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RobJe -> RE: Best flamenco guitar for learning and gigging flamenco music (Jan. 16 2013 14:45:40)
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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)
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