Official Luthiers Forum!

people who make solid-body electric guitars, or is it just people who make acoustics? What about those who make steel guitars, or banjos?. Is it any instrument that has strings, even a piano?

the word has generally used to refer to one who builds or repairs stringed instruments that are plucked or strumed or bowed by hand, as opposed to those which use a mechanical actuation, such as the piano or harpsicord.

A luthier builds or repairs stringed instruments, whether a piano, harpsicord , guitar, banjo, violin, etc.

I believe technically piano is a percussion instrument technically, however I have no idea whether this affects the designation of luthier in any way
Cheers
Charliewood

did I say technically - oh yeah I did......
Dang I miss that EDIT button!
Cheers
Cw

i don't think the term can be applied to piano makers or repairers.

the word derives from the old french term for a lute maker and is related to the old german which was something like "lautenmacher".

its generalization to cover all those who work on the plucked/strummed/bowed stringed instruments is a relatively modern thing. but certainly no piano repairmen i've known ever referred to himself as a luthier, nor did the folks at steinway in queens.

If you use your new OLF coffee cup for hide glue, you may be a luthier.
Oh, wait, that was another thread.

I like the Spanish term for a guitar builder...

El Guitarerro