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Italian Luthiers
L'Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità raccomanda un consumo di 5-9 porzioni di frutta e verdura ogni giorno. La maggior parte delle persone non ci si avvicina neppure. Juice PLUS+®, la cui efficacia è stata provata scientificamente, ci aiuta a colmare il divario tra ciò che dovremmo e ciò che realmente mangiamo.
Specializing in handmade guitars built by Spain’s finest guitar makers. Although factories may turn out affordable, playable guitars, the truly outstanding classical guitars and flamenco guitars come from small workshops where they are entirely handcrafted by an experienced guitar maker who carefully selects seasoned woods, and can make adjustments as he works and control quality at all stages of construction. They carry the following Spanish luthiers who make fine flamenco and classical guitars.
A collection of information on all the models and web sites containing information on Guitars as well as Mandolins and other instruments.
Some Sources on Guitar Collecting
Guitar Collecting – This is a great site on collecting guitars it has everything.
GUITAR COLLECTING: HOW I BUILT A $65,OOO COLLECTION OF GUITARS FROM A $1,000 INVESTMENT IN FOUR YEARS AND HOW YOU CAN TOO! by Bill Dixon
A step-by-step guide that provides lots of details in a clear, simple manner. Bill shows you how to begin your collection, where to look for bargains, mistakes to avoid, purchasing & negotiating techniques, cleaning & detailing your finds, recordkeeping, more. His style is easygoing, with stories of his adventures and lessons learned. Although Bill will make sure you keep your head above water, and certainly a profit is within reach, the main focus throughout is the major bonus of putting together a group of “keeper” guitars of your dreams. Nice work if you can get it? This is a great place to start. 94 pp.
The modern flamenco guitar is an adaptation of the modern classical guitar developed by Pete Donohue, in the spring of ’98. The luthiers of Andalusia made instruments in a wide range of prices, largely based on the materials used and the amount of decoration. The cheapest guitars were often simple, basic instruments made from local woods like cypress, which was much cheaper than imported rosewood or maple; wooden pegs were more affordable than geared tuning machines. Most of the flamenco guitarists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were Spanish gypsies, who were poor, and who bought the most affordable guitars available at the time. Eventually, instruments with these features came to be called flamenco guitars, but originally there was really no distinction made by makers or players.
Today, some of the material-related costs have changed. Good quality Spanish—or, more precisely, Mediterranean—cypress is difficult to find, and quite expensive (a good back-and-side set of cypress can cost twice as much as a good set of Indian rosewood), while tuning machines can be purchased at reasonable prices. The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress or sycamore for the back and sides and spruce for the top, which accounts for its characteristic body color, and is lighter in weight and a bit smaller than a classical guitar, to give the sound a “brighter” and more percussive quality. The top is made of either spruce or cedar. Volume has traditionally been very important in flamenco construction, as guitarists needed to be heard over the sound of the dancers’ nailed shoes. The flamenco guitar, in contrast to the classical, is often equipped with a tap plate called golpeador, commonly made of transparent plastic, similar to a pick guard, whose function is to protect the body of the guitar from the rhythmic finger taps, or golpes.
Originally, flamenco guitars were made with wooden tuning pegs similar to a violin. Some guitarists still prefer these pegs to the classical style modern tuning gears. It is widely accepted that more weight in the headstock can improve sustain; unsurprisingly, less weight can result in quicker attack, a desirable quality in a flamenco guitar. This could explain why many flamenco players still favor the traditional pegs. The action or the height of the strings above the fingerboard is generally lower (<3mm at the 12th fret) than that of a classical guitar. This aids faster playing, especially during fast picado passages, but can lead to some fret buzz: also a frequent feature of the traditional flamenco sound. The lower string height also greatly helps reduce fatigue of the left hand over lengthy performances. Most flamenco guitars’ necks are made of cedar wood because of its strength. In short, flamenco guitars are better suited for flamenco music than classical guitars. Some modern flamenco guitars (flamenca negra), however, use similar materials to high-end classical guitars. These guitars hope to capture some of the sustain achieved by concert calibre classical guitars while retaining the volume and attack associated with flamenco.
The differences between classical and flamenco guitars lie in their materials, construction and sound.
Classical guitars are generally made with spruce or cedar tops and rosewood or mahogany backs and sides to enhance sustain. Flamenco guitars are generally made with spruce tops and cypress or sycamore for the backs and sides to enhance volume and emphasize the attack of the note. Nevertheless, other types of wood may be used for the back and sides, like rosewood, maple, koa, satinwood and caviuna. Flamenco guitars are generally shallower and the woods are often much thinner. Flamenco guitars have a flat or negative (before string tension) neck relief, making the action faster at the cost of some buzzing. The strings are also closer to the body on flamenco guitars to facilitate tapping. This is called “low action” of a guitar. The distance, at the bridge, between the 1st and the 6th strings in a classical guitar is 57mm, 58mm or 59mm. Most flamenco guitars have a distance of 64mm. The greater distance between the strings allows the right hand to move faster and ease its performing of flamenco techniques such as picado, alzapua and rasgueos. The bridge of a flamenco guitar is usually more flat than that of a classical guitar. Flamenco guitars often bear a “golpeador”, which is a sheet of plastic mounted to the face of the guitar to protect its finish.
A well-made flamenco guitar responds quickly and typically has less sustain than a classical. This is desirable, since the flurry of notes that a good flamenco player can produce would sound very muddy on a guitar with a big, lush, sustaining sound. The flamenco guitar’s sound is often described as percussive; it tends to be brighter, drier and more austere, and have fewer overtones, than that of a classical. As a matter of fact, some jazz and Latin guitarists like this punchy tonality, and some players have even discovered that these guitars’ wide-ranging sound also works well for the contrapuntal voicings of Renaissance and Baroque music. Conversely, some modern flamenco guitarists prefer to play a standard classical guitar.
I met Bryant at the Newport guitar show in Hollywood, Florida back in April, 2010 and had the pleasure of spending some time with him, getting to know him and his guitars and I got to say it was great!!! in both respects. Got him into a little discussion over benedetti guitars but everything turned out fine. O ye and he speaks pretty good Italian!
Here is my favorite but go and check out his web site: Trenier Guitars
Hello, and welcome to Trenier guitars homepage. My name is Bryant Trenier, and I am a maker of Archtop guitars. After spending many years as a student of the guitar, I began building musical instruments in 1998, then studied stringed instrument making in the Czech Republic under Ondra Holoubek between 2002 and 2004. I have since returned to the states and set up a small shop in Seattle, Washington.
I make every Trenier guitar completely by hand. Each instrument is made one at a time, with a total of no more than 10 instruments per year. This is the best way for me to work, as it allows me to pay close attention to every detail of the instruments. When a customer orders a guitar from me, there is an initial consultation and preparation period, where I try to understand the customer’s needs as best as I can, and we establish the materials the guitar will be made from. When physical construction of the instrument begins, I like to spend the entire 6 weeks or so it takes me to make the instrument on that instrument uniquely, allowing me to focus completely on the instrument and the customer.
