Beginning Two Guitars of Divers Types
Two guitars are currently underway. The top (soundboard) and the back of each has been joined, dimensioned and inlaid. The photo just below shows a Hauser-style guitar that will be similar to the guitar documented earlier in this blog. Same woods, as well: Italian Alpine spruce for the soundboard and Madagascar rosewood for the back.
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| Picea abies, Dalbergia Baronii |
As you can tell in the next photo (below) the woods are different and the shape of the guitar (plantilla) is also different. This is a new style for me, and while not based on any single instrument, it borrows design elements from guitars made in Spain beginning in the early 1960's in the shops of Ramirez, Rodriguez, Fleta, etc. These guitars are characterized by a deep, full sound that can be dark and soulful. The woods chosen here are Western Redcedar, and Wenge from Africa. Western Redcedar (not a true cedar, actually in the cypress family) is not a traditional soundboard wood; Jose Ramirez III began using it in the early 1960's (I believe) and it became an essential element in the characteristic sound of his instruments. Wenge, an African tree, is an alternative to the traditionally used rosewoods that are now endangered, unavailable, and/or too expensive.
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| Thuja Plicata, Milletia laurentii |
The soundboard bracing is shown below. On the left is the Hauser style (symmetrical 7 fan braces) This style actually goes back to Torres in the mid 19th century, and has been used by many, many guitar makers incorporating their own subtle tweaks as did Hauser. On the right is what I will refer to as the "Madrid" style, as that is where Ramirez worked, but the style is not limited to Madrid. A characteristic of this style is asymmetric bracing with almost any number of fan braces. I'm using 7 here, but the great Spanish luthiers have used 5, 6, 7 or 9 fan braces to help achieve the sound they were after. My bracing (below) is actually a very conservative design and still very close to Torres with only the diagonal strut to create the asymmetry. The creativity and skill of the Spanish luthiers who started this style was/is amazing, and some complex and intriguing bracing systems have been devised. I'm playing it pretty safe here...
Each guitar model requires its own work board (solera), which you can see below in the background. The dimensions of the solera match the design of the guitar soundboard, including the dished out lower belly of the solera which creates the domed soundboard.
Here, the dimensioned braces are shown on the 'blueprint' for the guitar.
Check back to see how things progress!
