Home-made Golpeadores

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 >>General >>

Page: [1]

Message

<< Newer Topic Older Topic >>

rombsix

Posts: 7823
Joined: Jan. 11 2006
From: Beirut, Lebanon

Home-made Golpeadores

Hey everyone,

Let me start out by apologizing for not being active in replying to messages lately. I am currently taking a very heavy course in school, and have had very little free time. I've mostly been a lurker ! (when I find the time to lurk in the first place!) I have a question for you:

My friend got a guitar and he wants to learn flamenco. In Lebanon, we don't have good flamenco guitars (if any to start with). So I had him go with the alternative I went with - a relatively cheap (110 US dollar) Hohner classical guitar (he's still a beginner, so why make him buy an expensive one?) that I'll have him modify: lower the action (my ex-teacher will do that for him; I don't know how to file down the saddle ... if anyone can give me some advice on that, I'd be grateful) and put in golpeadores. However, we don't have golpeadores either (obviously, since there are not many flamenco guitars). My teacher used to have some, but he hasn't been getting any, so I guess I used up the last pair for my guitar. Thus, my teacher said that I can maybe get away with some layers of plastic lamination (the stuff you use to laminate school books) put on top of each other (to thicken them a bit), and then stick them on the soundboard where the golpeadores usually go. I am not very convinced about this method. So please, let me know if you think this home-made golpeadore would work, or if it would ruin the guitar. And if you advise me to use it, then how should I put it on? Any tips? If you think this method is crap, then what other alternatives do I have? What happens if I keep his guitar without golpeadores? Will the right hand golpes severely damage the guitar? Please advise. Thanks in advance.

Ramzi

PS: He hasn't gotten used to the whole "long nails" concept. So I remember reading somewhere that Tarrega and his contemporaries used to play with NO NAILS WHATSOEVER (i.e. pure flesh). Does that work with flamenco guitar? Just wondering (and I'm not referring to the people who naturally have nails that protrude outside the flesh that can thus keep them really short, but have them be really effective --- I am talking about ZERO nails ... no nails at all ... does that work? Will calluses eventually develop on the right hand finger tips and eventually work like nails? I really have no clue, I just use my nails, and they are quite usable).

THANKS.

_____________________________

Ramzi

http://www.youtube.com/rombsix

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 19 2007 12:38:05

Arash

Posts: 4495
Joined: Aug. 9 2006
From: Iran (living in Germany)

RE: Home-made Golpeadores (in reply to rombsix)

quote:

What happens if I keep his guitar without golpeadores? Will the right hand golpes severely damage the guitar?

Yes! You need a Golpeador to avoid damages.
Why dont you try to buy Transparent Golpeador from outside your country?
For example here in Germany Mundo Flamenco sells Golpeadors for something like 6 Euros i remember.

quote:

I am talking about ZERO nails ... no nails at all ... does that work?

I dont think so! Short Nails is good but Zero nails would maybe work with classical guitar but not flamenco. Imagine playing all the techniques like Alzapua , or Picado or Rasgueos without any nail.....wont work! would sound very bad....

_____________________________

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 19 2007 12:56:01

Jon Boyes

Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003

RE: Home-made Golpeadores (in reply to rombsix)

Are golpeadores really necessary? This is a Hohner - it will probably have a plywood top so he'd need take a hammer to it to do any damage it anyhow

If he really wants them they are quite easy to buy online eg.

http://www.stentor-music.com/catalogue/html%20general/125.htm

No nails is a no-no.

_____________________________

Spanish Guitarist in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 19 2007 12:57:27

JBASHORUN

Posts: 1839
Joined: Jan. 23 2005

RE: Home-made Golpeadores (in reply to rombsix)

I agree with Jon... it doesn't matter much on a cheap Hohner guitar. The top might be plywood as he says, but also its probably nitrocellulose lacquer which is pretty tough... I have it on one of my cheap classicals, and all my golpes haven't made much damage at all. But, again, when you can buy a golpeadore via mail order for 5 bucks, why not go for it. its easier than making them yourself.

Jb

_____________________________

¡Si esto no está en compas, esto no es el Flamenco!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 19 2007 13:45:20