Michael, I really enjoy your videos. Your observations about traditional fan strutting vs lattice are spot on. It is not a question to which there is one simple answer. Like everyone else, I have my own preferences. And I have found my own solutions to my unique musical tasks. One of the great concert players once told me in a private moment that his choice of guitar was in no small way a practical decision. He admitted his old instrument had qualities his current guitar didn’t have. But his choice was a matter also of convenience of knowing the sound was always going to be the same, no matter the condition of his nails and the acoustics of the recital hall. Thanks for documenting your work.
I recall playing one of your guitars from the 90's. Not sure what number it was, but I'll never forget the sound. Sending greetings from the San Francisco Bay Area. 👋 Thanks for sharing.
Michael , I learned more in 14 minutes than years of listening to guitars and playing them. I sincerely would love to play one of your guitars. I am a player that has only recently been attuned to how , why and where a nylon works and why. Hope you are soon to produce a documentary on guitar making , it sure would be of great interest to many . Cheers and hope you and family are Well Dave Alberta
I was quite enthralled by this video. I can breath a craftsman's the desire for perfection, the true love and devotion for making beautiful instruments. I went to Michael's website and ended up ordering a concert guitar. I got the guitar about four months later. The guitar is beautiful, feels wonderful in the hands, and the sound, simply marvelous. It is the best classical guitar I have ever played. I'm in love with it. Thank you Michael!
Wonderful, thoughtful video. Found that same book when I was 17, produced my first guitar in high school wood shop-when schools still had shop classes. (Second place in state fair-not bad for first attempt.)Now retired, ready to start again...
Wonderful stuff! Very inspirational to an ageing yet 'young' guitar builder in the UK. I remember in the 1980s trying to learn the pieces being played. All your videos have in some way influenced the guitars I have built. many thanks.
Dear Michael, You are a genius, I shared the same passion when I was kid , very fascinated by the sound of a classical guitar . I dreamt to a solo guitarist like John Williams , Pepe Romero etc
I've played so many different classical's from Dammonn Double-Tops to Redgate's and many more. I was fortunate to be living in New Mexico taking lessons from a world class player there who told me about Michael. I found a couple of his instruments, one cedar and one spruce, at a store in Santa Fe and was completely blown away. To date these are the best sounding instruments I have ever played.
Michael Thames Hi Michael, I honestly cannot remember the owner's name. This was several years ago (2005 time frame) and the shop was on Cerrillos. I remember having a conversation with him about his going to music school with Roland Dyens, but I don't remember his name being Jim Rubin. Unfortunately the shop closed.
Buzz Wilson Also, thank you for the information on lattice bracing. I remember that you experimented with that at one time and for a while it was "flavor of the month" for classical guitars. I did enjoy the Jim Redgate that I was able to play but there was definitely something missing. I was thinking at the time that it may have been the room but perhaps not.
Hi Michael. Its really funny. It happened to me the same way that happened to you. Once I was "fishing" the internet and I found Irving Sloane book. I read it in about one day. When I close the book I said to myself I was going to build my own guitar. And so that's I am doing. I am finishing the neck. Lets see what happens. Congrats. Paulo Rosa. Brazil.
Beautiful workmanship. Book matched figured maple. I see you use a doweling jig] to drill the holes for the tuners. Noticed that you don't use the traditional kerfing but use your own solid style bent and glued to the sides. Delicate work producing the fan braces. Interesting technique to tune the top you have.
Very nice guitars and workmanship Michael. The guitars with the soundports that you heard were not probably good guitars. I have 2 with not only soundports, but with slits cutout at the front lower and upper bouts...they sound absolutely amazing and powerful as well as the advantage that the sound board actually resonates more and the strings don't work as hard which means they last a lot longer. For me, the traditional way = a guitar that is suffering or rather suffocating. Just my opinion from my experiences of playing and performing for many years. Its like splitting timber with a splitter and hitting a knot in the log, to me that's the same effect the vibrations has on the strings in traditional design. The nylon strings are not powerful enough to resonate the top adequately. Smallman tried to make the tops thin, but unfortunately they lack midrange and nuance. A loud guitar is not necessarily a good one. The back and sides make a very real difference to me as well. eg. Rosewood has a darker mellow tone as the Flame Maple has a punchier more direct sound. Spruce is brighter with deeper trebles, Cedar warmer and more balanced. As you say, breath and responsiveness is very important..
Very nice work both on the guitar making and the video, Michael! Let me know when you open the door for apprentice, and I'll be the first to sign up :-)
thank you i feel like a sponge soaking up any and all information on the making of these fine instruments . again thank you. i retired and am looking into the next step of my life. guitar making seems like it could be it . i was not that good playing em soo maybe i can make em !
www.reynoldsguitars.com/blog.shtml It's a difficult thing to achieve, because more volume is lost the thinner the top is made. Woods, first of all, have to be outstanding to make the sound harmonically balanced. Classical guitars should be responsive, but not in the same percussive way as flamenco guitars are designed.
I read carefully your video. Images are gving good lessons But I m french and I have got problems to catch all your comments. thanks for that great video
Hi Michael, thanks for sharing you knowledge and techniques! Can you make some comments regarding the tornavoz? What make you choose adding one to the guitar and what sort of effect you hear on the final sound?
Michael, thanks for the comments about the sound ports and the lattice braced tops and the rest of the film...fantastic.!! Do you think the "double tops" and lattice braced classicals are the "evolution" of the modern guitar? Mikhail
I have made a number of latticed braced guitars some with CF but mostly wood lattice. I think lattice bracing tends to involve the entire top in tone production, and also tends to be a bit midrange, and bass sided. I've never heard brilliant clear trebles in lattice guitars, they also tend to sound a bit nasal. Fan braced guitars allow the treble and bass to work more independently. I prefer the DT sound over the Smallman type lattice design, in fact I really have a strong aversion to Smallman design guitars, no matter how loud they are. What concerns me about double tops is how well they stand up over time, by that I mean how they break in and sound good over the years. We all know how well spruce and cedar break in and tend to sound better and better, I'm not convinced the same is true for DT guitars. That said, I have made some and right now I'm making a new design DT featuring a balsa wood core. I like this more than the Nomex because it seems to have better structural integrity. I've heard from many players that their Nomex DT guitars sounded good at first, then the sound got worse and dead notes began to appear here and there. There is also the problem of them sounding somewhat artificial
Wonderful! Although I am not quite sure what you mean about the struggle of the artist to produce a given sound. The Audience cares not. If they "sound" bad then what else is there? It simply sounds bad. Or am I missing something?
Great video, lovely guitar! I see from the way you fix the bracing at the beginning that you have a slightly "dished" top. Does that provide a little extra stiffness that removes the need for a backplate, or is the darker crossbrace there to support the bridge? Thanks for any info!
thank you Michael . its a thing of beauty you build . question please what is that thing you added to the bottom of the top at the sound hole and what is it made of ?
an absolutely beautiful build. i was fascinated by the fact that you secured the lower horizontal bar to the sides before the top. do you feel this helps to produce a more stable top?
I would love to learn how to build classical guitars are there any luthiers looking to hire an apprentice ? I always had love for the guitar and it would be a dream of mine to do this ? . I am work better with my hands and being hands on rather then from books ....I have very basic woodworking skill but it's been awhile since I used any of it :( . If not where can I start doing this craft ? Where do I learn ?
Hi Michael ! Really like your videos. I just have one question, what is the name of the black cylindrical part in the guitar that apparently is used a an amplifier ? Thanks in advance and keep up the amazing work !
Great video and excellent work. I was confused about the cut out at the bottom that you had made and then seemed to be covering with a separate piece. Was that for electronics?
Hi Mrfujimata2, no I did that to have access to the inside of the guitar if I ever need to, because it has a tornavoz thus preventing access through the sound hole. I only do this for Tornavoz guitars and only if someone wants it.
Anyone know the name of the song being played in the background? Around 10:30 Thank you for the video, the most relaxing thing to watch at the end of the day
QUEM QUISER TOCAR O ARRANJO QUE DILERMANDO FEZ DE ABISMO DE ROSAS DE CANHOTO,GRAVAÇÃO DE 1968, sem perder nenhum detalhe; deve digitar : “como tocar abismo de rosas dedo a dedo “
