Can you give me any information about Michael Gurian and the types of guitars he made? How scarce are they?
Larry R. Christensen
Salt Lake City, Utah
Michael Gurian is an extraordinarily gifted guitar maker, best known for his New Hampshire–based workshops of the '60s, '70s, and early '80s. Today he manufactures and supplies guitar fittings, marquetry, and tools; imports wood; and acts as a consultant to the guitar and woodworking industry.
During the early and mid-'60s, Gurian learned from luthiers Gene Clark, David Rubio, and Manuel Velázquez. He mastered the craft of classic guitar making and became a talented lutenist, lute maker, and builder of the Armenian oud. One of his early shops was on Carmine Street in New York City, where he built classic guitars and lutes for many of the top recitalists of the 1960s. He later opened a shop on Grand Street and then moved it to Hinsdale, New Hampshire, in the early '70s. His operation was one of the first significant limited-production steel-string flattop shops in the United States, a forerunner to many current American ateliers, including those of Mossman, Santa Cruz, and Collings.
Gurian built his reputation among studio guitarists who liked fast, narrow necks and the punch of a long scale length (his was the longest in the business). Some of the celebrities who play Gurians are Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Paul Simon, who still treasures a custom wide-neck Size 3 Gurian made for him in the early '70s.
Dogged by bad luck, a disastrous fire, and a major recession, Gurian Guitars, Ltd., closed up shop in West Swanzey, New Hampshire, during the '80s. Only a couple of thousand Gurians were ever made, and everyone I know who owns one is very possessive of it. As a result, Gurian guitars are very scarce on the market today. I would consider any Gurian in good condition an excellent purchase. If you obtain one that requires neck work, make sure the technician is thoroughly familiar with its unusual pinned mortise and tenon neck joint and has the specialized tools necessary to deal with it.
--William R. Cumpiano
Perhaps you could answer this age-old question: What is the proper method for retrieving a pick that has been dropped into the guitar through the soundhole?
Philip Keller
Elkhart, Indiana
Well, we pick-recovery professionals just turn the guitar upside-down and shake it vigorously while constantly changing the angle of the instrument. I haven't tried the old stick-and-chewing-gum trick. Perhaps some computer simulations would show us the most efficient way to do this. Until then, do the pick shake, baby. Rock it now!
--Rick Turner
I purchased a guitar in 1963 with the Silvertone signature on the peghead. The guitar had a lot of mileage on it, so I guess that it was made in or before the early '50s. Who was making the Sears guitars at that time?
Harry E. Sheppard
Perry, Florida
During the 1950s and '60s, Sears, Roebuck, and Company distributed Silvertone guitars made for them by both Danelectro and Harmony. Most of the solid-body electric Silvertone models were made by Danelectro, whereas the hollow-body electrics and acoustics were made by Harmony.
--George Gruhn
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Here is this issue's winner, submitted by Scott Keener of Knoxville, Tennessee:
On some guitars where the bridge pins are too close to the saddle, the overwrapped end of the string where the ball end attaches can be long enough to lay on top of the saddle (see Figure 1). This causes bad intonation and poor resonance. To correct this problem, remove the ball ends from some old strings and slip one or two over the ball end of the new string before installing. This scoots the string back in the hole, eliminating the problem (see Figure 2).
Of course the same ball ends can be reused every time you change strings, so you don't have to be constantly snipping apart old strings. Carry a few extras in your case, so you'll be prepared if you have to change a string during a gig; they can get away from you in the heat of battle.
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