[ex_caeruleus]

This is a little bit inspired by Payul's thread about guitar plans.

You see, I'm curious what kinds of guitars the members are using. Maker, plans it's based on, blanca/negra, materials... and if you even knew these details before you decided to post in this thread.

[ex_caeruleus]

Just in case some of y'all are shy, I'll start out.

I'm using a luthier built (by Jeff Sigurdson of BC, Canada) blanca, who is fairly local to me.

It's built on the 1951 plans by Marcelo Barbero. Apparently the original guitar was made for and gifted to Carlos Montoya who, in turn, gave it away to an up-and-coming guitar player named Sabicas, who used in the recording on his LP, Flamenco Puro.


Mine is pretty traditional: German spruce soundboard, Spanish cypress body (which is aromatic), Spanish cypress neck, ebony fingerboard, rosewood bindings... but it has machine tuners. It has a mostly lacquered finish, with a French polish soundboard.


When I got it, I didn't get it directly from the luthier, I got it through a teacher who has been dealing with Jeff for many years. It was made to order for someone apparently famous (I gather I'm supposed to recognise the name, but I can never remember it), but there was a cosmetic "flaw" just under the bridge where the FP caused the wood grain to darken in a small area (to my eye, it's just the nature of the wood and looks fine, but they say "love is blind" ).
The luthier, being demandingly picky, decided it was no longer good enough for this fellow to be taking out on tour and sold it to me through the teacher for less than 1/2 the agreed upon price.
It sounds wonderful, as an instrument - I feel guilty that it has to be played by as poor a player as myself.

Because I bought it through an intermediary, I knew nothing about it, so I contacted the luthier to ask about the materials and then researched Barbero and about the usual materials used in Flamenco guitars.
I read a comment somewhere that the Barbero plans are the most popular for non-Spanish luthiers.

I found that knowing more about the guitar elevated my appreciation.
I doubt I will ever sell it, but if I do, now I have all the building and historic details to make a great sales pitch. But that would only be to raise the price as I'm sure it would sell well on sound alone...

It's almost better than a GF. A beautiful voice that never nags. Honey coloured. A perfect smooth feminine shape (mejor pa' tocar), and naturally perfumed. And... I get to think that Sabicas and I have something in common.

[deteresa]

I have a Francisco Navarro (Mexico), and a Francisco Solera (Spain) but my main guitar is a cedar top blanca built by a local luthier near me. Monterrey Cypress/western red cedar copy of a Ramirez 1a. It's really a great guitar for being only his second one he ever made but he is going to set me up with an even better on this fall (he's made about 20 now). This guy really seems to know what he's doing...he only produces about 2-3 very very good guitars a year.
I'm also interested in getting a Pedro de Miguel some day.
Xavier if you are in BC maybe you know of John Park? My luthier has a flamenco blanca by him that's really fantastic.

[ex_caeruleus]

Andy, if your current favourite has a cedar top, what do your other guitars use? If they're not cedar, could you tell me what about the cedar's sound (would that be "tamber"?) that you like so much?
You're in the State of New York, right?



I've never heard of Mr. Park. My mastery Google-Fu allows me to sense that he doesn't seem to have much of a web presence. Considering the low-tech nature of luthierie, it doesn't surprise me.

The only info I found was that he may be a member of GAL and has been making guitars since the 70s. If it's the same John Park.

I will have to keep my eyes and ears open about him and question people whenever I get the chance.


I've only head of a few local luthiers, three I can remember by name (one I can't at all, but it wasn't John), and another I have to check my bookmarks for.

In the "lower mainland" we have Jeff Sigurdson (link above), Daniel Stickel on Granville Island in Vancouver proper. There's someone else, just outside Greater Vancouver, but he's the gent I can't recall nor never met. Flamenco.ca used to have him in their luthiers directory, but they don't seem to maintain their site any more.

On Vancovuer Island (not the mainland), in the province's capitol Victoria there is Daniel Turner. I've never met him or one of his guitars. Although, they do seem quite photogenic.
Also on the Island isMarcus Dominelli, whom I know nothing more about than that which he has on his web page. From the website and photos within, he seems like a meticulous person and worth checking out.

When I was thinking of buying, I googled the names of all the local luthiers. I thought it wise to read some reviews. Jeff's name came up the most at that time and there seemed to be quite a few reviews over at flamenco-teacher.com
When the teacher told me he could get me a deal and I found out it was Jeff, it looked like an opportunity - and considering my price range, I was sure it would be better than a Yamaha. As it is, I think there's going to be plenty of room to grow.

I won't be buying another for years. Unless I want a sound port. :-) Then I'll go back and ask him about one of his unfinished projects to get a deal, and a second hole.

[deteresa]

Originally Posted by ex_caeruleus

Andy, if your current favourite has a cedar top, what do your other guitars use? If they're not cedar, could you tell me what about the cedar's sound (would that be "tamber"?) that you like so much?
You're in the State of New York, right?

Yep I'm in NY. I don't think there is much of an inherent difference in cedar vs. spruce. They are both great tonewoods, possibly cedar projects better but I don't think it is any more "dark" or "rich" or anything like that. It's all about how the guitar is built.
Recently I read somewhere about a blind sound test done with professional musicians and builders who could not distinguish between cedar and spruce top guitars. I think to a large extent our eyes tell us what we are going to hear.

[Frontera]

The guitar I play the most is an Andres Dominguez of Sevilla, Spain 2004 spruce top and cypress B&S, premium Fustero tuners. It is built on the plans of Santos Hernandez and sounds very much like a Manuel Reyes Sr.

My other guitar is my homemade 1974 redwood top and Jacaranda rosewood B&S. It is my own pattern with 11 fan braces. The tone is unique and works well for some flamenco palos.

In the past I have had cypress & spruce flamenco guitars from Victor Diaz, Pedro Maldonado, and Hector Pimental. The Dominguez is my favorite by far.

[ronjazz@mac.com]

Very generally speaking, cedar tops tend to need less time to come to maturity, while spruce tops take a while to break in. A new cedar guitar will keep much of the original sound, while a new spruce top will develop with the playing, thus taking on more characteristics of the player.

[Alatriste]

Originally Posted by deteresa

I have a Francisco Navarro (Mexico)...

Very cool! I am hoping to visit Paracho MEX in the next year or two, though his guitars are sold here in Houston. I just want to see if Paracho is as I have imagined it. I ride my motorcycle down to MEX a lot.

I would like to get my hands on a Francisco Navarro one of these days or a Candelario Delgado. We shall see.

[omnidrone]

Wow some great guitars. I've been hearing great thigs about Anders and his guitars.....someday. Right now I divide my time between a Benito Huipe Blanca and a Francisco Navarro Concert model Blanca cutaway(yucky- I know). I used to play a student model Navarro. I thought it was a great guitar - especially for only $4oo us, but The concert model really doesn't sound a whole heck of alot better. It's a cedar top 2008 so maybe it needs time to open up. I have a classical with golpeadores and flamenco action made by a local luthier named Matthew Roper who seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. My first good guitar. I hope to get a Negra this year. I'm thiking Salvador Castillo.

cheers.

[ronjazz@mac.com]

Unfortunately, cedar doesn't tend to "open up" like spruce does. Cedar guitars sound like they will in years, while spruce guitars tend to develop their sound based on the player.