Direct Guitar
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.
Manuel Adalid Marcelino López Nieto
Angel Benito Aguado Casimiro Lozano Carrillo
Juan Alvarez Pedro Maldonado
René Baarslag Felix Manzanero
Santos Bayón Ruiz Antonio Marin Montero
Jesús Bellido Francisco Santiago Marin
Paulino Bernabe José Marin Plazuelo
Valeriano Bernal Pedro Martínez Peñalver
Juan Miguel Carmona Rafael Moreno Rodriguez
Vicente Carrillo Francisco Montero Aguilera
Hermanos Conde Juan Montero Aguilera
Pedro de Miguel J.A. Pantoja Martin
Andrés Dominguez Guerrero Antonio Raya Ferrer
Eduardo Duran Ferrer Antonio Raya Pardo
Ana Espinosa Rodriguez Manuel Reyes
José Manuel Fernández Manuel Rodriguez Jr
Aarón García Ruíz José Romero
José López Bellido Manuel Romero Macías
Manuel López Bellido Rafael Romero Barroso
Bernd Martin José Ruiz Pedregosa
Rubén Moisés Lopez Arturo Sanzano
