Michael Gurian (Gurian Instruments) and Dick Boak (formerly of Martin Guitars) presented us with a manuscript. It was a fully assembled book of stories – some hilarious, some heartbreaking – from a who’s who of instrument making. From the minute we started browsing it, we knew we were getting into book publishing.
An Instrument Maker’s Guide to Insanity and Redemption: Behind-the-Scenes Stories from the Instrument Making and Repair Community is now available. It’s a soft-bound, 6″x9″ book filled with over 120 pages of collected stories. Included are tales from the likes of John Monteleone, Steve McCreary (Collings Guitars), Grit Laskin, Kathy Wingert, George Gruhn, Andy Powers (Taylor Guitars), John Greven, and others.
This isn’t a how-to book meant for guitarmakers; there’s nothing technical inside. It’s for anyone who has obsessed over handmade instruments and their makers and wondered about all the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into the craft. It’s a snapshot of the quirky, obsessive nature of our favorite makers and we love it.
