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RE: When does a guitar reach its best?   You are logged in as Guest
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estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009
 

RE: When does a guitar reach its best? (in reply to britguy) 
Actually really good questions.

The handful guitars that I have seen by Santos Hernandez imprinted deeply on me. Also the guitars I have seen a played of Manuel Bellido, Gerundino, Faustino Conde' and manuel de la Chica. And I have seen a few Ryes guitars from the 1960s I liked. When Reyes was still deeply under the spell of Santos Hernandez and maybe Barbero.

Those are the guitars I love the most and the guitars I understand the most. I try to make guitars what those makers would hopefully not find alien to them.

Who was the first woman you fell in love with? For me it was a dark haired girl named Teresa in the 6th grade. She had green eyes and black hair. Girls like that always move me. Guitars are the same. Your first love always important. But you may love the woman you married as more, you never forget where you came from.

The wood is an interesting subject. To a certain extent I think the wood species is subordinate to your building style. For that matter so are bracing patterns to some extent. I find myself seduced by very, very few sets of backs and sides. Seldom does a set of back and sides make me covet owning them to use in a guitar. I buy them for their stability and reliability. Tops are important, and so are necks. Truth be told, I like a good looking neck with some figure and a beautifully carved heel more than a a flashy back and side set.

My priorities are to be true to myself in what I like. I like that guitars of mid 20th century, the makers I listed. I want to be in that camp of flamenco guitar making. I also have been making seven string guitars and I will make guitars with 8 and 10 string in the future. I am also thinking about using a tournavoz in certain guitars and I am helping my partner Yuko build her first guitar. I'm helping her build a Torres model with a 640 scale.

I think all committed guitar makers have attitudes and models of guitars they think of as home base and they extend out from the knowledge they acquire from building those models into other areas of inquiry.

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https://www.stephenfaulkguitars.com
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Oct. 3 2013 13:47:01
 
jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005
 

RE: When does a guitar reach its best? (in reply to estebanana) 
quote:

ORIGINAL: estebanana

The handful guitars that I have seen by Santos Hernandez imprinted deeply on me. Also the guitars I have seen a played of Manuel Bellido, Gerundino, Faustino Conde' and manuel de la Chica. And I have seen a few Ryes guitars from the 1960s I liked. When Reyes was still deeply under the spell of Santos Hernandez and maybe Barbero.


This is very interesting to me. I suspect you've played more of the famous makers than I have. I've only played one Santos and it was worn out so I couldn't form a judgement. I've been impressed by Bernabe, Ramirez (only one), de la Chica, Barbero (the real one), Barba, A. Fernandez and Francisco Fernandez as well as some Condes and early Estesos. For classic guitars Fleta, Hauser, Hernandez-Aguado and J. Garcia. I'll think of some others as soon as I close this note.

I suppose I've always tried to build a guitar that sounded like the one Ramirez that absolutely blew my mind. I still remember that guitar's voice and action. It's a great puzzle to me how Ramirez could put out so much expensive trash and once in a great while produce an extraordinary guitar. Perhaps that's what happens when you sub contract the guitar parts.

We use a formula for tops and backs. Cedar gets sanded to one thickness and spruce to another but always the same. The tone is adjusted by brace stiffness and final sanding of the top. The sides are sanded until they feel like they will bend. Thickness of the backs depends on stiffness. When one uses this much intuition in building it's probably impossible not to influence the tone and feel to suit your personal taste. Of course now I only play Yamaha (piano that is) .

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John Shelton - www.sheltonfarrettaguitars.com
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Oct. 3 2013 14:58:55
 
britguy

Posts: 712
Joined: Dec. 26 2010
From: Ontario, Canada

RE: When does a guitar reach its best? (in reply to jshelton5040) 
quote:

suppose I've always tried to build a guitar that sounded like the one Ramirez that absolutely blew my mind.
.

Interesting.

Here's a story ;

I bought my first 'real' flamenco guitar (a Ramirez blanca) from Jose 111 at his old shop on Calle Conception Jeronima in 1958. I suspect it might have been rejected by the client who originally ordered it? My teacher pronounced it "Bueno, muy bueno. .." . But somehow I always felt it was bit too 'lutelike' for a flamenco guitar, however, I loved the easy and precise action. It was a joy to play. Too bad the Montreal winters cracked it to hell. . .

About a year or so ago I acquired a (2006) carefully -used Shelton/Farretta blanca (looked like brand new) that also has that same Ramirez-like easy and precise action. But the voice was (is) much crisper, stronger and more flamenco-like than my old 1958 Ramirez. I like it a lot.

Point???

Maybe you succeeded more than you thought?

(I wouldn't sell this one for double what I paid for it, and I've had offers. . .)

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Fruit farmer, Ontario, Canada
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date Oct. 3 2013 21:16:21
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