Paintings by Cody Owen Erhardt

   My truly gifted and talented 2&1/2 year old grandson (what? you think I may be biased?) painted some new canvases for my workshop gallery.  The music is from the first song I ever  sang for him - Grandma's Feather Bed.

If this boy doesn't grow up to be a guitar player, I will be shocked and amazed.




 (A huge Thank You to Travis and Mary Erhardt for cultivating Cody's creativity!)

From Guitars to Kayaks

What does this kayak have in common with my passion for guitars?  For starters, both are hand crafted out of gorgeous tropical hardwoods. I swear, If I didn't already have two stringed instruments under construction right now, a kit for one of these sleek little babies would be on its way to my workshop today.  For now, I'll have to be satisfied with occasionally paddling one of these beauties built by my brother-in-law Kim, his daughters Amy and Emily, and their Northern Washington venturing club. Hmm... the only thing missing is a baritone ukelele in a water-proof case!  But wait, that would be yet another project,

Flashback to March 2010

I have had the pleasure of attending two classes at Luthiers School International in Sebastopol, CA. with the amazing Harry Fleishman (he's wearing the graduate robe).  March 2010 was a top bracing and voicing workshop.  I'm on the right with my cherry-pie-crust-sound-hole triple-O sized started-as-a-martin-copy-but-is-now-unclassifiable, well... guitar top. They say we should first learn to build in the traditional way. Once we've done so, we earn the right to experiment and be creative.  Thankfully, Harry isn't one of 'they.'  He asked us to describe the sound we were aiming for with our guitar tops.  I decided I wanted this one to sound like a black cherry pie. One of these days I will know whether we succeeded in creating that sound.

What is a mandolin?

Guild of American Luthiers 2011 Conference.
Panel of expert mandolin builders is asked "What is a mandolin?"  The first panelist to respond, David Cohen, presented this slide, providing some very helpful details which are not set in stone, but are an excellent guide to mandolin family instruments.  Keep in mind, this was only the start of David's answer.  He showed slides of a few of his stunningly-crafted instruments and they were far more striking than this chart.  However, the chart is what I keep coming back to.

I like mandolins, but I am more drawn to the members of the family which are similar to a guitar in terms of their scale length and fretboard width.  I find the fingerboard on a mezzo mandolin "squinchy."  That's my own word for frets that feel too close together.  Soprano ukes are squinchy too.  But give me a mandola or an octave mandolin or a baritone uke and I'm a happy guy.  I guess that's the biggest appeal of this chart - I no longer have to guess what an appropriate scale length for a particular range of notes should be, or what guage of strings I should use for that scale length.  As charts go, this is an especially good one.  One man's opinion....

G.A.L. Charles Fox Seminar July 23, 2011

The Leraas Lecture Hall at Pacific Lutheran University was packed to capacity for Charles Fox's morning seminar on efficient guitar building.  Charles was lively, self-deprecating, gracious, witty, and very funny.  Having recently attended a week-long class at his Portland, Oregon workshop, I thought I knew what to expect. I should have realized that a larger audience would amplify his delivery and accentuate his sense of humor.  "Gee, I'd really hate to die up here in front of all of you... that would be awkward."  Perhaps 'you had to be there' and hear it in the context of the old-guy-jokes he was peppering his presentation with. It was one of many moments when the crowd roared with laughter.  My favorite quote that was not a joke: "I've never made a jig to try and make a process faster.  The purpose of a jig is to create consistency and accurate results." He then went on to comment that he usually spends far more time making a jig than it would take to simply make the part without a jig.  More laughter.  I could say so much more, but the point is: laughed a lot; learned a lot.  Charles Fox is a treasure.

'Twas a most excellent day at the Guild of American Luthiers conference in Tacoma, Washington.  For several years, I have wondered about hand rubbed sunburst finishes - nowadays, they are most commonly sprayed on. To my delight, James Condino taught a class on hand rubbed sunburst finishes and demonstrated the one shown in this photo over a two hour period this afternoon.  I can't wait to try this at home!

ESI, a subsidiary of Music In Our Hearts Studios

Hello World and Welcome to the Erhardt Stringed Instruments Blog.

Fiber Art courtesy of Maureen Erhardt.  Strings in Harmony is one of her original creations.

Photos and commentary courtesy of Tom Erhardt who is off to Tacoma today for the Guild of American Luthiers semi-occasional (every two or three years)  international conference.  Highlights are likely to show up here next week!