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But I have to agree that many negras today don't have that certain flavor of the Blanca guitars, and this will be my experiment to try and equal certain aspects of sound that originate with the Blanca guitar.
I think most would agree with Ricardo that there is a fine line between negras and classical. But I have to ask: if you want the crisp sound of a blanca, why get a negra?
When I am called upon to play a solo during a costume change for the dancers, I sometimes play something classical (usually one of the romantics like Tarrega, Granados, Barrios or Villa Lobos). For that I pull out my Brazilian RW Castillo negra. It is a classical guitar with a flamenco action, basically. Maybe a little more crisp than most classicals, but it is good for classical and Sabicas' old set pieces that have a strong classical feel to them.
But I NEED the blanca to cut through the dancers' footwork. I don't WANT sweetness and mellowness at times like that. Different animals. Don't ask for too much mellowness from a blanca, or too much crispness from a negra.
However, I have to say that the palo escrito flamenco that I just got from Castillo does have a very flamenco sound. Palo escrito, however, is lighter than Brazilian rosewood. Also a prettier, more highly figured wood.
There is a spectrum of sound from the best classical to the best blanca. Negras are between, and rightly so.
I'll have to see the finished product to be able to give the right answer to all of this. The wood seems to be light weight and I'll fine tune it to be flamenco, but the end result will always be with the wood telling me where it wants to wind up. So, I'll try to Let it be the best, wherever it chooses to go.
I am anticipating a_arnold will post a vid of his new negra made from Palo Escrito soon also. Maybe if we ask, 'pretty please?'
Here is a pic. Still working on the video. My video camera gives mediocre sound reproduction, but I will try. This is Castillo #317 palo escrito/spruce, new bracing pattern.
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"Flamenco is so emotionally direct that a trained classical musician would require many years of highly disciplined formal study to fail to understand it."
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