Official Luthiers Forum!

Brian Burns carries the planetary pegs at a 10% discount for a first buy.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

[QUOTE=jfrench] You also run the risk of not wanting to make any mroe steel string guitars after this.[/QUOTE]

Yes, that is a danger.

One thing that I find, in moving from steel strings to classical, is that there isn't much guidance around on how to voice classical guitar tops. I have 2 out the door, 2 nearing completion, and 4 necks underway, and I still feel like I'm flying a little blind. Where's the DVD counterpart to John Mayes' 'Advanced Voicing' ???

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Ken,

Something to consider...

While the customer states he "wants a true Flamenco" I would take that with a grain of salt...does he really know what is entailed in owning/playing/building a true Flamenco AND it's realistic life expectancy being used night after night here in hummid Florida. To Clarify my point...I wouldn't use a spanish heel...Why? what advantage will it bring? Second if you build a "true" Flamenco you will be building a guitar that is built so thin it is just short of failure. Most "real" Flamenco players don't expect their guitars to last more than 5 years or so, because they are built so frail. Here in Florida that translates to Problems with a capital "P". I would get plans for a '37 Hauser...(Richard Brune sells an excellent copy) build it to spec except for the spanish heel ( I'd bolt on) and build the back and sides just a little thicker than the plans. I would also  FP ONLY the top and spray the sides and back with something more durable and less prone to our Florida environment. Just my two cents...

p.s. Spanish heels are much different than our "normal" heels. You don't "floss" spanish heels, rather, you use internal splints to force the sides to fit tightly into the cuts made in the sides of the neck...That pretty much means you are never going to do a re-set...(Although with lower string tensions you probably won't need to...but I have seen some that were poorly set to begin with)I see no advantage to this method of construction.( other than tradition...and we can argue that one all day). Your customer is likely looking for bold tone with responsiveness as well as low action  - typical on Flamenco not so typical on Classicals. Why give yourself a headache? Do what you know how to do best just adapt for the application. make a better mouse trap...just my 2 cents...it's exactly what I am doing right now... I have three in the works.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Ken, As you can see here, there is no one reference that gives you everything you want to know.

Though outdated, I've always liked Sloane's book as an entry point to classical construction, the Courtnall book is good for construction method (though I think his binding/purfling technique is a little silly) and a good overview of the best known traditional makers. I'd take his plans with a grain of salt though, if you get plans as supplied by the GAL specifically the SE 114 plan by Jeff Elliott, or the '51 Barbero Plan by Brune' as well as his '37 Hauser (get the boxed one) you can see that the details are far more specific than the ones in Courtnall. I would also recommend the Romanillos book on Torres which is a wealth of information on the Spanish guitar in general.

Since your project is a flamenco, I would concur with the Barbero plan as was previously suggested. Joshua's advice as to materials is right on...I'd take it.

Even as compared to classicals, flamencos are a somewhat different animal but since this will be your first, I'm not sure this will be a factor in accomplishing a successful build. 

    

Thanks again everybody!

I can see that I have a lot to study about this subject before I get to the first meeting with the client. He has sent me some of his work (recordings) but I am not at liberty to post it. From what I can hear, I dont hear the flamenco style being played. It sounds more like traditional latin/spanish type of playing to me. Perhaps if he had a flamenco guitar he could expand his art and that is why he wants a flamenco. I'll know more later.

I am leaving for a well deserved vacation for a few days, so I wont be able to read these posts while I am gone. I'll catch up on them when I return.

Thanks again!

Ken

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Reguards,

Ken H