I guess I will have to start making more videos in order to keep up this rhythm of posting.
There is a thread on delcamp right now about selecting Indian rosewood with good advice. The only thing I would add is that this sharp contrast between two colours can also look very good and is sometimes present in Indian.
I have begun taking photos of every finished guitar and trying to keep a careful record. But… why didn’t I do that from the beginning? I have made some instruments with some amazing colour combinations, decorations or downright stunning wood and I will probably never see them again. On the one hand that is the way of a creative line of work but on the other hand we can become inspired by what we have done in the past and the photos make for good publicity 😉
Looking back is good in another way too: Now I can perform certain tasks in a much shorter time and to a greater level of perfection but in the past I did some extra work on decorative elements which today I might shun as unnecessary. I might never do those things again but I would like to have them around to refer to. For the most part my rosettes have become better with time but maybe some of the first ones had a freshness or originality that are worth preserving.
Javier Riba is full professor at the Córdoba conservatory of music, scholar of the guitar, and tremendously musical concert player. He has performed music by great contemporary composers and made a number of recordings of music for guitar and transcriptions. His performances, his work as a composer and his publications contribute to making him one of the best teachers in Spain. The link on his name goes directly to his blog which gives you a lot more information. Here he is playing a Leo Brouwer transcription of sonata K. 208 by Scarlatti. The guitar is my Santos Hernández copy, a guitar which is becoming the one that is most asked about and purchased. The dimensions of the guitar, the slanted transverse bar, the aesthetic and of course the sound seem to be just what many players are looking for. Like the rest of my instruments this model is easy to play and has great tonal range.
SHABATZ GUITAR DUO consists of former professor and student, Marko Erdevicki and Stevan Jovic. The duo is dedicated to performing original compositions and arrangements for two guitars from the first half of the 19th century on historical instruments. In the video you can see Stevan playing my Antonio de Lorca copy.
You can sure see where Barbero got his ideas.