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.
RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to at_leo_87)
quote:
We used to sand cedar tops to 7mm then taper them around the edges to 4mm. We used very light fan bracing and after the guitar was assembled we continued shaping the top until the voice seemed right. This method resulted in extremely loud and percussive guitars.
maybe those guitars would be good for rumba players. it would d
or braced with a long skinny X and a trapeze bridge it would make a hybrid flat/ archtop with steel strings - could be very effective.
RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)
OK so I got this guitar strung up today. It's quite good. Whoever thought this guitar would be more classical sounding (including me) was dead wrong It's got massive balls. Very percussive and Flamenco sounding. I like it even though it's not quite what I was hoping for. I think it's better than my old pattern.
I'll try to upload a video tomorrow so you can get an idea. It makes me sound a lot more like Moraito which I like
RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)
So playing the guitar again this morning I decided I really like it a lot. I'm strongly considering building this pattern for my next order.
Here's a video I made today... You'll have to excuse the camera mic quality, but I think you can get some idea of the sound. Oh and excuse my playing! Just noodling a bit with some ideas I had on the spot.
Posts: 1827
Joined: Jul. 26 2009
From: The land down under
RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)
Sounds very powerful Andy,
I'm glad the experiment has provided you with another nice guitar to play. I think if i started making guitars i would want to keep all of them. I would also want to make ten at a time just so i could have fun playing them all
I'm glad the experiment has provided you with another nice guitar to play. I think if i started making guitars i would want to keep all of them. I would also want to make ten at a time just so i could have fun playing them all
Great sounding guitar, Andy.
Experimental guitars:
I stopped by the Bernabe shop when it was still at Cuchilleros 8, just off the Plaza Mayor. Bernabe, Sr. was seldom there, but Bernabe, Jr. was behind the counter that day. He offered me a guitar at a good price. He said it was a top model, but had experimental features. It looked beautiful. I played a few scales. Everywhere it appeared, on any string, anywhere on the fretboard, the note "A" ( La ) was considerably louder than the rest. After the scales I played a couple of "A's", and handed the guitar back with no comment. Bernabe, Jr. smiled and put it away in its case.
When Manuel Contreras, Sr.asked me about my visit to Bernabe, I told him about the experimental guitar. Contreras smiled and told me this story. He, Bernabe and Manzanero were all at the Frankfurt music fair. Bernabe was a tall, robust guy. Though a fantastic luthier, sometimes he could dominate the conversation a bit, in my experience.
Bernabe said, "I have made 20 experimental guitars during my career as a luthier, to explore the possibilities of the instrument. I still have every one of them."
Contreras replied, "Oh, that's too bad."
Bernabe: "What do you mean, 'too bad'?"
Contreras: "I too have made 20 experimental guitars. But I was able to sell them all."
i have no idea what you are doing there with your bracing system, but for me your guitars are the best sounding and come closest to my taste in this forum from all builders i have heard (no offence to anybody, just my own taste).
Keep doing what you do and don't let anybody tell you whats wrong and what not.
Andy, Sounds very responsive and powerful. Now if you use wooden golpeadors, that sound will improve and show some real cajones. Using an opening on the harmonic bar and extending the outer braces has been used successfully and mainly with classical. An example would be Jeffery Elliot.
RE: My own bracing pattern (in reply to estebanana)
Hehe, this was a while ago... thanks for bringing it back mottallica and your nice comments Arash.
So an update 15 guitars later... I never ended up using that exact bracing pattern again but it was totally freeing to take such a radical departure and come up with such a good guitar. I DID end up keeping many elements of that pattern but have tweaked a lot of thing since then and now use that pattern in the picture below (no open harmonic bar) on all my flamenco guitars. I'm totally happy and the results keep getting better. But some day I will go back and try that crazy thing again :)
Peter, I like that idea!! I think Kasha/Schneider would win (sounds like a harpsichord) followed by Smallman (banjo-ish ) btw your top reminds me of a cherry pie.
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
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