Music for Kids: How String Instruments Work Music for Kids How String Instruments Work All stringed instruments make sound and notes by vibrating. Musicians make the strings vibrate by rubbing a bow against them, striking them, or plucking them. However, if you were to take a string and stretch it tight and pluck it, it likely would not make a very loud sound. It also wouldn't make a very interesting or musical sound. This is where the instrument comes in. Making the Sound Louder Most stringed instruments have something that amplifies the sound (makes it louder). This is called the soundbox or resonator. The soundbox is often the largest part of the instrument or the body of the instrument. The top of the soundbox, called the sound board, is usually made of a type of wood that vibrates. Sound Moves from the Strings to the Soundbox When the strings vibrate their vibration is picked up by something called the bridge. Usually the strings rest on the bridge near one end. The bridge then transfers the vibrations to the sound board which vibrates and uses the soundbox to amplify and make the sound loud enough for people to hear.

The Strings There are three ways that strings can produce different notes: Length - Longer strings vibrate slower and make lower sounding notes than shorter strings. Weight - Heavy, thick strings make lower notes than lighter thin strings. Tightness - A tight string makes a higher note than a loose string. This is how different strings and different instruments are able to produce different notes. Playing a Note or Notes Different string instruments are played different ways. As we discussed on the main string instrument page, some are played with bows, some with picks, and some by plucking or strumming with your fingers. How you make a note is different depending on the instrument as well. With a guitar or a violin the musician vibrates the string with one hand and then presses down on the string, or strings, with the other hand. By pressing down on the string the musician changes the length of the string and, therefore, the note. Some instruments are played differently. One is the harp where there can be a lot of strings of different lengths and weights. In this case the musician just plucks the strings with both hands. They don't change the length by pressing on a finger board, but there are a lot of different length strings helping them to make all sorts of sounds.

Fun Facts about How Stringed Instruments Work The strings are usually made from nylon thread or steel wire. Pianos are considered string instruments that are played by striking or hitting the string. Most civilizations have produced some kind of stringed instrument. Fine bows for violins can use up to 150 horse hairs. The four main types of stringed instruments used in an orchestra are violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. They are all similar instruments but are different sizes to make different types of notes. More on string instruments: Guild of American Luthiers - Makers & Instruments Makers & Instruments | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Abita Springs Guitar Co. LLC . Manuel & Patterson Guitar Makers. Makers of high quality acoustic guitars, located in Abita Springs, Louisiana. Clay Alden builds mandolins, mandolas, Irish bouzoukis, mountain dulcimers, and a hybrid of a ukulele and a mandolin, a "mandolele".

Located just outside of Nashville, TN Alfieri Guitars ~ Fine Guitars ~ Repairs ~ Restorations ~ Roger Allan has been building guitars since 1960 in Suffolk, England. Allen Guitars. Guitars,mandolins,resophonic "Building Tomorrow’s Collectable Instruments Today". Amati , international marketplace for musical instruments (violin family). A clearing house for violin makers to list their instruments, as well as auctioning musicians instruments. American Archtop Guitars , World class handmade custom Archtop and Electric Guitars by Dale Unger and his son Tyler in Nazareth, Pa. David Amour , classical and steel string builder in Mt. Shasta, California. Micheal A. Anderson, violin, viola and cello maker. Also sell maple tonewood. Robert Anderson Guitars , builds steel and nylon string guitars. Located Victoria Canada. Thomas Holt Andreasen builds classical guitars in Granada, Spain. Andrian Andreev builds and restores violins, violas and cellos. Located in Kazanlak, Bulgaria. Aaron Andrews , builds, designs, repairs and restores instruments. Located in Seattle, Washington.

Peter Apers, Apers Guitars , dreadnought and steel string builder. Located in Rio Rancho, New Mexico; The Arbach Oud , made for the professional musician or passionate amateur, is handcrafted by luthiers Daoud & Bahij Arbach in Ottawa, Canada.. Archi al Sud , Ciro Caliendo, violin, viola and cello maker and restorer in Italy, according to traditional Neapolitan craftsmanship - Liutaio di tradizione napoletana. Armani Guitars , Custom handmade guitars & expert guitar repair based out of Denver, Colorado. Armor Guitar Company - Custom guitars, mandolins and dobros by James Peters, in Springfield, Tennessee. "For the player, by a player". Ask the Luthier: Abe Wechter's contribution to Guitar Net. Richard Aubut specialised in guitar-making for 30 years now. Services include guitar repair, maintenance, adjustments. Also available to give workshops on guitar-making, as well as making customized hand-made guitars. Stephane Audet , Classical and steel-string guitar maker in Quebec, Canada B & B Resophonic Guitars, handcrafted custom squareneck resophonic guitars. Located in Albany, Ohio.

Violinmaking by Dmitry Badiarov - website for historically informed violin making and playing. Kent A. Bailey , master carver with 30+ yrs exp. Specializing in decorative carving on instruments, also builds custom guitars. Located in Woodland Park, Colorado. Martyn Bailey professionally trained restorer and maker of orchestral instrument based in the South of England, many photos on web site. Albey Balgochian , basses made by a bass player. Banjoshq.com , a website devoted to banjos. Gene Bard's photos of building a guitar. Newcomb Barger & Attuneable Wood Guitars. Designing & Building Arch Top,Steel String, and Nylon String Guitars since 1969 Pete Barthell , building since 1976. Lives near the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. William Bartruff maker of fine violins, violas and cellos since 1972 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thomas Bazzolo , building classical guitars since 1983, located in Sullivan, Maine Allan Beardsell , builder of guitars of the acoustic, electric, historical, and harp styles, and mandolins.

Hugues Beaulieu designs and builds custom acoustic guitars. Also customises any electric guitars as well as builds custom pickups. Located in Québec, Canada. Pete Beer Guitars , classical guitar maker in the Forest of Dean (southwest England), Gloucesterhire, United Kingdom. Jean Belair builds guitars with his twin brother Jacque in Quebec, Canada. Thomas Beltran , classical guitar maker located in Los Angeles, California. Benedetto Guitars . Archtop guitars since 1968. Currently completely handmade in Savannah, Georgia. David C. Berg offers handmade violins from beginner to professional grade, mandolin, banjo and guitar construction, also instrument repair in Northeast Pennsylvania. Brad's page of Steel Lap guitar stuff. Greg Brandt has been building in the Los Angeles area for almost 30 years specializing in nylon string instruments. Tobias Braun is a maker of classical, flamenco and steel-string guitars for more than 20 years now. Located in Gaaden bei Mödling, Austria. Jack Briggs maker of handmade electric guitars. Eduardo Brito , luthier from Brazil. His website is in Portuguese at the moment, but will have a English version in the near future.

Lots of great pictures. Lawrence K. Brown builder in Asheville, North Carolina. Builds violin, viola, cello, baroque guitars and lutes. R. E. Bruné His new website. Quality Classical Guitars and other new and historic instruments. Still under construction, he invites you to much interesting information and a tour of his Museum, Showroom, and his (much-too-orderly!) Workshop. Paolo Busato builds Renaissance and Baroque Lutes, Archlutes, Theorboes and Baroque Guitars in Padova, Italy. Paul Butler , interesting page of some lutherie projects and other things. Peter Byrne , young instrument maker, and artist, based in Scotland. C.A. Guitarworks . Setup, repair, refinishing and are authorized by Fishman Pickups, Larrivee Guitars, Parkers Guitars, Taylor Guitars, Washburn Guitars. Caldersmith Lutherie Page . Graham Caldersmith, luthier. John Calkin has been building and repairing instruments for over 30 years. Located in Greenville, Virginia.

Cankaya Music , handmade oud, kanan, tanbur, bowedtanbur, lavta, saz, kudum, def, bendir, and daire by Saddettin Sandi. Bernie Caouette ~ Caouette Banjos . Hand~Crafting 5-string banjos in New England. Michael E. Carroll , builder of traditional fine handcrafted acoustic guitars. Al Carruth The webpage of Al Carruth. Cassidy Guitar , Kevin Pedro, maker of fine steel string acoustic guitars. Handcrafted acoustic & electric guitars by Northern California Guitar Maker, Dave Cassotta . Guitar Repair & Modifications. Celtic Cross Instruments - makers of all slide guitars such as copys of Weissenborn in teardrop and standard shape in 25" and 30" scale. Charis Acoustic The webpage of Bill Wise. CloverLick Banjos , focus is exclusively building open back clawhammer banjos with brass hardware. Located in Burlington, Wisconsin. Mike Collins classical and steel string maker in Argyle, NY. Steve Connor has been building since 1994 and builds 12-15 custom classical and flamenco guitars a year out of his shop on Cape Cod.

Ron Cook Studios . Since 1972, maker of Early American and medieval European instruments and sound sculptures. Master Member of the Baulines Craft Guild. Corilon Violins ; Instrument dealer and restorer. Located in Munich, Germany. Covey's Guitars , hand crafted acoustic guitars. Built by Nehemiah Covey, Washington U.S.A. Curbow String Instruments builds electric and acoustic/electrics in Morganton, Georgia. James Curtis builder and repairer for 17 years, specializing in mandolin, guitar and ukulele family instruments, located in Port Townsend, WA. Darkwood Music has been designing and handcrafting fiddles and basses for bluegrass, country and folk musicians since 1984. Frank Davies creator of the MIDI 24-fret Classic Electric Guitar. J. Thomas Davis Archtops, classical, steel string, Irish citterns and bouzouki's. Website has many tips that are useful. Brian W. Daw Violins , has been building and repairing instruments since 1990 in Monmouth, IL.

Christopher de Groot , violin maker of 30 years expierence, was an instructor at the Violin Making School of America and am a past president of the Violin Society of America. John A. Decker, Jr. , founder of RainSong Graphite Guitars and inventor of the modern carbon-fiber/epoxy acoustic guitar, now specializes in classical guitars made from exotic woods. He builds in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. Manuel A. Delgado and his family have been building handmade guitars since 1928, in Nashville, Tennessee. Demers Guitars Handcrafted electric and acoustic guitars made by canadian luthier Jef Demers. Stepan Demirdjian violin maker,repairer and bow restorer, sells gold plated string adjusters and silver mounted bow frogs. Located in Plovdiv,Bulgaria. J.K. Dänae Denby-Spencer , Orphic Airs, see their catalog of handcrafted instruments. Daniel Dennis , building acoustic instruments in Alberta, Canada. Robert Desmond a fine website from this classical guitar maker.

Dey Martin Guitars : Luthier/ builder of custom handmade acoustic guitars and ukuleles in Palm Springs, California that are inspired by tradition, using only the finest sustainably sourced and reclaimed materials available. SInce 2011. Fidencio Diaz Fine Classical Guitars, Flamenco & Requintos. Located in Canovanas, Puerto Rico Rich DiCarlo builds classical, 7 & 8 string flamenco and nylon jazz guitars in Richmond, New Hampshire. Harold Dickert , steel string and electric guitar maker in Kilbride, Ontario, Canada. Steve Dickie (Steve Dickie Guitars) builds guitars in Wiarton, Ontario, Canada. Different City Guitars offers fine handmade guitars by world class luthiers. Featuring Archtop, Classical and Steel String Acoustic Guitars. Dominelli Guitars . Fine classical, flamenco guitars by Canadian luthier Marcus Dominelli. Doolin Guitars Handcrafted double-cutaway acoustic guitars by Oregon luthier Mike Doolin. Carlo Doria , violins, viola, violoncello and contrabass. Located in Chiavari, Italy.

Leroy Douglas Violins , builds concert quality violins in the classic Italian tradition in Eugene, Oregon. David Dubois builds steel string guitars in Wilton, New Hampshire. Barry Dudley builds classical guitars and violins in Atlanta, Georgia. Tony Duggan-Smith Tony Duggan-Smith, guitar builder in Toronto, Canada. Do Viet Dung , Vietnamese luthiers. Their new web site is for anyone interested in traditional Vietnamese instruments. Their site also shows guitars, violins and mandolins hand made in Vietnam. They also want to cooperate and exchange experiences with luthiers about making instruments. Flamenco Guitar Homepage Harry Fleishman, Fleishman Instruments , teacher, builder, designer extraordinaire. Charles Fox has been building guitars for over 35 years and has been a longtime author and contributor to the Guild. See his new Ergo model guitar. Frank Ford has a couple of sites, Gryphon Stringed Instruments and Frets.com . You should take a look at both. Free Man Guitars builds steel string guitars in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia. David Freeman , teacher, author, builder of fine instruments in Tugaske, Saskatchewan, Canada. Fretboards - Jeffrey Rogers-Wardle .

Jeff does custom inlay work (abalone, gold, silver, etc.) & marquetry as well as build, modify, & repair guitars to your specifications. The Fretlight Guitar - powerful tool for visualizing hundreds of chord and scale fingering patterns. Bevan Frost , Big Hollow Guitars, has been custom building instruments and doing repair for 6 years in Laramie, WY. The guitars of Gregory Furan. William Gagnon , builder of archtop acoustic and electric guitars. Ray Gander - Gander Guitars , has been building guitars for over 40 years and now builds solid body electric guitars in Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada. Steve Ganz classical guitar builder in Bellingham, Washington. Mark Geiger has been building electric and acoustic instruments in Rowland Heights, California since 1975. George A. Smith, Classical and Flamenco guitars. Rolfe Gerhardt's GREAT Custom Mandolin site. Top of the line. Greg German Denver archtop builder with a great website. Bob Gernandt builds guitars, irish bouzouki's, citterns,mandolins and mountain dulcimers in Bryson City, North Carolina.

Gibson, USA Jimi Glenister has made instruments in South Africa since 1975. Located in Cape Town, South Africa. Mr. Glyn's Guitar Repair , qualified luthier with 15 years experience. Specialising in repair of all fretted instruments. Located in Auckland, New Zealand. Scott Goddard of Violins of Great Falls (VOGF), located in Great Falls, Montana. David Golber makes and repairs violin-family instruments near Boston, with a specialty in Hardanger fiddles. Jonathon Goldstein , repair specialist. Marco Golinelli in collaboration with Luca Centrone and Stefano Zanderighi started Liuteria d'insieme snc in Milan, Italy. David Gomes , guitar and uke builder. Located in Kapaau, Hawaii. Trevor Gore Sydney based builder of fine, custom classical and steel string concert guitars. Author of “Contemporary Acoustic Guitar, Design and Build”. Bob Gramann , guitar builder and folksinger. Granary-Guitars . A Classical Guitar Museum in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Visits are by personal invite only, you can contact them on their website.

Great Southern Lutherie have been making various instruments (acoustic steel, classical, ukuleles & dulcimers) since 2005. Aaron Green classical and flamenco builder from Waltham, Massachusetts. Michael Greenfield builds harp, archtop and steel string guitars. Located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Grimes Guitars . The art of the archtop. Robert Griswold makes and repair guitars in Tellico Plains, TN. Gerry Gruber ( Xaver Guitars ) specializes in steel-string acoustic guitars in Ottawa, Ontario. Eric Fouilhe at info@harmonie.net Harp page . Martin Haycock , builds lutes, archlutes, theorboes and early guitars. Located in East Dean, England. Patrick Healey specializing in the building of "f-style" mandolins. Also repaisr and restores various stringed instruments. Located in Winamac, Indiana. Herron Guitars Santa Barbara. Maker of custom steel string and nylon string guitars. Trevor Hibbs builds dreadnought and classical guitars in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Brad Higgins shop is located at the foot of the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in Hartford, New York.

He has been building and repairing stringed instruments for 30 years. High Desert Guitars Works , I apprenticed under Kim Breedlove and Steve Henderson at Breedlove Guitars. I built all their mandolins and many guitars in my three years there. I now build a limited number of instruments a year from my own shop in Tumalo, Oregon. I am focused on modern alternatives to the traditional guitar and mandolin. Highland Strings offers uniquely handcrafted mandolins, guitars, Saxon lyres, and more built by Jason Harshbarger. Hiltbrand Guitars , building flattops and wooden resophonic instruments and also fretted instrument repair. Located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bob Hitchings has a great site for double bass making. Ken Hodges builds guitars, both steel string, flamenco, and classical nylon stringed instruments in Hilliard, Florida. Frederich Holtier , fine handcrafted concert-quality guitars for discriminating players. Located in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. General John T. Honeycutt built 63 violins after retiring from the Army. Learn more about his legacy on his website. Chris Horton builds classical and steel string guitars in Goa, India.

Dwight Hubley builds electric guitars and basses as well as archtop acoustic guitars in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. Patrick Hufschmid, Hufschmid Guitars , builds electric guitars in Aigle, Switzerland. Thomas Humphrey . Tom is a maker of some of the world's finest classical guitars played by the world's top guitarists. Hurdy-Gurdy website. Alden Hackmann's informative pages on this strange and wonderful instrument. Famous Guitarmakers Internet World Headquarters . Veteran guitarmaker, author, and teacher Anthony Huvard has a host of offerings at this informative site including an online lutherie study course. Hyde Baker , Blue Belly Guitars, builds both electric & acoustic archtop guitars in Los Angeles, CA. Icon Guitars specialize in handmade custom guitars. John iliou , builds semi-hollow electric guitars in Windsor, Ontario, Canada . JBH Fine Instrument builds guitars, ouds, ukuleles, and mandolins, as well as kalimba and marimbula in Eugene, Oregon. JR Custom Guitar .

Create custom acoustic dreadnaughts, OOO, OM, and carved-sided hollow-bodied electric guitars; plus repair, rebuild and restore guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Michael Jacobson-Hardy builds guitars in Florence, MA. Dirk Janssen has been building instruments for over 30 years. Located in Waalre, The Netherlands. Chris Jenkins , guitar builder who still practices verterinarian medicine. A man of more than one talent. Richard Jenner builds and restores a wide variety of musical insturments in Vienna, Austria. Wachira Jinatune guitar builder and repair person in Thailand. Hans Johannson's home page. This Icelandic violin maker has a 12th century castle in Luxembourg for a workshop. Drool material for those of you who build in a low rent shop on the wrong side of the tracks. Arthur Miles Jones' page. FRETWORKS has offered quality-assured guitarshop services since 1982. Jan C. Jones classic guitars in Witchita, KS. See also for some interesting design ideas. John Jordan , maker of Jordan Electric Violins and other stringed instruments.

JW Guitar Restorations , we build custom guitars in addition to repairing and restoring vintage instruments. The homepage of guitarmaker Ed Kalil. Peder Källman, Professional craftsmanship for professional needs. Totally handmade production of violins, violas,cellos and nyckelharpas. Dennis Keefer , Keefer Archtop Guitars. Unique archtop guitars handcrafted one-at-a-time using all solid tonewoods and bindings. Located in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Michael Keller began building guitars in 1975 and is located in Rochester, Minnesota. Dave Keeley builds acoustic and electric guitars, electric basses, mandolins and violins. Located in Kettle Falls, Washington. Neil Kenny sells, buys, and repairs tenor banjos but also deals in plectrum 5 string banjos and mandolins. Rudy Kerzan Custom Guitars specializing in archtop guitars exclusively. David King builds custom headless 4, 5, 6, and 7 string electric bass guitars in Portland, Oregon. Kingslight Guitars - John Kingslight builds steel string guitars, acoustic bass guitars and baritone guitars in Bremerton, Washington.

Steve Kinnaird builds steel strings, nylon string cross-overs, and electric guitars in his Nacogdoches, Texas shop. Andrew Kirk's Home page Canadian violin maker with tips on repair and maintenance. Lars Kirmser's Music Trader's website; informative info for builders and repair people. John Kitakis, Ko'olau Guitar and Ukulele Company , located in Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii. Anthony Klassen has been building guitars since 2006. Located in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada. Edward Klein , classical guitar maker located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Check out the website for Ernie Kleinman . Tom Knatt's site for classical and Flamenco guitars. Check it out!!! Christian Koehn , Maker of fine Classical and Flamenco Guitars. Repairs and Restorations. Located in Berlin, Germany. Saul Koll , a fine maker of archtops, electric guitars & basses. A true innovator. John Kovacich built his own amplifier and effect boxes (shows schematics) plus his own guitars. Lance Kragenbrink steel string builder in Jackson, Michigan.

Bruce Kunkel was Master Luthier, Designer and Creator of Art Guitars at Gibson's prestigious Custom, Art and Historic Division for a decade. He has some pretty amazing work, take a look for yourself. Valentino Lamorte construction, restoration and customization of electric, acoustic and classic guitars, electric basses and string instruments in Alessandria, Italy. Dean E. Lapinel , builds violins and violas and just started making guitars. Located in Boise, Idaho. Instruments of the world from Lark in the Morning as well as some information relating to lutherie. Vicente Larrain luthier, builds, repairs and restores musical instruments (violines, violas, celos, guitars...) in Bogotá, Colombia. Laughlin Guitars acoustic stringed instruments from Vancouver Canada. Anthony Leamy , traditional and contemporary Spanish guitars by the English guitar maker based in Florence, Italy. Bernie Lehmann has been building guitars and more professionally since 1972. Located in Rochester, New York. Don Leister violinmaker in Richmond, Virginia. Bob Lewis Autoharp Works is dedicated to the advancement and interest of the autoharp.

Lichty Guitars , NC luthier Jay Lichty builds custom acoustic guitars and ukuleles and teaches one-on-one and small group workshops throughout the year. Ron Lira, Honest Ron's Guitars , custom built guitars, refinish, amp repairs, parts. Ken Liscombe , Hand crafted electric guitar maker in Burlington, Ontario, Canada James Lister builds classical guitars in Sheffield, England. Living Tree Music - Nowell Siegel/Luthier Custom instruments, specializing in acoustics's, restoration and repair of Vintage musical instruments. Jason Lollar's guitar and electric guitar pickup website; informative free info. as well as commercial content. Chris Lott, Custom hand-built guitars and patented bass and guitar bridges. Located in Logan, Utah. Dale Ludewig builds mandolins and mandolas and will be adding guitars to his list soon, located in DeKalb, Illinois. Mace Custom Guitars , custom designed electric guitar and basses. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado Dave Maize acoustic steel string guitar and basses from Talent, Oregon. Thomas Malapanis , builder of fine classical guitars. MandoAiki , guitar and mandolin repair, custom mandolin and guitars.

Martin's guitarbuilding/Gitarrenbau pages. Not content with producing fine guitars for 5 generations, Martin Guitars have built one of the finest websites around. Explore their history, price list, new offerings, and expunge some rumors and myths. Ben Manning builds a slope-D guitars, a Larson-style parlor guitar, and the John Duffey inspired "Duck" mandolin in Red Wing, MN. Godefroy Maruejouls is a guitar maker based in London, United Kingdom, specialising mainly in Selmer Maccaferri style guitars and classical guitars. Matlin Guitars the homepage of David Matlin. Kathy Matsushita 's journey into lutherie. A great site for anyone thinking about jumping into building instruments! Good reading: a MUST see. Ric McCurdy has been building guitars for 25 years. Located in New York, New York. Brent McElroy has been building guitars for over 10 years in Seattle, Washington. His website has a very nice "making of" that you should check out. McKnight Guitars , founded in 1992 by Tim McKnight with over a decade of experience in building and repairing.

Les McMasters , custom made guitars, also does repairs, restrings, onboard electronics, fret work and setup for maxinum playability. Located in Hermiston, Oregon. McPherson Guitars Exquisite craftsmanship and cutting-edge design. Our handmade guitars feature our revolutionary offset sound hole, innovative bracing, and our state-of-the-art cantilevered neck. Jose A. Perez Menchaca is for the most part occupied with restoring bowed instruments and manufacturing new concert guitars. Ngoh Thiam Meng constructs classical & flamenco guitars in a private studio workshop. Located in Singapore. Richard Mermer handmade and custom guitars. Nice sample picture, price list on webpage. Denis Merrill builds classical, acoustic, and electric guitars and basses, mandolins, and ancient, novel instruments. Located in Tacoma, Washington. Luis Alberto Feu de Mesquita , hand makes mostly nylon string guitars spanish, Macaferri anf Jazz, as well as baroque and ukuleles. Located in Ajax, Ontario, Canada. Stuart Mewburn has been building guitars since 1972 and is based in London, England. Kenneth Michael Guitars.

in addition to complete engineered, user friendly acoustic guitar kits we are suppliers of reasonably priced high quality Tools, Fixtures, Materials and hardware for Professional as well as amateur Guitar Builders and Luthiers. We specialize in time saving devices and components designed to help assure that the project will meet a high level of accuracy and excellence. The vast majority of our products are made in house using our CNC equipment. Leonardo Michelin-Salomon . Hand made classical guitars. Oslo, Norway. Gregg Miner has a site that is dedicated to the playing, restoration, building and preservation of the harp guitar. Moon Beam Mandolins, mandolins, mandolas, octave mandolins, bouzoukis, arch top guitars, soprano ukuleles and tenor ukuleles. Located in Missouri. Montrose Guitars . Steel string guitars built by Scott Lennard, located in Libby, Montana. Moon Guitars , instrument makers who build acoustic guitars, mandolin and mandolin family instruments. Based in Glasgow Scotland. Scott Moon , Moon Guitars, builds one of a kind or one-off guitars by comission. Located in Pebble Beach, California.

Moriah Guitarworks , building guitars in Greensboro, North Carolina. Roger Morillo builds guitars and basses in Charleston, West Virginia. R.M. Mottola , features a collection of resources on the subject of designing and building plucked stringed musical instruments. Andrew Mowry handcrafts mandolin-family instruments in Missoula, Montana. Fritz Mueller , classical guitars, specializes in double-tops. Julian Mullen Guitars carry out repair work for local music stores as well as making custom order instruments. His website details the Danelectro resonator conversions ("Resodan") that hecarried out for Holiday music in London. There is also a gallery of recent custom made instruments. He is based in Reading, England. James W. Murphy builds archtop guitars in Fenton, Michigan. Musicmaker Kits A review of their banjo kit will appear in AL#62. Christopher Myles Guitars over 20 years of building experience. Home of the 'Red Label' guitar. Michael P Nalysnyk , luthier, maker of baroque, romantic and modern classical guitars. Bill Nesse builds classical guitars in Greeley, Colorado. C.A.

Newman builds acoustic, archtop and electric gutiars and basses on Vancouver Island, Canada. Newcomb Barger & Attuneable Wood Guitars . Designing & building arch top,steel string, and nylon string guitars since 1969. David Newton Guitars , building and repairing Guitars and Mandolins since 1975. Located in Beaumont, Texas. Brad Nickerson , building superb steel string guitars since 1982. Located in Asheville, North Carolina. Paul Norman , Forbidden Fruits Guitars. Specializing in 12-string resonator guitars. Robert O'Brien builds classical and steel string guitars as well as teaches guitar building at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colorado. O'Donnell Guitars Fine Quality Custom Handmade Guitars & Basses. Jimmy O'Hare first learned to build guitars in 1977. Located in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada. Chris Oliver , Infinity Luthiers. Building acoustic mandolins and guitars, repair and restoration, located in Springfield, Illinois.

Nelle Doak O'Neill has played and taught violin and viola professionally for the last 35 years and has been building since 1985. She lives in Carson Valley, Nevada. Oriskany Stringed Instruments is run by Johanna Mutti and Curtis Rockwell in a two person shop in Huntingdon, PA. John Osthoff is a luthier from Becket, Massachusetts. Pagelli Guitars , acoustic and electric guitars and electric basses. Located in Chur, Switzerland. Palm Tree Ukuleles , Pam and John Ramsey build ukuleles and buy, sell, trade and repair most other instruments in Colorado Springs, Colorado. John Park builds classical and flamenco guitars in a small shop in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. Steve Parks , a luthier who builds guitars, mandolins etc. and some amazing rocking animals. Ian Pattison , hand sculpted, bent and carved stringed instruments. Located in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. Al Peebels , specialize in custom made guitars in Southern Illinois. Peterson Stringed Instruments Don't forget to check out Glen's page on various Tuning Systems . Neil Peterson builds acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments in Bandera, Texas.

Petros Guitars Bruce Petros has been building guitars since 1972. Jesse Pherson specializing in making and restoring cellos since 1999. Luca Piccioni , lute maker and player. Located in Assisi Perugia, Italy. Tobias Pöhling builds archtop jazz guitars and double basses and repair the same as well as other guitars and stringed instruments in Viersen, Germany. Ken Pollard Repairs neatly done, instruments new & used for sale & rent, bows, cases, instructional books, & fine accessories. Information on Contra and Scottish Country dancing in the Boise area. Gary H. Price builds banjos, mandolin, archtop guitars and arcthop basses and has a variety of banjo and mandolin parts. Let's not forget the Price Fiberglass Cases . He lives in Jones, Oklahoma. Tom Prisloe classical guitar builder from Trumansburg, New York. Gordon Pritchard , Builder of Classical and Flamenco Guitars. Located in Christiansted, Virgin Islands.

Alejandro Quintero builds and restores classical guitars in West Palm Beach, Florida Sasha Radicic , classical, flamenco, spanish, western, electric guitars and concert zithers. Located in St. Louis, Missouri. Trevor Semple . London-based luthier. Serge Guitars is a complete building shop and lutherie school for guitars. We are located in Canada. 63 boisvert street St-Etienne Quebec Canada G6J1G3, 418 836-4624 smichaud@sympatico.ca Michael Sheibley , sale, repair and restoration of violins, basses, cellos; sale of tonewood, violin making parts and tools, bows, and more. The guitar homepage of Charles Shifflett. Stewart Simon has 23 years experience. Located in Warren, Michigan. Besides his own shop, He also do luthier work for Guitar Center in Southfield, Michigan. Maxwell T. Sipe builds classical and steel string guitars in Portland, Oregon. Maximiliano Siracusa makes electric guitars and basses in Argentina. Australian guitar maker Lawrence K. Smith.

The Smithsonian's page: info on Strads, Amati's and del Gesu's. Smocke Archtop Guitars , specializes in handcrafted 8 string archtop guitars with long scale lengths.Located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sohn Stringed Instruments . Mandolins, arch top guitars, resophonic guitars, repair and restorations by David Sohn. Located in Abbotsford, B.C., Canada. Steven Sorli , harpsichord and lautenwerk home page. Byron Spain is an instrument builder specializing in mandolins and guitars. Specimen Guitar Shop , Specimen custom instruments are handmade by luthier Ian Schneller. Located in Chicago, Illinois. Jack Spira is an Australian luthier who build guitars, mandolins and bouzouki's. SpruceHouse Ukuleles is a one-man operation in eugene, oregon specializing in simple, unadorned instruments that are very light and responsive. He makes a line of very affordable "production" soprano ukuleles as well as custom instruments in the four traditional sizes. Aubrey Spurlock builds and repairs acoustic and electric instruments in Banner Elk, North Carolina.

STGuitarworks designs and builds electrics, acoustics, archtops, multi-scales and extended-range instruments in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Robert A. Steinegger , "Incredibly Wonderful Handmade Acoustic Guitars". Located in Portland, Oregon. Sebastian Stenzel is a classical guitar builder who lives in Munich, Germany. Ukelin Web Site. Check out this unique instrument. Wilfried Ulrich builds historical string instruments, Hurdy-Gurdy, Hummel, and make reconstructions of instruments from mediveal miniatures. Rebecca Urlacher builds steel-string guitars in Eugene, Oregon. Carlos Uscátegui builds, repairs and restores musical instruments (violines, violas, celos, guitars...) in Bogotá - Colombia. Gary G. Vail builds handcrafted acoustic guitars in Hyde Park, New York. David Van Edwards has a site totally devoted to lutes and their history. A fine source for those with violin interests is David Van Zandt’s website, which includes schools, organizations, suppliers, and information on individual violin makers. Vegas Guitars , repairing since 1975. Also builds custom guitars.

Certified and authorized for over 20 brands and have sales as well. Visesnut Guitars . Narongsak Visesnut, classical guitar maker, located in Bangkok, Thailand. Italian Violin making sites with a link to the Violinmakers school of Cremona. Whitsett Guitar Works , repairs and restoration in Lowell, Massassachuets. John Widman , Widman Custom Electrics, maker of fine custom electric guitars and home of the Gigmaster. A link to Finnish lute maker Arto Wikla's home page. Program for calculating plain string tensions for lute, harpsichord, harp, etc. Roger A. William s builds, repairs, restores and does modifications in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Kathy Wingert's Guitars. Nice site, check it out. You can check out a few pictures at Guitargal.com. Scott Wise - Australian luthier who has been repairing instruments since 1973 and building them since 1978. Woolson Soundcraft , Paul Woolson builds fine, hand crafted acoustic guitars in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Average Income for a Luthier | Chron.com The Average Income for a Luthier by Rick Suttle Luthiers can earn higher incomes by selling the guitars they make. Comstock/Stockbyte/Getty Images [Difficult Co-Workers] | How to Deal with Difficult Co-Workers Who Insinuate Malice Luthiers build and repair guitars and other stringed instruments, such as violins, mandolins and cellos. Unlike mass-produced instruments, these guitar makers create their products by hand, creating their own styles and designs. They carve, assemble, stain and string the instruments, and some even sell them in their own musical instrument stores. Luthiers are paid according to the number of instruments they create for clients. They earn incomes averaging more than $50,000 annually. Income and Qualifications The average annual income for a luthier was $52,000 as of 2013, according to the job site Indeed. The minimum educational requirements for this job are a high school diploma and some post-secondary education in guitar building.

For example, Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music requires 30 credit hours in guitar design, fabrication and maintenance and certification through an association, such as the Guild of American Luthiers. These guitar makers usually receive both classroom and practical training with professional luthiers. Other essential requirements are manual dexterity, patience and technical skills. Salary by Employer In 2013, average incomes for luthiers varied the most within the West region, according to Indeed, where they earned the highest incomes of $56,000 in California and lowest of $34,000 in Hawaii. Those in the Northeast made $45,000 to $63,000 per year in Maine and New York, respectively. Luthiers earned $44,000 to $62,000 in Louisiana and Washington, D.C., respectively, which were the lowest and highest incomes in the South. In the Midwest, they made the least in Nebraska and South Dakota and most in Illinois -- $39,000 and $57,000, respectively. Salary by State Luthiers can earn more in New York and Washington, D.C., where living costs are typically higher.

This means they can charge more for their services because average prices for most products are higher in New York and Washington, D.C. For example, a Luthier earning $50,000 in Des Moines, Iowa, would need to make $125,282 in New York City to maintain his living standard, according to CNN Money's "Cost of Living" calculator. In Washington, D.C., he'd have to earn $80,140 for the same reason, or approximately 60 percent more. Luthiers also earn more by selling the stringed instruments they make at their own retail stores. Job Outlook The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't forecast jobs for luthiers. But it projects only a 2 percent increase in employment for musical instrument repairers and tuners -- functions luthiers also perform -- from 2010 to 2020, which is much slower than average. Jobs for luthiers are likely contingent on guitar or musical instrument sales.

After double-digit sales increases from 2007 to 2009, musical instrument sales grew by only 4.6 and 5.7 percent in 2010 and 2011, respectively, according to the Music Trades Online. Sales are expected to decrease 0.9 percent in 2012, which may slow job growth for luthiers.

Question: What musical instruments does a luthier work with?
Answer: Stringed