So why does an electric guitar-maker have a place on this spanish guitar site? Well, it turns out that we share a common inspiration (so do hundreds of other builders) in the guitars of Antonio de Torres. I got a message from someone in television wanting some more information about the Torres copy that I sent to the Classical Guitar Store in Philadelphia. It turns out they were doing a show on Paul Reed Smith and my guitar has a cameo in the show. I’ll let them tell you about Paul and how he got started whereas if you want to know more about me this is the place. Seems the link has been broken sorry.
Author Archives: johnray
Enrique García 1913
Enrique Garcia was the son of a guitar maker, Juan Garcia, but he is said to have served an apprenticeship with Manuel Ramirez, and worked for him until 1895. García is also famous for his one disciple, Francisco Simplicio, during his time in Barcelona. I was able to examine this guitar at the Music Museum in that city.
The guitar is in very good shape and shows, not surprisingly, some similarities with Torres work. Below are some of the measurements if you are interested. I may never make a copy of García but Rolf sometimes used a plantilla and bracing taken from a García he had examined.
I don’t remember the bracing being assymetric like this one however. Once again the technique of the low-watt bulb inside the guitar shows us very clearly that he thought that the treble side would benefit from more braces. 
Instrument-making texts
In October of last year I posted about a new guitar-making book that had been published in Spanish. The book was never offered for sale because it was a government sponsored edition and very few were printed. It is just as well actually because the new version is better, has more information and a different cover photo (something I am very happy to see). One of the additions is the explanation of the traditional method of construction although the original text laying out José Ángel Chacon’s approach is still the basis of the book.
La guitarra en la luthería
Chacon developed his skills as a luthier in Italy in the seventies and is perhaps better known as a luthier of bowed instruments than as a guitar-maker. For this reason I also mention his book on the construction of violins which is also available here.
El violín, la viola y el violonchelo en la luthería
David Russell
David Russell played last week to a full house in the Arrayanes patio in the Alhambra. If you know his playing and you have been to the Alhambra you can stop reading right now, you can imagine just how perfect the evening was. Here is a photo and an article in from a Spanish newpaper. Russell’s musicality was, as always, inspiring and his ease with the music and the audience rounded out the performance. Some say he is the best player alive and that may well be true, I have lately been trying to encourage people in my circle of friends to go to guitar concerts and have not always been successful in getting a positive reaction but this was a great success.
I would like to publicly congratulate the director of the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance on his determination to give the guitar a place in the programming. It has been years since we have seen guitarists of Russell’s calibre at this festival but this year we get the top classical player, the top flamenco player and the winner of the Andrés Segovia contest.
Now I hate to say anything negative about what might be the best guitar concert I have been to in Granada but I can’t help myself. If I hadn’t seen David walk on stage with his guitar in hand I would have sworn that the guitar had a transducer pick-up under the saddle. That was exactly the sound that it had! I was not in the front row by any means so I was hearing the amplification mostly but I have never heard a guitar amplified through a microphone sound that way. Another thing I noticed is that I heard that sound quality all the way through the concert. I have been to guitar concerts where my first impression of the sound or volume of the guitar was not good but after 10 or 15 minutes you stop hearing the guitar or its defects. This aural adjustment didn’t happen the other night and I don’t know why. I am now curious to hear more of Damman’s guitars to see if they all sound like a guitar with a pick-up and how they sound without amplification.
Let me close by saying that the experience was excellent and that this concert proved what I often say (although it might not be very good for business), “The deciding factor for great guitar music is the player”, the qualities of the guitar may be important in the player’s inspiration and satisfaction but it is of little importance to the listener.
New guitar for Casa Luthier
I am filling an order for Casa Luthier in Barcelona and since they held the guitars of Rolf Eichinger in very high esteem I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to finish some of the work he left behind. In this case I am using a neck and a bridge that he prepared so I can’t really say that the guitar is not mine. I won’t be putting any indication on the label but the heel is firestamped
on the inside with his initials as he used to do on all his work. The top bracing is different from his although the underlying ideas are the same, he had been using five fans almost exclusively for years. Every time I make a cedar guitar I think of Rolf because he is the one who taught me how you have to treat cedar in order to get a similar response to spruce as it can be very boomy otherwise.
Let me point out some “innovations” on Rolf’s bridges. Looking at the photo below you can see that the tie block has a slanted back side which allows for a lip while respecting the width of the tie block itself. The only advantage I can see to this is the sharper corner which helps to keep the strings from slipping. Of course you have to be more careful to bevel the corner so that strings don’t break.
The other feature is a tipped-back saddle slot which is something he talked about when I first met him but never did until near the end. The advantage to this is that the higher the saddle the more compensation there is. The reasoning is that the higher the string is off the fretboard the more string compensation you need. I know, it is hard to see in the photo.
So this will basically look like one of my guitars except the headstock is different, the body measurements are not mine and the bridge has this funny look to it.
I also wanted to say that it is a real pleasure to once again make 4 concert guitars at the same time. I used to work that way and it is very efficient but between flamencos, the Torres copy, the new Arias copy and the romantic model it has literally been years since I have had 4 of the same model on the go.
