On the Bench - A 1963 Hernandez y Aguado Style Guitar, Redwood/East Indian Rosewood
To whoever invented fantasy, redwood trees, and apple pie for breakfast: well done.
Dr. SunWolf, professor, Santa Clara University
This guitar, redwood/East Indian rosewood, is based upon a guitar that was made in the shop of Manuel Hernandez and Victoriano Aguado in 1963.
It is a little bigger bodied than the 1961 HyA style guitar that I usually make, I wanted to see if there is a difference in sound between a guitar with an eighteen and seven-eights inch body and a guitar with a nineteen inch body length. I know that is only an 1/8 of an inch difference, but I have heard guitar makers and players alike swear up and down that a larger bodied guitar, even an eighth of an inch bigger, is bigger and better sounding.
The top bracing is based on one used by Jesus Belezar, Manuel Hernandez's son-in-law, except I added one more bass brace.
I decided to use only three braces on the back, sometimes Hernandez and Aguado used four braces. Four braces tends to give the back a higher pitch than three braces.
Yesterday was spent doing the final sanding on the interior, there are people who believe that the inside of a classical guitar should be immaculate. Those people need to look inside a guitar made by Antonio de Torres, Santos Hernandez, Domingo Esteso or any other guitar made by an Spanish master. I spend at least one day cleaning, sanding, burnishing the inside of a guitar, it's as if the guitar is nickel and dime-ing you to death.
Glueing a guitar's back on is very nerve wracking for me, I want everything to be as perfect as possible, which means no glue drips and that all parts mate well.
This redwood top has some gorgeous medullary rays! I have learned to put several wash coats of shellac on a guitar top before I start the binding process, it helps to protect the top from binding tape and glue.
The shop is starting to look more like a guitar maker's shop with all these guitars hanging up waiting for work!
From left to right - Engelmann spruce/ziricote, redwood/black walnut, redwood/rosewood. The neck you see hanging on the rack is for a Port Orford cedar/rosewood guitar.
Dr. SunWolf, professor, Santa Clara University
This guitar, redwood/East Indian rosewood, is based upon a guitar that was made in the shop of Manuel Hernandez and Victoriano Aguado in 1963.
It is a little bigger bodied than the 1961 HyA style guitar that I usually make, I wanted to see if there is a difference in sound between a guitar with an eighteen and seven-eights inch body and a guitar with a nineteen inch body length. I know that is only an 1/8 of an inch difference, but I have heard guitar makers and players alike swear up and down that a larger bodied guitar, even an eighth of an inch bigger, is bigger and better sounding.
The top bracing is based on one used by Jesus Belezar, Manuel Hernandez's son-in-law, except I added one more bass brace.
I decided to use only three braces on the back, sometimes Hernandez and Aguado used four braces. Four braces tends to give the back a higher pitch than three braces.
Yesterday was spent doing the final sanding on the interior, there are people who believe that the inside of a classical guitar should be immaculate. Those people need to look inside a guitar made by Antonio de Torres, Santos Hernandez, Domingo Esteso or any other guitar made by an Spanish master. I spend at least one day cleaning, sanding, burnishing the inside of a guitar, it's as if the guitar is nickel and dime-ing you to death.
Glueing a guitar's back on is very nerve wracking for me, I want everything to be as perfect as possible, which means no glue drips and that all parts mate well.
This redwood top has some gorgeous medullary rays! I have learned to put several wash coats of shellac on a guitar top before I start the binding process, it helps to protect the top from binding tape and glue.
The shop is starting to look more like a guitar maker's shop with all these guitars hanging up waiting for work!
From left to right - Engelmann spruce/ziricote, redwood/black walnut, redwood/rosewood. The neck you see hanging on the rack is for a Port Orford cedar/rosewood guitar.
Painstaking work, but worth it. The Redwood looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tico!
Delete