Research and education, for the good of guitars.
We exist to enhance the art of luthiery by advancing research in archtop instruments through education and collaboration within the guitar making community.
Our Work
Archtop Guitar Dynamics, published in 2021 by the Violin Society of America Papers, is a benchmark in archtop guitar acoustics research. It is intended to educate guitar makers on the vibrational behavior of the archtop guitar and promote a scientifically enlightened approach to guitar making.
Archtop Guitar Dynamics was presented at the 2020 Violin Society of America Oberlin Acoustics Workshop. Click to watch the presentation or to read the journal article click on Archtop Guitar Dynamics.
Our research with archtop guitars is a lifelong learning endeavor. If you would like to be involved by way of sharing research or providing benchmark historical and/or modern instruments for non-invasive analysis, please contact us.
Our Story
House of Luthiery was established in 2014 by Becca and Tom Nania in South Bend, Indiana. With humble beginnings, our first workshop was located in our basement, the acoustics lab in the dining room, and the drafting room on the porch. Our home was truly a House of Luthiery.
Tom attended the Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair and is an Affiliated Scholar in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy at Indiana University South Bend. Tom is a collaborator with the Oberlin Acoustics Workshop and Violin Society of America.