Best flamenco guitar for learning and gigging flamenco music

Costs are rising and times are tough.
Please consider a donation to keep this
place going.

Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.

This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.

We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.

You are logged in as Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >>Discussions >>Lutherie >>

Page: [1]

Message

<< Newer Topic Older Topic >>

bchi123

Posts: 2
Joined: Jan. 13 2013

Best flamenco guitar for learning an...

What do you guys think are good guitars for learning and gigging for flamenco guitar?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 13 2013 3:43:15

Erik van Goch

Posts: 1787
Joined: Jul. 17 2012
From: Netherlands

RE: Best flamenco guitar for learnin... (in reply to bchi123)

Pleasantly playing 6 string guitars (classical or flamenco) with strings running close to the soundboard and a protective plate to enable golpes.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 13 2013 18:30:28

Leñador

Posts: 5237
Joined: Jun. 8 2012
From: Los Angeles

RE: Best flamenco guitar for learnin... (in reply to bchi123)

Are you going to be gigging flamenco some time soon?

_____________________________

\m/

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 13 2013 18:35:44

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Best flamenco guitar for learnin... (in reply to bchi123)

quote:

What do you guys think are good guitars for learning and gigging for flamenco guitar?

The best guitar for that purpose is a guitar made by me....

No. Seriously, you have to be more specific. How much do you want to pay. Whats your level of playing and what kinds of gigs are you going to do.

_____________________________

Blog: http://news-from-the-workshop.blogspot.com/

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 13 2013 21:44:06

Ramon Amira

Posts: 1025
Joined: Oct. 14 2009
From: New York City

RE: Best flamenco guitar for learnin... (in reply to bchi123)

quote:

What do you guys think are good guitars for learning and gigging for flamenco guitar?

If you're posing a question like that, it doesn't sound like you will be gigging any time soon, or you would not be asking such a question in the first place. So the question negates itself.

I assume from youir question that you are a beginner or early learner, so depending on your budget you should get an entry level flamenco guitar, or an intermediate factory guitar.

Ramon

_____________________________

Classical and flamenco guitars from Spain Ramon Amira Guitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 14 2013 2:53:16

RobJe

Posts: 731
Joined: Dec. 16 2006
From: UK

RE: Best flamenco guitar for learnin... (in reply to bchi123)

Looking at your website under “Member Details” I can see that you are not a beginner guitarist and that you do have experience as a performer.

However it is not easy to recommend a guitar that will satisfy your needs once you get into flamenco. For instance it will depend on the direction you take – playing transcribed “flamenco” solos” or something more earthy and less solitary. My experience and that of many friends is that whatever you choose to start with there is a high probability that, as your playing improves you will find that you made a mistake and that you own something whose secondhand value is nowhere near what you paid.

For these reasons, if this is your first flamenco guitar, I would consider buying second hand to start with if you can find some to try. Get something with a fairly low action that feels “alive”, gives clearly defined rasqueades rather than mush and doesn’t have the endless sustain of some classical guitars. You have a much better chance of making a sound choice if you take an experienced flamenco guitarist with you.

As your flamenco playing develops and you decide to sell this guitar (hopefully for not much less that you paid) you could have a much better idea of what you need and have the money to pay for it. It’s still not that easy as there is variation between different samples of the same make and model and between samples from a single luthier.

Try before you buy or, if you are commissioning a new guitar, go to a luthier whose output incudes a substantial proportion of flamenco guitars. I like to find someone who has a bit of a specialism in flamenco guitars – if they can play flamenco that is an added bonus. Try and find examples of their guitars to play - read their blogs - discuss your needs with them.

DO: talk about the kind of music you play – talk about the kind of feel you like (if you can find a way of expressing it)
DON’T: ask for your name to be inlaid in mother of pearl
THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT: non-traditional woods (can be good, but sometimes harder to sell when you make your next change)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 16 2013 14:45:40

Ricardo

Posts: 14801
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Best flamenco guitar for learnin... (in reply to bchi123)

conde hermanos

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 17 2013 14:22:23

FlamencoD

Posts: 113
Joined: Apr. 7 2012
From: Portland, OR

RE: Best flamenco guitar for learnin... (in reply to bchi123)

Let's just say that the same guitar you first learn flamenco guitar on is likely not going to be good enough for gigging when you are finally good enough to actually gig flamenco. By the time you are good enough to gig flamenco (which will probably take at least a couple of years or likely, more), you will have moved on to a better guitar.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 19 2013 19:18:33