Excerpts from Just Jazz Guitar's Interview with Steve Grimes

Steve Grimes is an accomplished archtop guitar luthier who some might say is living the dream. Originally starting his business in Washington State, Steve relocated to Kula, a small town situated 4,000 feet above sea level in Maui, Hawaii. This higher elevation and more consistent climate helps keep his shop dehumidified, which benefits his guitars tremendously.

Just Jazz Guitar asked Steve a little bit about his work in Maui.

JB: For your archtop bodies, what woods do you select for the top, sides, and back?

SG: For thirty-five years, I've been making archtop instruments almost exclusively from spruce and maple. Recently, hwoever, I've been making archtops with koa sides and backs. Koa is a very wonderful tonewood, with great variety in sound-producing characteristics.

You can read more from Steve's interview in the August 2007 issue of Just Jazz guitar magazine. And if you're interested in learning a bit more about Steve on the Web, you can visit his archtop luthier page on the Fine Archtops website.

Just Jazz Guitar Q&A with Luthier Bill Moll

Luthier Bill Moll

Over the years, Just Jazz Guitar has published several great interviews with many of the archtop guitar luthiers featured on FineArchtops.com. In August 2003, luthier Bill Moll was interviewed by the magazine, and talked about his early days building archtop guitars and his building technique at the time of the interview.

Here are some quotes from the five-page feature.

On the state of the guitar-building business at that time:

It’s always been my philosophy that you have to keep guitars in an affordable range. While many guitar prices have gotten astronomical, I can’t help but think that value has kept us thriving. I’ve noticed now that Guild has come out with a new model in a lower price range, (Jim) Triggs has come out with one, and (John) Buscarino came out with a laminated model in this range a while ago. It seems like everyone is realizing that we need to back up here and answer the call from the marketplace. It really had to happen, it was just a matter of time.

On differentiating himself from other luthiers:

Well, there’s value, track record and reputation, but our most frequent complement is on our sound. Right now, we are truly in the golden age of lutherie. There are more good makers than ever before. In fact, at least year’s New York show, I looked at the roster and about 75% of the names were unfamiliar to me. Higher-priced builders now have to compete with these makers who are building outstanding guitars and extremely high prices get more difficult to justify. Many of these new folks will have a tough time building recognition in the crowd, but there are several who will be contenders for many years to come.

On laminate vs solid-carved guitars:

I cut my teeth hand-carving violins and bows, so I never wanted to work with “plywood.” It wasn’t until I was approached to build a guitar for John (Pizzarelli) that I even considered it. John is all over the world and really has to have the climatic stability of laminated plates. Solid carved plates give me the ability to “sculpt” an instrument’s sound – to voice and tune the instrument, but the laminates sound a lot better acoustically than I thought they would at first. They also make it possible to build in a price range that people can more easily afford.

Just Jazz Guitar Talks with Gary Zimnicki

Archtop guitar luthier Gary Zimnicki

I didn't know anything about setting up the neck. A friend loaned me a guitar book. The last twenty pages covered how to build your own guitar, including some basic information about fret spacing. This was in 1976 and 1977. My first guitar was terrible, but playable. 

- - - Gary Zimnicki on his first guitar

In November 2000, Just Jazz Guitar ran a great interview with renowned archtop luthier Gary Zimnicki. In the four-page interview, Zimnicki talked about his early days building archtop guitars, and his building techniques. Gary was very honest about his progression as an archtop luthier, and it's why he's become one of the world's best.

A few quotes from the interview:

On his early guitars:

They had a good sound, but looked awful.

The writer, Mark A. Miller, on Gary's creations:

While visiting Zimnicki's shop, I had the privelege to try two completed 18-inch archtop guitars, a sunburst and a blonde. The sound holes on these guitars were located farther outboard than is commonly seen. Gary often places the holes outboard, allowing the maximum area of wood in the top to vibrate uninhibited. He feels that this contributes to a rich, full sound. These guitars were fabulous players with strong power sound. How I envied the lucky owner of the blonde! The sunburst model was also breathtaking, with a red spruce top, quilted maple back and sides, and maple binding. 

On meeting renowned luthier James D'Aquisto:

He (Gary) had always admired D'Aquisto as a great builder and as a pioneer in modern archtop design. Jimmy talked with Gary and encouraged him to try building an archtop. "Don't be intimidated," he said. With this encouragement, Gary bought the needed wood at the show, and within a year had completed his first archtop guitar. He still has it and keeps it for sentimental reasons. 

John Monteleone Interviewed by Just Jazz Guitar

Archtop luthier John Monteleone

Archtop luthier John Monteleone was interviewed in 2007 by Just Jazz Guitar magazine. In the eight-page interview, John talked about his "Radio City" model, and his experience building archtop guitars. The interview is a great read, and here are a few snippets from it:

On whether the design potential of the classic archtop guitar has been fully realized ...

John: There may yet be some areas to look into. If I were to wear a lab coat and be financially endowed by some illustrious patron, I could explore various avenues to improve on some aspects. The guitar history is still quite young, but I would say that the main parameters of the guitar have been established already. And when it comes down to it, the archtop must have certain parameters; it must be playable for example. Guidelines must be followed in order to make a guitar successfully.

On tap-tuning the top and back plates ...

Tap-tuning is misleading when people believe that luthiers tap-tune an instrument. That means that you are tuning a specific piece of wood up to a certain pitch. For me, that does not allow for that individual piece of wood to emerge at its best possibility for tonal quality because it does not allow for a lot of things. It does not allow for density or weight, and no two pieces of wood are going to be the same. Everyone knows that. The frequency in the wood is going to vary. When you work with wood, you become aware that it is beginning to vibrate and to pulse in a manner that is familiar to you. At that point, you know that that piece of wood is alive; it starts to shimmer. When I am tapping, it is not so much for frequency, but for the quality of tone, a resonance factor. 

On plastic vs wooden bindings ...

I use both for different reasons. When it comes to it, I can do without the inlay, but the customer cannot. The inlays do not make the instrument; they adorn it. I prefer to use wooden bindings because I have had to repair so many guitars with plastic bindings which have a limited lifespan. 

The interview isn't online, but you can order the issue of Just Jazz Guitar it's in by clicking here.