A Flamenco and some Classicals (Full Version)

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RobF -> A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 4 2019 20:40:00)

Hi,

I thought I’d post some pictures of some guitars I made over the past year. Only one, the most recent, is a flamenco guitar, but I’m hoping people may be interested in seeing some classicals, too.

The first I’ll show is a Padauk Flamenca which was completed a few weeks ago. I’ve been itching to build a Padauk guitar for some time now, mainly due to being inspired by some of the gorgeous Padauk instruments that Andy has built/posted over the years.

I drew a new plantilla for this guitar, so I was excited about that. It’s a little smaller than that of the classicals I’ll be showing. With the exception of my first four guitars, which used plantillas designed by my teachers, I’ve always drawn my own. This one is new, but I’m not retiring the older one, which is now on its third iteration.

At any rate, enough talk, I’ll just show the guitars. Hope you like them.

The Padauk Flamenco:









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RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 4 2019 20:42:06)

Last one of the Padauk...such a beautiful wood.



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RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 4 2019 20:47:48)

Here is a Classical which drew inspiration from the 1937 Segovia Hauser. I adapted the bracing to fit my plantilla, but I also tried to follow the original’s build philosophy and dimensioned the top to be as thick as I dared. I’m really pleased with how this guitar turned out.







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RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 4 2019 20:50:04)

More...







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RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 4 2019 20:52:34)

This next Classical was built concurrent to the one above and and is in many ways a sister instrument, but in this case I dimensioned the top and braces more in the manner I normally would.

During the build I was convinced that this would be the superior instrument of the two and expected it would be louder. At initial stringing, it was a touch louder, but the other one has caught up now, and I think the other one edges this one out a bit in tonal quality, although this one is also very nice. These are like my children, lol, I love them all. But I also try to maintain an unbiased ear and critical eye and apply a high standard to my builds.







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RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 4 2019 20:55:19)

And a couple more...





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RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 4 2019 20:59:20)

Finally, last but not least, a lattice braced cedar topped Brazilian Rosewood Classical.







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RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 4 2019 21:01:56)

Three more of the Brazilian, and that’s it. :)







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Andy Culpepper -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 0:38:33)

Wow, beautiful work! Close-up of the rosettes? How does the Padauk sound?




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 1:20:13)

Thanks Andy!

Definitely I’ll take some rosette photos and post them :) I do my own, but I have to admit that in the case of the Padauk guitar the diagonal borders along the edges are from Japan. They are a little wider than I would normally do. But the price was too good to pass up and they are very high quality.

I have two guitars that I use as benchmarks to compare my builds against. Not because they are necessarily exceptional instruments but more because they are well proven designs and are highly competent at what they do. Then I can compare my builds and note the differences, more bass, louder, softer, tighter, etc....For classical builds I have a 1980 Ramirez 1a and for the flamencos I have a 1988 Felipe V Conde Blanca that has all the hallmarks of an earlier Gravina. Both very nice and both, especially the Conde, are much loved.

The Padauk is a little louder and more brilliant than my Conde, but the Conde is stronger in the mids. Maybe the Padauk is what you would call a more lyrical guitar. I think, at least at the moment, the Conde would win out in an unmiked Peña situation with a lot of background noise. But my Conde is at least 30 years old.

I used the Brune 1934 Santos flamenco plan from GAL for the bracing and, probably due to the success of the thick topped Hauser classical, for once I decided to try to follow the plan faithfully. To that end I selected a nice stiff top, not the prettiest, but every other quality was great and I thicknessed based on what I understood from the the Santos. It ended up being about 1.8mm on average in the lower bout but it feels more like 2.3mm when pressed, so a good piece of wood.

I’ll try to get those rosette picture done tomorrow 👍




constructordeguitarras -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 1:59:19)

Everything about them looks beautiful.




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 2:12:06)

Thanks Ethan 😊 Getting positive feedback from you and Andy means a lot to me.




Echi -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 6:57:44)

Very well made and tasteful. The finish is very good also, are they trench polished?




benros -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 8:50:33)

wow, im really impressed! everything looks great, very beautiful guitars and workmanship!!

the padouk looks awesome in my eyes. andys inspired my too, so i began with a nice set, but stopped the thicknessing, since i got some serious problems with the intense red (i work in a very small home office room).

how did the setup came out?

how much guitars have you built (last year)? you seem to have a pretty good output for a amateur;)

thanks for sharing!




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 13:04:27)

Thanks Echi :) Yes, they’re all French Polished.




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 13:10:29)

Thanks Ben :)

I didn’t have any trouble with the Padauk dust but another maker I know said he had a pretty bad reaction to it. I got some of the dust in my eye a couple of times and that was pretty irritating, worse than when that has happened with other woods. But I’m pretty careful with dust control in the shop.

I set up the Padauk guitar at the 12th to be 2.9mm low E to 2.7mm high E. Generally I set flamencos up to just touch the underside of 3mm on the low E and 2.8mm on the high. But I really try to discourage people from focusing on the numbers when they try a guitar and stress that the balance between playability and sound is what is important. Not every guitar responds the same, and this impacts set-up.

I don’t consider myself to be a very fast builder. I generally can get all the woodwork done in three weeks but then it will be another three weeks to a month before the French Polishing is completed. To gain efficiencies I often build in batches, four at once is too many for my shop so I tend to alternate between building two or three at a time, although the Padauk was done alone. It depends on my mood, I guess. But this is what I do, I moved to building full time about four years ago. I had been balancing building with a career in telecom hardware design, but I decided I was happiest when building, so this is what I do now.




JasonM -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 15:11:13)

Wow that is some masterful craftsmanship Rob. What little I know at least let’s me appreciate the skill involved in achieving those results. Now, will your red headed daughter eventually turn brown as she gets older?




Stephen Eden -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 21:56:23)

Brilliant work! They look like they've been made by a seasoned master.




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 22:29:03)

Jason, 👍😊 As far as the Padauk aging goes...I don’t know what to expect, lol. Maybe it will turn more auburn in time? I’ve had the sets in my woodpile for almost four years and they haven’t changed very much, I’d say maybe a move towards reddish brown but still quite red. Andy might have an inkling, he’s been making Padauk guitars for quite a few years now so he’s had the chance to see how they react under finish over time.




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 5 2019 22:32:53)

Thanks Stephen!

I think it helped to have had some good teachers, two of whom also taught you too, I believe. And I shouldn’t understate how much I’ve learned from you and the other makers on this Foro over the years, it’s been a great resource. Your pictorials rock!




jalalkun -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 6 2019 8:48:01)

beautiful instruments, your design is very tasteful. the finish is a real eyecatcher. could you make some video recordings?




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 6 2019 12:58:52)

thanks Jalal. I can play well enough to noodle around and evaluate my instruments, but not anywhere near well enough to post a vid. But I should do something. I even bought a mic for my camera for that reason, but then never got around to using it. I’ll try to set something up with a local player, may take a while, though....




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 7 2019 0:27:44)

For Andy’s request to see the rosettes...

I used Padauk in the flamenco’s rosette and bridge tie block cap, too. The close up also shows that the flamenco has a Madagascan Rosewood fretboard. It’s a lighter wood, but I prefer ebony so I’m not sure I’ll use it again.







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constructordeguitarras -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 7 2019 2:04:15)

quote:

For Andy’s request to see the rosettes...


Wow, man, first rate work all around. I'm eager to hear some of them.

Best wishes.




Stephen Eden -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 7 2019 7:53:07)

Ahh Stephen and Pablo no doubt. Pablo was my main teacher. I did a two year apprenticeship with him.

Great Rosettes too!




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 8 2019 1:28:28)

Thanks for the kind words everyone. 👍😊🍻




jalalkun -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 8 2019 7:20:12)

whaaaaaat. these rosettes are hyuckin' beautiful.
do you use different fret wire? yours seems to be on the goldish side. or is it the lighting in the shot?




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 8 2019 9:09:52)

It’s Jescar’s EVO gold fretwire and it does have a golden hue. It’s kind of expensive, though, about twice the cost from normal when bought direct from Jescar. I use normal nickel silver wire, too.




benros -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 8 2019 12:51:06)

funny, i used the same fretwire for my flamenca build, because its nickelfree and i love how it looks. it felt a little bit soft, when i installed it. whats your impression: is it durable or does it wear off faster then the nickel stuff? if it will prove its durability i will use no other.




RobF -> RE: A Flamenco and some Classicals (Feb. 8 2019 13:51:49)

I find it works easily, too. According to Jescar, it sits between nickel/silver and stainless steel in hardness and it’s supposed to be more durable than nickel/silver. I bought a few pounds of it because I like how it looks and it can give the guitar a bit of a “boutique” look. But it is quite pricey, about 2.5 times more expensive than nickel/silver wire, so it’s a bit of a luxury item.




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