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Is there an element of construction that influences "that boxy sound" that Conde blancas have? Not so much the timbre of the string tone-- they seem to have a thump to them when you play rasgueado. Is this a rediculous question? Do you even know what sound I am talking about?
Is there a definitive factor? Is it the thickness of the wood, bracing, or a combination of many factors that can only be known to the luthier?
RE: How to achieve "the Conde s... (in reply to JasonM)
Hey Jason,
John Shelton of Shelton-Faretta guitars had some info on the unique bracing patterns he has seen inside newer Condes. Apparently older models had a traditional seven-fan brace pattern. He said the newer guitars had a brace on either side of the center fan which were made of a darker wood which was not spruce or cedar. John, if you read this post, could you clarify this bracing pattern or provide a sketch? I'm just starting to learn about luthery, so I'm not sure if this is specifically the key to the Conde sound.
RE: How to achieve "the Conde s... (in reply to chinito)
Your description of the unusual braces is accurate. I examined two brand new A26 Conde guitars (one was a negra) and both had the two full length braces running parallel with the center fan. I didn't measure but would guess the braces were about 4 inches apart. They did not appear to be either cedar or spruce. They ran from the V shaped braces near the end block to the tone bar above the sound hole with a half lap joint at the tone bar below the sound hole. Perhaps someone more knowledgable on Conde's knows what the wood is. I doubt that simply adding these braces would contribute to a "Conde sound", to achieve that one would need to use a Conde solera and copy the top thickness, taper, box dimensions, brace size, scale, etc. and of course it wouldn't hurt to be a master luthier who can make thickness adjustments based on tap tones and flexing for the individual piece of topwood.
RE: How to achieve "the Conde s... (in reply to jshelton5040)
Jake and John, Thanks so much for responding. I wasn't really counting on a reply, but that was very informative. Tap tones would be hard to reverse engineer I imagine
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