RE: TRUSS RODS...

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RE: TRUSS RODS...

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Armando

Posts: 302
Joined: May 27 2005
From: Zürich, Switzerland

RE: TRUSS RODS... (in reply to JBASHORUN)

jshelton5040

quote:

I don't know about common opinion. Try putting stress on planks and letting them sit for a year in your shop. That's the way I satisfied myself that Spanish cedar is more resistant to warping than Mahogany.

I guess that we are not talking about exactly the same thing. I was refering to the stiffness of honduran mahogany comparred to honduran cedar. The likelyness of warping is a different story. I agree that mahogany is more likely to warp than cedar.

However i have never personally tested the resistance of both woods in comparisson to each other. If they are tested i think it's important to use planks of similar density of each kind of wood in order to get meaningful results. It would simply not be accurate to compare "apples with pears". I have built my first flamenca blanca with cedar neck and the second with mahogany. Until now i don't have problems with either of them in terms of bowing or warping. It seems however that the mahogany neck adds sustain to the guitar which is not desirable on a flamenco guitar. In terms of tone i think that mahogany is equally good. The plan of the Marcelo Barbero 1951 Model drawn by R.E. Bruné indicates that the neck on that guitar is made of mahogany while the neckblock is made of cedar, that's why i have built my guitar to this specs.
Of course i respect, that you have much more experience than what i have. When is was mentioning the "common opinion" i was just reflecting what i have read in other similar threads in other guitar foros.

JBASHORUN

quote:

On the other hand the same teacher who gives these lectures also claims that guitar necks should usually be 100% straight (with no relief), which other people tell me is wrong. So I'm not quite sure who to believe...

I think you will never get a definite answer on such questions. There are too many different opinions and experiences around among luthiers and what works well for one does not necessarily work well for another one. I think it's best to form your own opinion about things and the more experience you gain, more questios will be answered but other new ones will appear.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 6 2006 7:15:38

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: TRUSS RODS... (in reply to Armando)

Using the correct descriptive word is the eternal problem in discussions of this sort (no criticism intended as I am probably the worst offender).

When I refer to warping I mean the wood will take a permanent "set" if left under stress. Spanish cedar may have slightly more "spring" than mahogany so generally may be not as "stiff" but it virtually refuses to take a "set". If you allow for the natural "spring" of the neck wood when building, Spanish cedar is far less likely to warp. How's that for a confusing statement. The first tests I performed on these woods were purely accidental (leaving a plank leaning against the wall in the sunlight) but after observing the result I then did a test with quartered planks sawn to exactly the same dimensions and came to the conclusion previously stated.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 6 2006 14:05:44

a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RE: TRUSS RODS... (in reply to JBASHORUN)

Many flamenco guitarists hold their guitar with the lower bout balanced on the right thigh and the upper bout unsupported, neck at about 45 degrees. (I tend to do this when playing accompanyment w/ dancers or singers, less so when solo. Mainly so I can watch the action to time the end of a passage.)
The extra weight of a truss -- especially a steel one -- makes this position difficult. I've been told this is also the reason for the (lighter) pegs. Of course, none of this applies to classicals. I've been told that graphite trusses are actually lighter than wood. Dunno if this is true.
I own a 1967 Manuel de la Chica blanca that was custom made for me, and a 1973 Chica classical. Neither has a truss. At the time Chica built the blanca, I think trusses were regarded as something "new" that might be necessary for steel strings, but Chica saw them as something a classical/flamenco luthier would use only if properly cured neck wood were unavailable, and even then he didn't think they were a sign of a good builder. Maybe he was too much of a purist. His necks were all mahogany -- honduras, I believe.
Tony Arnold

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 3 2006 17:19:18