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I was wondering what was the golpeador made of before the invention of plastic ? Was it made of wood, and if so, which types of wood ? Or maybe there was no golpeador at first ?
Ivory? Good question, perhaps one of our luthiers or collectors can enlighten us on the earliest known example? I would guess it was plastic/bakelite and there was nothing before that.
I actually prefer the look of wood golpe's. I wish they were more prevalent though I know attaching a plastic one is mucho easier and cheaper.
Plastic is better than wood in the same way nylon strings are better than gut. Wood scuffs and grooves very quickly from fingernails.
Plastic is neither easier nor cheaper. I doubt there are many luthiers around who don't have lots of scrap wood suitable for making wooden golpeadors, they don't use it because plastic is better.
Thanks for all the replies. What kind of wood wad used ? Is there a wood that's both hard enough and light enough so that a tapa from this wouldn't need a golpeador ?
Like the guys said Maple was common as a tap plate on Spanish guitars before plastic. Plastic wears better.
I've made three of four sets of wood tap plates for customers in repair situations. They insisted in wood tap plates, so I made them. One set I remember was made with Macassar ebony veneer and was coated with CA- Super Glue several times and sanded and buffed out. CA glue is sometimes used by some electric bass makers as a fingerboard coating to improve durability and to keep it clean. It made the wood tap plates have a more durable surface, they probably lasted twice as long or more. I can ask the guy, I still have his email.
Preparing the wood tap plates takes little longer as you have to thickness it and decide how thick it can be without compromising the strength. Maple is good, probably in the 19th century and eary 20th they used that mainly, but also beech, oak, maybe ebony.....anything goes here really. Usually they only put the tap plate under the treble side a the plate is smaller than todays plastic shapes.
Several of the books on old guitars have photos of 19th century instruments with tap plates. Up until Dionysio Aguado's time there was a left hand technique that called for the pinky finger to be rested on the top of the guitar under the bridge or under the treble strings. There are paintings and illustrations of these players, Vermeer's 'Lady with guitar' is an example, but later Spanish illustrations too, which show players resting the pinky (4th finger) on the top. Some times those guitars had a small tap pad or oval shaped patch of veneer glued where the pinky rests. Those probably were not intended as flamenco tap plates, but just as decorative places to rest the pinky and keep the top clean and protected from rich ladies fingers. Or to protect rich lades fingers from guitars, which ever way you see it.
Thanks for the detailed answer. I'm still wondering though, is there a wood tough enough to be used as the tapa without the need to protect it with a golpeador ? And would such a wood be light enough and have a good sound for a flamenco guitar ?
i would imagine lignum vitae could stand up to nails but given the weight of the wood it most likely would add some serious weight to the guitar and kill the sound. if a person likes the appearance of wood as a tap plate it seems reasonable one could use a piece of laminate under plastic. likewise, i would imagine it might be possible to get plastic with a wood look.
Usually they only put the tap plate under the treble side a the plate is smaller than todays plastic shapes.
So, two questions:
1) When did the flamencos start doing the i-down-stroke golpe above the strings, for which you'd surely want a larger golpeador extending above the bass strings?
2) Was the i-down-stroke golpe the impetus for the larger golpeador, or was it something else?
1) When did the flamencos start doing the i-down-stroke golpe above the strings, for which you'd surely want a larger golpeador extending above the bass strings?
2) Was the i-down-stroke golpe the impetus for the larger golpeador, or was it something else?
I can't answer the first question, but Ricardo may know and if not he knows who to ask.
#2 A combination of things? Maybe the index finger smack, but also just guitarists who want to preserve the top, and certainly players with wide wild technique wanted it. Lot's of players overplay, they are wild.
i would imagine lignum vitae could stand up to nails but given the weight of the wood it most likely would add some serious weight to the guitar and kill the sound. if a person likes the appearance of wood as a tap plate it seems reasonable one could use a piece of laminate under plastic. likewise, i would imagine it might be possible to get plastic with a wood look.
Yes you could put a piece of self stick clear mylar on top of a wood veneer with a finish and then glue the whole thing to the top with white glue.
But plastic it better, I hate to say plastic is better but it just is. Unless you are willing to pay for a new tap plate of wood every year. Fine with me if you pay for it.
Judging by the really small size of the upper part of those early golpeadores, I would say that they were there to protect from the thumbnail digging the wood, not to protect the top from indicador golpes above the 6th string.
Why it went from two pieces to one full piece that covers it all? Players started scratching under the strings?
heres a pic of Luan Breva and Paco de Lucena around 1880 and it doesnt look like they have any golpeador at all....that would just keep the luthoers and french polishers in work on a monthly basisi??
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heres a pic of Luan Breva and Paco de Lucena around 1880 and it doesnt look like they have any golpeador at all....that would just keep the luthoers and french polishers in work on a monthly basisi??
Even more interesting they are playing negras. But there might be a scrap tap plate of wood you can't see in that over exposure.
and what would that plate be made out of in 1847....?? or was it a later addition ...?
as to the pic i posted earlier , i zoomed in on the original as much as i could on a photo shop prgram but couldn't see any lines or marks of golpeador at all ,. which proves nothing i realize ...
The one on the Antonio Lorca is certainly a 20th century repair/replacement. Probably no earlier than the 1940's
The black oval or egg shaped patch is the small pinky rest type protection cover, probably thin ebony. Those can be seen on many late 18th and early 19th century guitars.
Especially transitional guitars, meaning guitars made in the era of transformation from baroque to modern tuned six strings. Roughly late 18th century to 1830's 40's - It was then the 4th finger on the top style of playing began to lose popularity. They used the pinky or forth finger as a stabilizing unit and also that school of playing often did not use the fingernails.
There was rasgueado long before the 19th century, it can be seen that rasgueado was called for in Baroque music. The question is when did the golpe come into use that was aggressive enough to remove wood or dent the top? By that time they must have playing with a free 4th finger.....and maybe that form existed of playing with golpe existed much earlier, but those guitars don't exist because they were too beat up to save.
When did guitar players begin playing for dances and singers in a professional setting where they would need the guitar to last and last? My guess is that the golpeador began to be standard issue when the Cafe's Cantantes' era began because the guitarist not only needed the guitar to last, but needed a hard piece of wood on the top to punctuate the noise.
That is my guess, but I don't know for certain. If I were to research it further I would begin in the Cafe Cantante setting.
My guess is thin wood tap plates were first used to cover damage. Probably started appearing as part of a new model later, maybe during M. Ramirez or Santos time? I only have noticed maple ones in photos and videos. I think plastic is easier to replace and clear ones keep the original look of guitar so are prefered. Some guitars still come with two pieces but of course the part under the string is in danger especially if you have a low bridge. Golpes above basses are probably just as old as below the trebles. I have no idea who started doing the index or m finger down golpe but for sure the thumb golpe above the strings is old school. Check out this guy's way to play fandango to see the technique I refer to, 5:15 for example:
gerardo nunez demos this technique in his encuentro vid and says it is the "antiguo" way to keep percussion going, and more modern players to it less and less as we rely on cajon. (he is being cute of course). I am pretty sure I have heard R. Montoya do the technique of i or m above the basses but I will look out for a specific example. My guess is this technique predates audio recordings anyway.
Edit: Here is montoya with Chacon, just jump to the end of the recording he closes with a bunch of those type of golpes in a row. http://youtu.be/7g-U08qV8vY
Can someone point me to a video of Willie playing that guitar by itself (no amp)? His live sound is terrible for my taste but I would like to know how his guitar sounds.
Can someone point me to a video of Willie playing that guitar by itself (no amp)? His live sound is terrible for my taste but I would like to know how his guitar sounds.
from the other luthier thread on "ports":
quote:
ORIGINAL: Ricardo
quote:
ORIGINAL: britguy
quote:
Do you know what brand it is? I'll tell you, it's a Martin nylon string model.
Interesting you should show this: for years I've been puzzled why Willie Nelson would choose to perform with a nylon string guitar. Surely it can not be heard above the typical C&W group backing.
Anybody have any idea why?
Are you kidding? Those heavy deep basses put Metallica to shame....and those black flamenco treble strings slice through the bass drums harmonica banjo back up band like a razor sharp Ginsu. Check out his vicious rasgueado at 2:19... I thought I saw some wood chips fly out!
Can someone point me to a video of Willie playing that guitar by itself (no amp)? His live sound is terrible for my taste but I would like to know how his guitar sounds.
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Good question, perhaps one of our luthiers or collectors can enlighten us on the earliest known example? I would guess it was plastic/bakelite and there was nothing before that. 
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