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I’m sure many traditionalists won’t approve of this but I thought I’d share it anyway. I just had a custom made by Luis Feu de Mesquita, who originally hails from Andalusia but now lives in Ontario, Canada. Luis is a wonderful maker and a joy to work with and I was fortunate he was willing to try some crazy things with this instrument. If you’re looking for someone to build you a guitar he’s a first-class builder.
The top is Port Orford Cedar, the back and sides are flamed Maple, fretboard is Brazilian Ebony, binding and rosette are Koa, and the inlay (reveal) in the headstock and bridge is Padauk which is also used next to the binding in lots of places.
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
Guess I must be a traditionalist Not my cup of tea but it takes all types. Like the others, I'd love to hear how it sounds. Anyways, congrats on the new guitar!
Posts: 279
Joined: May 3 2017
From: Iraq, living in Germany
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to Piwin)
I've never heard a luthier made guitar in the style of simplicio. Well I heard that andalusian guitar thing but since these things usually don't sound very different from one another I'd like to see and hear another rendition of the simplicio
Posts: 3470
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
I am always skeptical of three things: A. any movie that is described as "zany" (which usually turns out to be more stupid than funny); B. any cruise that is billed as taking place on a "fun ship" (which is usually a code-word for adolescent behavior); and C. anything, from cuisine to music, that is prefaced with the modifier "Nouveau" (which rarely meets, much less exceeds, the merits of the original it is supposed to "update," as it were). Nevertheless, as long as the instrument brings you joy and happiness, that's all that counts. Glad you are pleased with it.
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
quote:
“Noveau Flamenco”
I heard a record once called "nouveau flamenco", it was a) not flamenco and b) terrible in an "easy listening" sort of way....
people talk about "nuevo flamenco" which i think is a marketing term for pop music played by people from flamenco families (and which is also terrible in an "easy listening" sort of way....)
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
If you are happy with the guitar – congratulations! It would be interesting to know what your rationale was for the ‘crazy’ ideas. I am presuming that you, in collaboration with an experienced maker, had ideas about improving the sound (to your taste) as well as making the instrument look different. Could you explain what your combined thoughts were on this ? As others have said, it would be nice to hear the result.
Posts: 2731
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
You've gotten off pretty lightly here.
What's the point of it? It just frys my brain. It's like an alternate dimension where the guitar developed every so slightly different. But eerily the same.
Conceptually and artistically I suppose it's pretty cool. The curved bridge and the dark strip on the front bottom curve of the body. Surely the guitar is what it is, because it evolved slowly to be what it is. Sure it's still doing that but real slowly. This is just too much for me.
No offense I hope I hope you enjoy it.I'm sure you will.
If you would share some insight into the science of this that would be greaThe. Cheers
quote:
I heard a record once called "nouveau flamenco", it was a) not flamenco and b) terrible in an "easy listening" sort of way....
people talk about "nuevo flamenco" which i think is a marketing term for pop music played by people from flamenco families (and which is also terrible in an "easy listening" sort of way....)
Mark is that your way of saying you don't like it??
Also. Does any body else get offended by no flamenco guitars?? Hahaha. Even a classical agitates me a bit. One of the guys I built on a course with, has been making some other guitars since being back in the UK. The last one was a metal bodied guitar. I could see the craftsmanship and the hard work and it is fantastic ...but really it just annoyed me. Haha.
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to Stu)
quote:
Mark is that your way of saying you don't like it??
the music or the guitar? I don't mind Ketama or whatever but kind of get bored of it really quickly. The guitar I don't know, I'm not "against" anything experimental or different, but sort of think "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" so there has to be a good reason to make changes or modifications or whatever. I don't see any point in just being "crazy" for the sake of it...
Posts: 15318
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
The top is not totally original, I have seen that design before in terms of soundhole position. Chris Carrington made his own guitars similar to this. The issue I have, ignore the asymmetry of the looks, is the bridge looks way too high for flamenco techniques due to the raise fingerboard over the body.
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
From the pictures it seems around 8 or 9 mm from the top: if this is the case, not too bad IMHO. The point is that the closest you get to the sound hole the higher the strings from the top, which can cause some problems for the golpes or for the position of your thumb. The sound hole design recalls the 4 guitars with that geometry made by Francisco Simplicio 90 years ago, the sound port is similar to the one used by Stephen Connor, the bracing recalls something of the X bracing used by Lorenzo Frignani and the bridge takes some electments from the design of Greg Smallman. It's like you added some features used by different makers into your own project.
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
The design is quite old, it's derived from Simplicio's 'bi-boca' model from the 1920's.
Two things I see as difficulty, X bracing and elevated fingerboard. I'm not sure either of those ideas is 100% compatible with flamenco playing. But if you can make it work for yourself great.
It's cool to design all kinds of guitars, we are not trying to put anyone in guitar jail. And I appreciate independent guitar makers being supported. The only thing I would say is that there might be time when moving into a more traditional flamenco guitar might be a good move for accompaniment. But it depends on your intent and situation.
Design wise in terms of sound moving the soundholes that far north does have an effect- and not making a decisive lateral bar under the soundhole also does something very basic to the sound that might not be in the flamenco tone direction. But let's hear how it sounds.
Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
i was curious about Brazilian ebony and googled it as well as went to the wood data base. the best I can guess the wood is from the swartzia genus which was characterized by having a very clear demarcation between sap and heart woods. the fretboard seems have been built with both and I wonder if there will be an issue down the road with so much sapwood used.
RE: “Noveau Flamenco” made by Lu... (in reply to 2xbass)
The “nouveau” was really just the maker’s description of this being something different. I think his expectation was that it would be a bit of a hybrid between a pure flamenco guitar and a classical guitar. “Better” is always subjective. My idea was simply to experiment with some things in terms of sound and playability and I was interesting in trying out Simplicio’s soundhole design as well as these particular woods. Perhaps I’ll make a video when I’ve played it in a bit.
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