Double Top Blanca

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Double Top Blanca

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Randy Reynolds

Posts: 30
Joined: Feb. 23 2010

Double Top Blanca

I have just finished two blancas. One follows the Reyes/Blackshear plan and is a solid top while the other is a double top with Brian Burns bracing. basically a five fan with two mini-Bouchet bars.

The Reyes style has a traditional sound with brighter edge to the trebles. The double top has basses exactly like the Reyes where the trebles have a much rounder tone and more sustain. The double top has a bit more volume overall while the Reyes bites a lot better when capo'd.

The double top is my personal instrument and will do a great job shifting over to classical pieces. They both smell good! I'm sure these two guitars won't illuminate the path to the preferred Flamenco sound at all but they are very satisfying. I don't have the Flamenco chops to exercise these guitars but I'll take them to Denver to be evaluated by Miguel Espinoza and Rene Heredia.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 5 2011 23:33:58

etta

Posts: 342
Joined: Jan. 20 2010

RE: Double Top Blanca (in reply to Randy Reynolds)

GREAT guns Randy; keep at it. Modern guitar building is most dynamic, and so much is happening it boggles the mind. I'm sure that much will be discarded, but much will go on and advance the development of our instrument. I just took delivery from a young builder in Mill Valley, Ca of a blanca which blows everything I have played totally away, and I have some very fine, vintage, traditional instruments. Stay with the quest. Jack

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 6 2011 3:11:52

Randy Reynolds

Posts: 30
Joined: Feb. 23 2010

RE: Double Top Blanca (in reply to etta)

Thanks Etta, this is my second double top Flamenco and the first one is now eight years old. That guitar is really powerful and still pretty bright. On this one I was just trying to see how close to tradition I could get the sound while perhaps expanding the versatility of the guitar a bit. It works very well for my purposes and should be a good demonstrator for clients looking for a "crossover" to do classical with a mix of Flamenco pieces. I know that's likely offensive to purists but I get just as many orders for this type of guitar as I do straight Flamencos including Negras with cutaways (horrors!)

I really do like the solid top benchmate to this double top as it has a lot of punch especially with capo. Tough to make choices!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 6 2011 4:07:12

El Kiko

Posts: 2697
Joined: Jun. 7 2010
From: The South Ireland

RE: Double Top Blanca (in reply to Randy Reynolds)

Wowo , excellent work , look forward to hearing them . I also had a wander around your website , well worth a visit, it seems you have really done so much work tyring to understand the sound of guitars. thanks

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 6 2011 16:55:28

estebanana

Posts: 9363
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Double Top Blanca (in reply to Randy Reynolds)

Good looking set of twins........

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 6 2011 17:16:12

estebanana

Posts: 9363
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Double Top Blanca (in reply to Randy Reynolds)

bump

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 11 2011 18:32:05

Randy Reynolds

Posts: 30
Joined: Feb. 23 2010

RE: Double Top Blanca (in reply to Randy Reynolds)

My double top Blanca is about a month old now and has established most of it's voice I would say. At least enough for me to see that it is a wonderful classical with a very appealing sound everywhere on the fingerboard. However it's ability to generate a Flamenco "growl" isn't great. Even capo'd up it will make a fun sound but it's not edgy at all.

I have made a previous double top blanca about eight years ago and it remains one of the loudest guitars I've made and it will do anything one wants for a Flamenco sound. On that guitar I used my normal symmetrical radial bracing and on this latest one a more or less traditional five fan pattern.

I usually think of double tops as being pretty quick guitars with medium sustain where I have to treat elements of the design in certain ways to make sure it will do the classical tone and not going too Flamenco. I guess I need to build a few more in order to make sure I can get the double top Flamenco guitar to go where I want it to. Much more predictable with a solid top so for the one or two orders I get each year for a traditional Flamenco sound that's what I would recommend.

One lesson confirmed is that Spanish Cypress is a seriously under-estimated tone wood for a classical. My last one is in Taiwan and has generated several orders because of it's terrific sound which I attribute to Cypress.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 13 2011 14:33:49

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: Double Top Blanca (in reply to Randy Reynolds)

Randy,

My concern is that the constant pounding with flamenco technique would cause the top to suffer greatly with a double top design. The idea that a stiff fan brace pattern could help, does not necessarily point us in the direction of continuing longevity where this is considered.

But it's good to hear how these issues work out.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 23 2011 14:48:37

Randy Reynolds

Posts: 30
Joined: Feb. 23 2010

RE: Double Top Blanca (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Hi Tom,

I just got back a ten year-old Cedar double top. The owner is a very powerful player who studied guitar in Spain mostly Flamenco. Here at home he is a hardworking gig player and so this guitar which is back in my shop for refinishing has been pretty thoroughly examined for just the effects you're worried about. No apparent ill effects that I can find and the sound is better than when it left my shop.

Generally I think of double tops as being more durable than solid tops for typical damage including humidity cracks and haven't had any real solid evidence as to how they would hold up to some serious use by a Flamenco player. That is one of the reasons I built this new guitar with the plan of shipping it off to some notable guitarists who can give it a real workout. Time will tell but I am very confident especially with my recent revisions where the upper bout is solid laminated wood.

Mir Ali was recently in town and played this double top Flamenco and liked it very much. He is a very strong player who studied with Manolo Sandlucar.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 29 2011 3:44:03