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.
I mix the colors on the rosette. I put yellows and blues next to each other to make greens mix in the viewers eye, and bump up already made greens with blues and yellows next to them. Kind of esoteric, but it makes rosettes "glow". That is probably why just a few concentric circles works well, if they are the right colors next to one another.
I have not been in the mood to post new work, but it's time to get back on it. I'll have something new up in a day or two. I think things are slow because it's the end of summer, but Fall brings new interest back.
648 scale length, German Spruce top, Cypress back & sides. French polish finish with tinted amber ground coat. Fan braces wide spread like some Granada made guitars.
Video is me playing some chords in the park after it has been strung up for one day.
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
quote:
How do you make a French polish finish with tinted amber ground coat?
Easy, Stew Mac 'Vintage Amber' tinting color mixed with thinned hide glue as a vehicle. Rub it on with a rag, buff it around until it glows a bit.
Jorge and I were talking about how Faustino Conde' did his color and it was revealed to us by a magical wizard in Illinois how he did it. But maybe Faustino used some German companies color as Stew Mac did not exist yet.
So it's really just darkening the wood more honey colored with a ground coat and then French polish with a regular blonde shellac over that. It looks nice, not too dark, not too raw wood pale. As everyone knows by now I don't do orange guitars, but I still like some subtle color.
This would work on a violin too. The hide glue has a surfactant conditioning effect on the wood that helps move the color evenly. The spruce can be problematic, but wood is wood, let it be. By that I mean the thin hide glue breaks the surface tension of the dry wood and allows the color to move evenly. It looks great on maple.
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to HolyEvil)
quote:
what does this even mean?
When people pick at you for insignificant things and can't come up with anything else it means you have arrived at a healthy understanding of your art or craft. They hate you for being good, which simply underscores your success.
Or it means you have a fetish for ballerinas stinky feet.
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to estebanana)
quote:
Easy, Stew Mac 'Vintage Amber' tinting color mixed with thinned hide glue as a vehicle. Rub it on with a rag, buff it around until it glows a bit.
Thanks for the answer. Its interesting. I will play around on some scratch with it next time I have some left over hide glue. It sounds messy and fun. I´m not so sure of using it on violins. have you tried? Because of the curve of the spruce top, it gets some endgrains and endgrain is reacting VERY different than plain grain when it comes to stains.
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to estebanana)
quote:
ORIGINAL: estebanana
quote:
what does this even mean?
When ... you ... you ... your ... you ... your ...
Don´t be so vain. My old Ramirez has the exact same proportions of the headstock, differing only with its typical crown.
That proportion won´t make me play down its other properties, ( which are good enough for it being my daily go to axe), but whenever looking at its head in view of general aesthetics it feels as if there had been skimmed on wood, with that almost just fretboard prolonging / skinny headplate.
Ruphus
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
quote:
I´m not so sure of using it on violins. have you tried? Because of the curve of the spruce top, it gets some endgrains and endgrain is reacting VERY different than plain grain when it comes to stains.
I shared the idea with the folks on the violin making forum and some other guys are going to try on arch surfaces. I understand the enggrain situation. I did it on the neck which has plenty of endgrain exposed.....but Spruce is another matter.
In several well done modern varnish analysis of classic Cremonese varnish they have found proteins in the varnish layers. The one by Stewart Pollens shows what could be some glue under Strad varnish. But that does not mean it's conclusive. A couple of the pro violin makers on the other forum mentioned this is not an unheard of idea.
Posts: 6447
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Ruphus)
quote:
but whenever looking at its head in view of general aesthetics it feels as if there had been skimmed on wood, with that almost just fretboard prolonging / skinny headplate.
Of course, it is a matter of personal taste, but I like these headstock proportions. It kind of reminds me of early Gibson electrics that were not so tapered. It looks more vintage to me.
Posts: 1708
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
It always strikes me as strange that there is so much fuss over violin varnishes, because the varnish is so thin compared to the wood and furthermore much of the varnish is worn off those great old violins anyway. Okay, the varnish looks nice; that effect should be easy to duplicate. But researching the varnish to try to capture the sound is to me barking up the wrong tree.
Of course, it is a matter of personal taste, but I like these headstock proportions. It kind of reminds me of early Gibson electrics that were not so tapered. It looks more vintage to me.
I understand and respect how historical clues can determine aesthetical perception. ( Am having some of these myself. Would only need to dig them up from the back of my head.)
In the case of slim pegheads I am obviously applying mere proportional aspects, because of having no personal relationship / no nostalgic connection to the classic shape, nor appreciation of foregone design evolution. - Which is also for instance why I don´t appreciate the shape of vihuelas, which to me appear only disproportional ( specially with the placement of the soundhole and that peanut plantilla ) and unergonomically formed, while antique fans due to their special empirics are raving about old vihuelas perceived beauty.
It always strikes me as strange that there is so much fuss over violin varnishes, because the varnish is so thin compared to the wood and furthermore much of the varnish is worn off those great old violins anyway. Okay, the varnish looks nice; that effect should be easy to duplicate. But researching the varnish to try to capture the sound is to me barking up the wrong tree.
A personal suggestion / food for thought without me knowing whether it could be right or wrong:
I guess everyone here at some some time will have prepared himself a stick ( for wandering or so). Peeled off the bark and than held the stick over open fire which will dry, smoothen and harden the surface.
To me that preparation of the surface always felt as if it would effect the stick as a whole, making it harder overall / more stiff. If that be possibly true, maybe a varnish could effect woods stiffness / resonating properties somewhat too?
professor nagyvary postulated the theory that strad or one of his assistants took a wizz on the wood used for his violins. the good professor actually had his research assistants wizz on wood he then used to make violins. if it is the case that old strad used urine to treat his wood the sugars and proteins allegedly found may be a sign that strad or one of his assistants was diabetic. or maybe someone dropped a chunk of meat and some pasta into the varnish vat. personally i like the theory that strad danced naked under a full moon while harvesting his wood.
Posts: 1708
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
RE: "Luthiers share your creati... (in reply to Ruphus)
quote:
I guess everyone here at some some time will have prepared himself a stick ( for wandering or so). Peeled off the bark and than held the stick over open fire which will dry, smoothen and harden the surface.
To me that preparation of the surface always felt as if it would effect the stick as a whole, making it harder overall / more stiff. If that be possibly true, maybe a varnish could effect woods stiffness / resonating properties somewhat too?
Ruphus
Ah, but I think holding the stick over the fire does affect the interior as well as the surface, where as the varnish only sits on the surface. For sure--at least with guitars, which I am familiar with--the varnish affects the resonating properties. It's just not that important what it's made of. (Yes, I am saying that nitrocellulose lacquer sounds as good as shellac!) Moreover, I believe that on violins the wood is thicker, so the effect is diminished.
On a flamenco guitar there are three places the maker has to show who they are: The heel, the rosette and the head stock.
Those three areas are open for each maker to put their own stamp on the guitar or show which school of building they are thinking about at the time.
For example some makers really like a circular heel cap that was done by Torres and later picked up by Simplicio. To make reference to that in your own work is very sophisticated because it says you have looked carefully at history. Some makers like a tall elegant and pointy heel cap design as was done by the Ramirez shop in the 1950's ~ it's all viable and historically based, it just depends on what you choose to do.
The thing to remember is that to make a design and build it is really distinct from looking at a design and saying what is wrong with it if you do not build guitars. I wrestle with heads stock motifs because I want to fit into the Spanish school, but I also want to make my own mark. I really don't mind the comments people make about what associations they get from head stock motifs, often the comments are very right on target. But consider that you seldom hear guitar makers talking badly about other guitar makers head stocks in public because we all know these designs are very personal and that if you are a committed maker you are referencing a profound design that you know in history.
This is all to say that you seldom see guitar makers belittling head stock designs of other makers because we all now it is very personal and that we have our reasons for our designs.
That said, the Pringles chips comment made me laugh.
Printable Version
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread