Re: Soon to build my first classical guitar....comments?

Date: Fri, 04 Apr 2003 06:36:14 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.builders
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Chris Johnson <email-address-deleted> wrote:
> I've decided that I will soon start building my first classical
> guitar.
I'm happy to hear you finally are going to build something decent! Sorry,
just kidding.
> But, I'm planning to make some slight modernizations/improvements
> to the design. I'll leave the body design alone and go pretty
> standard here. What I want to do is to used a radiused fingerboard
> (12 inch radius, or 16) and slim the neck down so that a person who
> is accustomed to playing steel string guitars will be more comfortable
> with it, and of course build the bridge with a matching curvature.
> (It seems to me that the least friendly part of a traditional classical
> guitar is that awful, chunky neck with no radius at all.)
I'm primarily a classical player, and, IMHO, these are not improvements.
There is nothing wrong with a flat fingerboard, actually it's preferable on
classicals. Also IMO, the most perfect Fingerboard Design for classical
technique is the Ramirez. 2-1/8 inches wide at the Nut and relieved on the
Bass Side for maximum buzz-free playing. Absolutely beautiful.
Nowadays, 650 mm Scale Lengths are all the rage among classical players,
but I prefer the longer Fingerboards, like the 664 mm Scale Length that
Ramirez made popular. However, you are probably better off going with a 650
mm Scale Length if you want your design to appeal to most classical players
today.
> I might also opt to make it with 14 frets clear of the body rather than
> 12, and am at least THINKING of doing a cutaway.
The best sound would come from a 12 fret design just as on a Steel String
acoustic. This would give the best Bridge placement.
> I'm pretty well decided on materials. A Western Red Cedar top
> and Honduras mahogany for the back, sides, and neck.
Western Red Cedar is very popular on Classical Guitars, and, is capable of
fine sound....Sweet Trebles and Slightly Dark Basses.
IMO, the very best Sound (best definition of notes within a Chord, most
Articulate Trebles and Thundering Basses) would be attainable only with
European Spruce (German Spruce or Spanish Pine), but great Soundboards
(Thin, Even Grain with lots of Silk) from these woods are very expensive.
Great Classical Guitars are never built with Mahogany Back & Sides.
Mahogany results in a dull sound, IMO. For Maximum Brilliance and
Penetration, Rosewood. Of course, the absolute best is Brazilian, but very
fine results are possible with Indian.
I've never seen a great classical guitar from a Luthier who did not
specialize in Classical's. I'm not sure exactly what all the reasons are,
but I suspect that Luthiers who do not specialize tend to make the
Soundboards too Thick, the Bracing too Heavy, and tend to want to do other
non-classical stuff (like Narrow Fingerboards, 14-Fret Necks, or Cutaways).
I'm not just trying to be facetious here. Great Classical Guitars are made
the way they are for good reasons.
All the following are also my Opinions:
- Rosette Design is important as a Classical Guitar is also a work of art.
- Plastic Bindings are aesthetically incomprehensible on classical guitars.
- Sealed Tuning Machines, although they work well, look bad on classical
guitars. Traditional Open Tuning Machines are the way to go.
- If you want to study beautiful examples of the art, look at the guitars
of Antonio Torres, Hermann Hauser, Jose Ramirez III, Jose Romanillos, and
Robert Ruck.
I recommend the following books to you:
"Classic Guitar Construction" by Irving Sloane, E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc.
New York, 1966. Absolutely Beautiful Book. Mr. Sloane, who recently passed
away, was a true artist, graphic artist (it shows in the layout of this
book), instrument builder (not only guitars), guitar tuning machine
designer, tool designer.
"Making Musical Instruments - Strings and Keyboard," Edited by Charles
Ford, Pantheon Books, New York, 1979. Has Articles on Building Viol, Lute,
Violin, Classical Guitar, Harpsichord, and Restoration and Conservation of
Historical Musical Instruments. All articles are by different builders. The
Classical Guitar Making Article by Jose L. Romanillos is absolutely
wonderful. This article is so wonderfully written, it's hard to believe
that English is not Mr. Romanillos' native language.
"Antonio de Torres Guitar Maker - His Life & Work" by Jose L. Romanillos,
Element Books Ltd., Great Britain, 1987. Mr. Romanillos has spent years
researching the Life of Torres and this wonderful biography is the result.
It contains an appendix with all the known Torres' guitars extant. There
are later editions with more, newly discovered Torres' guitars
"Guitars From the Renaissance to Rock" by Tom and Mary Anne Evans,
Paddington Press Ltd., Published in both the U. S. and in the United
Kingdom. Not strictly a guitar building book, but a book with very broad
scope. Covers classical, flamenco, steel string acoustic, archtop, and
solid body electric guitars.
I look forward to reading more about your experiences in building a
Classical Guitar. I always enjoy your posts and appreciate your willingness
to share your experiences.
Regards,
John E. Golden