Classical Guitar FAQ
Q: Would you consider your instruments as modern guitars?
A: My answer would be that we build a modern traditional guitar.
Tradition is not the
same as conservative, not accepting change.
Tradition needs to be developed.
It is not in contraire with the development of new building processes.
Traditional
craftsmanship however guarantees a high quality and that is for the player to discover and
to develop.
When it comes to tonal qualities I might even be old fashioned, in my opinion
a guitar should still have a particular
sweetness and warmth.
Q: Do you use Carbon and/or Nomex as a building material?
A: No, not anymore. I have used carbon reinforcement as a strutting system maybe 20 years ago. It was quite exciting to work with these new materials and it presented interesting challenges which made me learn and helped to rethink about construction possibilities. About 5 years ago we also tried the material Nomex. In general you will always hear the use of these materials and some players do not mind that type of sound. If you have a trained ear you always will here the difference in the materials that are used to build a guitar.
Q: Do you prefer a cedar top or spruce top?
A: I am very pleased that we can use cedar as a tone wood and not only have to rely on spruce. It is very difficult to generalize about these woods. There are so many differences between makers that use these woods and the players that play these woods. We know that Fleta build up his reputation with cedar and there are many other makers that are well-known to build very beautiful guitars with cedar. The only thing I am really against is the myth some players spread that only spruce guitars are noble. Yes, there are many bad cedar guitars, but probably even more bad spruce guitars. If a cedar guitar is constructed well, this guitar also develops over time and will stay in good condition for over a great period of time. It is a personal thing: is a Ferrari better then a Lamborghini? Who can tell?
Q: What is the scale length you prefer?
A: We use for more then 25 years now a scale of 650mm. For me this is the perfect scale. Longer scales seem to create unnecessary tension for the left hand. More and more players understand the importance of the left hand. Energy balance helps you to perform better on stage, be a better player. When it comes to power; a well build guitar converts the string tension of a 650mm scale in the same way as a longer scale guitar. The fact of a higher string tension of a longer scale guitar must be compensated by the thickness of top and bracing. (The modulus of elasticity and the density.)
Q: You are using a raised fingerboard like other makers, what is the advantage?
A: The use of a raised fingerboard might not be familiar within the classical scene but has been traditionally used in bowed instruments from the beginning and has been used also in the construction of archtop guitars for more then a century. So it is hardly to claim for any maker to have invented this particular construction. Since we also produce exclusive archtop guitars, therefore as a modernist it seems to me quite logic to use this also for classical guitars. The biggest advantage is of course that it is much easier for any player to reach the higher registers even above the 12th position.
Q: Why do you use a cutaway?
A: Our feature is not really a cutaway in the true sense. I came up with the idea of the semi-cutaway some 20 years ago to facilitate easier access in the higher position. “Cutaway” actually means you cut away a piece of the wood of the guitar. We call it a semi-cutaway: meaning that is not really cutting a piece of the guitar. The guitar presents itself when seen from the back as a normal traditional shape. Although it looks that a piece of wood is missing; from the inside it does not affect the tonal qualities of the inner space. In combination with the raised fingerboard the access to the highest frets becomes tremendously easy.
Q: I noticed that the neck of your guitar is black; do you use an ebony neck?
A: No. We use normal neck wood either Cedrela or a light Mahogany wood. However when the contour of the neck is finished we glue a piece of 1mm ebony veneer around the neck. Again this technology may seem modern but is in fact quite old. It has been a tradition among lute makers and is been used for other historical instruments. The advantage is that it strengthens the neck enormously and the feel of an unvarnished neck is also very pleasurable. Furthermore I am under the impression that it also helps to create a more homogeneous neck, which helps to create a better quality of tone.
Q: I have recently played one of your guitars and was very impressed by the power. It seems however that you build your guitar much heavier then other more traditional makers.
A: Yes, you are right; my guitar is a bit heavier then other guitars might be, especially when you do not expect that. The reason is that we use certain kinds of reinforcements inside the guitar that help some parts to resonate better and prevent other parts from resonating like the neck. Without wanting to reveal some of our unique constructions I can only tell you that by using this kind of reinforcements we are able to make use of thinner tops. The result of both features is that they help to create a faster responding guitar.
Q: How much do your guitars cost?
A: Highly crafted instruments are in my opinion priceless. The value of good instruments might even increase over the years. The price of our instruments starts at about 9.000 euro.
Q: I have a brand new spruce guitar and I am under the impression that my guitar starts to sound better when I play it longer then approximately 15 minutes? Is this an illusion or can this truly be?
A: Highly quality instruments, and in particular spruce guitars, will have to deal with this phenomenon in the beginning. This will change when the guitar is getting older and is played regularly. It is also very important that you play the guitar in all registers and especially the melody strings. The biggest change, that you will notice after a few months, is that your melody will become stronger and the sustain longer and a good instrument will even get a bigger volume.