Bart Hovis ~ Classical Guitar Maker: Classical Guitar Heads

Classical Guitar Heads

Classical guitars are very traditional in appearance, and relatively subdued compared to some steel string guitars (which are frequently adorned with decorative purfling and fancy inlays on the head and fingerboard...). Still, there a a couple areas where the classical maker can exhibit some individuality: the rosette and the crown - the shape of the top of the head.

The crown used by Antonio de Torres Jurado (1817-1892), sometimes referred to as the 'cloud' design due to its three semi-circles, is the granddaddy of them all, and still used today by many guitar makers - partly as an homage to Torres, partly because of its' timeless beauty. A slight variation of this design was used by the great German guitar maker Herman Hauser I (1882-1952), insuring it's relevance and popularity with future generations of guitar makers.

The two guitar heads at the bottom of this photo are after Hauser. Hauser (unlike Torres and most others) added a decorative center strip of veneer strips.

...and from behind

Of course, not all guitar makers copied this design. There are many interesting headstock designs (some simple, some elaborate), and many guitars can be identified by the maker's crown design. My own design is intended to have a late 19th c. / early 20th c. Spanish look without overtly copying anything already in existence: not so easy, it turns out!