Luthiers’ Round Table

This Article Was Originally Published On: February 3rd, 2015 #Issue 15

It’s summer time, and we thought we’d take a little break with this more lighthearted installation of Bass Gear Magazine’s Luthiers’ Round Table. Once again, the Round Table Luthiers include (in alphabetical order) Sheldon Dingwall, Harry Fleishman, Vinny Fodera, Randall Wyn Fullmer, George Furlanetto, Mike Kinal, Kenneth Lawrence, Gerald Marleaux, Carey Nordstrand, Michael Pedulla, Roger Sadowsky, Pete Skjold, Michael Tobias, and Joe Zon, though being that we are on summer break, a couple of the guys were off having fun doing other things.

Here are the questions for the luthiers:

TB – What other activities do you enjoy, outside of building basses?

Roger Sadowsky wih bonefish

Roger Sadowsky – My favorite activities are cooking, photography and bonefishing.

Pete Skjold – Well, anyone who knows me knows how much I like to cook and how much I like to fish. I like to cook as much ethnic food as I can, and right now, I have entered my Indian cuisine phase. [ha ha] (pic of chana masala and butter chicken masala). I like fishing for saugeye and bass here, locally, or for crappie on my trips to Colorado. Of course, I still love playing bass and have just started a new band, which is a great outlet from building basses

Michael Pedulla – Photography, backpacking, travelling, flying.

Harry Fleishman’s snorkle buddy

Harry Fleishman – I love snorkeling, but don’t get to do it as often as I’d like. The quiet and beauty of snorkeling in tropical water is refreshing and invigorating, even as it takes energy. I did a night snorkel a couple of years ago with giant mantas in Hawaii. The mantas swam in big (15′) loops, like back flips, corralling plankton to eat. They would loop up out of the dark and loom before me, six inches from my face and eight feet across their wingspan. Major drama. It’s always a treat to see giant green turtles. Swimming with turtles has a feeling of communing with another species. I pretended to eat off a rock next to one, and after about three or four minutes, it reached its big flipper over and put it on my arm. I was honored, but had to explain that I was married.

Gerald Marleaux – I am in my workshop from 8.00 – 21.00 h on every weekday. There is not much time for other things. On the weekends, I love to spent time with my family and work on my 280-year old house. If I have time, I love to enjoy very good French red wine together with my wife – and also good food.

Kenneth Lawrence playing bass

 Kenneth Lawrence – (ahhh, the temptation to be silly and irreverent…)

I still do a lot of playing (gigs and recordings). I have been fortunate to be able to play music with a lot of truly fantastic players over the years and continue to do so. I’ve been back to playing mostly fretless the last few years, and it continues to be a tonic to recharge the batteries.

Like Pete and Roger, I love to cook as well (my Japanese knives and French crepe pan are my favorite tools, there). Also, like Gerald, I spend the majority of my time in my shop, but sometimes, I take a break from building and geek out on my actual work space. I love organizing and “dialing in” the space and yes, I do keep it this clean (OCD much… ?)

Randall Fullmer – My favorite activity has become grabbing my wonderful girl friend and heading to the beach here in California with our little two-person Airstream trailer. There’s a favorite beach that’s just a 45-minute drive away from my shop, and it’s completely transformational. We head out on a Friday at noon and come back on Sunday afternoon. Those two days once or twice a month really rejuvenate a saw dust king, I tell ya!! The second photo is a recent sunrise at the beach. How wonderful is that!!??

Randall Fullmer’s weekend getaway

Sheldon Dingwall – I don’t skate vertical as much as I used to. But since you asked…:) [insert skate boarding pic]

The most rewarding time is spent with my kids, hanging out. No real agenda, just “what would you like to do now?” kind of thing. When I’m not doing that, I like heading off to Starbucks with my laptop and doing design work or journaling. Journaling sounds a little girly-man-like, but I find that clearing out the day-to-day clutter that collects in the corners of my brain helps with focus and creativity at work.

Sheldon Dingall riding the bowl

George Furlanetto laying it down

George Furlanetto – I’m having so much fun playing live. I’ve been with the same band members for 31 years, so it’s like a huge extended family; even all the wives get along! I enjoy learning and practicing outstanding and favorite bass lines and practice, practice, practice to improve my playing skills. Unfortunately, computer games get in the way… I love to search out really good, inexpensive wines. It’s a long search!

Mike Tobias motorcycles

Michael Tobias – Motorcycle touring. I currently ride a 2008 R1200R BMW. The old one is a 1964 Norton Atlas 750; Daniel has a 2009 R1200R BMW. We really enjoy riding down to the summer NAMM show … taking the long way down or back. Our favorite trip was to Clarksdale, MS, via Memphis, and seeing Stax Records and the museum. Clarksdale is a great place to visit if you are into the blues.

An example of Carey’s ribs

Carey Nordstrand – I like to do lots of things. I’m having a lot of fun smoking pork products and posting pics on Instagram and Facebook. I have had a Big Green Egg for over ten years and it’s the greatest thing, ever. I’m really wanting an offset smoker right now, though. I also have a small bonsai collection that I like to maintain. Bonsai is art with a living medium; very relaxing and peaceful thing to do. Then there’s my recording studio. We’re building a new one at the moment (because we need more space) and I just started a band with some killer players. I’m also producing the best local artists I can find. I love getting in the studio with my guitars, basses, and pickups. It really gives me a sense of how everything works, from the wood in the instruments all the way to the pickups and the digital audio. Speaking of which, I’m really loving my UAD Apollo setup. The best thing I’ve found lately is their Neve 1073 preamp plugin;

sounds amazing on bass.  

Mike Kinal – My interests and hobbies alongside of guitar building are road biking, and playing music (i.e. drums, guitar and bass).

Mike Kinal on drums

Joe Zon – We haven’t found any difference in sound between our headed and heaTBess basses. The stiffness and rigidity of our necks plays a big role in the consistency of response and sustain in our instruments. I can, however, see how that would not hold true with a wood-neck instrument. From my experience in building wood-neck instruments, having a headstock, the size of that headstock (mass) and whether or not it is angled has a direct relationship to the sustain and tonal characteristics of the bass.

TB – If you were not a luthier, what do you think you would do for a living?

Roger Sadowsky with Marcella Hazan

Roger Sadowsky – Probably be a chef.

Pete Skjold – I would love to have one of those gourmet lunch trucks and serve up all kinds of tasty finger food; and of course, I would be playing bass, too. I have a feeling cooking will be a common thread among us; very creative and it is a lot quicker than making a bass.

An example of Pete Skjold’s cooking

Michael Pedulla – Design and build furniture.

Harry Fleishman – Am I doing this for a living? I wish someone had told me. When I was starting out as a guitar and bass builder, I was also playing music, driving a cab, and making art. I had a piece in the collection of the L.A. County Museum of Art and installed a large piece in the Joclyn Art Museum, in Omaha. I worked as a studio musician and songwriter in Hollywood for Criterion Music. I guess if I had not become a luthier, I would have been not making a living as a musician, artist, or cab driver!

Harry Fleishman NYC taxi driver

Gerald Marleaux – I’ve never thought about other things to do. To me, building basses is not a job. For me, it’s my life.

Kenneth Lawrence – I started as a cabinet/furniture maker, so I might have stayed with that. Otherwise, I’ve always been fascinated with the workings of the mind, so maybe some facet of psychology…  

Randell Fullmer painting

Randall Fullmer – If I wasn’t building guitars these days, I would be a landscape painter. Another passion that I never get to do enough. Completely connects me with nature and a total joy!!

Sheldon Dingwall – Something in the design and engineering area. In addition to basses, guitars and hardware, I’ve designed and made longboards, clothing, mountain bike parts and a couple of simple medical items that I prototyped and tested while recuperating from a longboard accident (should probably do something with the medical stuff).

George Furlanetto – If I wasn’t a luthier, I’d be either an architect or high-end homes and deck builder … sticking with wood construction.

Michael Tobias – Not really sure … this is all I have wanted to do and have done since my early 20’s.

Carey Nordstrand – I’ve been really interested in car restoration lately. I love cars. Especially the way they sound. My old boss Steve Azola went back to restoring cars, and I can really see the artistic appeal. He does concours level work and was very inspiring to me back when I worked for him. That or I’d own a bonsai nursery. But that might not work so good for the whole “make a living” thing, though. Before guitars, I tried to find a career in the recording industry, but that didn’t go very well. I’d love to do more of that again, but again, I’m not sure if there’s any living to be made, there.

Mike Kinal – If I wasn’t building guitars and basses professionally, I probably would have stuck with cabinetmaking and teaching.

Joe Zon – We have built chambered wood-body basses and semi-acoustic basses where the back and sides are composite, with a “floating” spruce or maple top; both types having composite necks. Randall gave a very good explanation as to what is going on, so I won’t delve any further. I will say, that despite our different neck construction and the aforementioned consistency we experience in our instruments due to those materials, we have had similar differences in tone between solid, chambered and semi-acoustic bodies, as found with their wood-neck counterparts. Chambering the bass can “open up” the acoustic side of the instrument a little bit, depending on how much chambering is done. Likewise, it can cause the voice to lose a little focus, in relation to a solid body, but not enough to be a detriment to the overall sound. With the semi-acoustic, having the sides and back made of a thin composite, the body acts like more of a speaker cabinet, causing the top vibrate in a way that provides greater volume, yet retaining more focus than a chambered body.

TB – What is your favorite tool in the shop?

Roger Sadowsky – Can’t pick one … here are my favorites: 

Roger Sadowsky’s favorite tools

…more of Roger’s favorite tools

Pete Skjold – I guess I am like Roger; I have too many I really like. The one that I really enjoy working on, and is my newest, would be my inverted pin router. I liked it so much, I am refurbishing another. I would bet we are all a little geeky when it comes to our favorite tools, LOL!   

Michael Pedulla – All of them.

Harry Fleishman – Trying to decide a favorite tool is like saying which is your favorite kid, except that the one you don’t choose can’t put you in a crappy retirement home. My favorite from a practical view is a tool I designed that lets me rout for binding blindfolded. (Someone on the web added the note on the photo.) It takes a scary job and makes it foolproof. My favorite for just plain cool is a vintage Theo. Alteneder & Sons 11-point 6″ equal spacing divider that I got at a garage sale the first year I was building. It is absolutely precise and really cleverly designed. I got it for five bucks, but to replace would cost hundreds – if I could even find such a thing. I suspect most of us enjoy making our own tools and love some of them as children.

Harry Fleishman’s divider

Gerald Marleaux – I love my machines and especially my wood stock, but the tools in the picture, below, are what I mostly hold in my hands.

Gerald Marleaux’s wood stock

Gerald Marleaux’s favorite tools

Kenneth Lawrence – Being a total tool junkie (I peruse tool catalogs while eating lunch), I have a LOT of fantastic tools, but I do have to say that these Tasai and Kamaji chisels are right up there as favorites.

Kenneth Lawrence favorite tools

Sheldon’s Fadal Mililing Machine

Randall Fullmer’s non marring vise

Randall Fullmer – I admit that I have so many “favorite” tools that it was a hard decision. However, overwhelmingly, it’s my pattern maker’s vise with pivoting, non-marring jaws. I literally use this vise for everything I do. And the fact that it’s so versatile that you can work on a guitar when it’s completely finished and never mar the surface lets me refine, repair and adjust right till I deem it ready to ship. Couldn’t exist without it.

Sheldon Dingwall – There was something that just clicked inside of me when I first saw a CNC machine. It was a nearly 20-year goal to obtain a Fadal CNC mill. It’s the most challenging, frustrating, difficult-to-master, yet rewarding machine in our shop. As a creative tool, it has unlimited potential. I think the US government should consider the DeCaussin family (Fadal) and Haas family (Haas) among others when they are handing out medals for creating value in the economy. The sheer quantity of products that these machines have made possible for small businesses to produce is mind boggling. We machine necks, bodies, circuit boards, tooling, aluminum bridge parts etc on ours.

Sheldon’s Powermatic Drill Press

Machine #2 would be our vintage Powermatic drill press. This thing’s a monster. It was made in the last year of Powermatic production in Tennessee. Having a drill press like this was also a 20-year goal. It has a mechanical variable speed, which is a hugely useful feature. The table is extremely flat, plus it’s wide enough to hold an entire neck while you drill near the end. Normally, drill press tables – at least the new ones – are slightly cupped, so you can’t drill a perpendicular hole. Plus, most drill press tables are relatively small, requiring you to balance the work with one hand, as well as hold it in position and drill it – you run out of hands pretty quickly!

George Furlanetto – Favorite tool??? I don’t think I have one…probably the best tool suited for the job at that moment; I guess I’m just a practical guy.

Mike Tobia’s favorite tool

Michael Tobias – My favorite has always been the pin router, although Daniel does most of this work now. Over the past 35 years, I have had four different ones. This SCMI R9 is the 2nd one, and it is over ten years old, now. The last one lasted nearly 30 years. The name of the machine always makes me laugh…

Carey Nordstrand – My favorite tool is probably my first Tanac winding machine. This machine basically allowed me to really start producing pickups that have winding patterns optimized for what I like to hear and that was a huge thing in the development of my career. My laser machine was also a really big deal and allowed a lot of creative freedom in coming up with new interesting pickup designs (like the Big Single).

Mike Kinal – My favorite tools are generally hand tools. These are the tools that start the whole process from the creative side. Once the prototype is made, the big machines can take over.

Joe Zon’s favorite tool

Joe Zon – I don’t subscribe to the idea that a “custom bass” should be custom, in the sense that the player gets to choose all the materials and components for the bass desired. I feel that is a recipe for disaster, which with some players, can lead to enTBess tail chasing and result in a bass not sounding anywhere near what the player wants. To me, basses can be much like wine. As there are many different basses, there are many different wines. Let’s take a cabernet for example. When you open that bottle, you are enjoying the experience and craft of a vintner who knows the nuances of the terroir, the fruit and how to blend them in a way that the wine will exhibit the best characteristics of those elements. That same idea applies to the boutique basses we all in this article build.