Spruce
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Cedar
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Michael Thames
Luthier
CONCERT CLASSICAL GUITAR GALLERY
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Currently, I offer several
guitar models with the primary difference being the variety of wood
combinations. I use the same design and
method of construction for all models. The
exceptions are the shorter scale lengths, which result in a slightly smaller
body. I will alter the Soundboard bracing to suit the needs of the individual
artist, but this is something to discuss with me in more detail. In my
opinion, there is no absolute best wood for the back and sides as it is a
matter of taste and experience of the individual artist.
For instance, East Indian Rosewood will generally emphasize the fundamental, and Brazilian Rosewood will emphasize the higher harmonics. Knowing this can be helpful in choosing the right Soundboard combinations etc. I might also add that many famous makers such as, Fleta, Friedrich, Romanillos, etc. used East Indian Rosewood exclusively for the back and sides and produced extraordinary instruments. The secret, is knowing how to bring out the best qualities of each wood.
 Haselfichte (Guitar top) |
 Haselfichte (Lute top 1.3mm thick |
The choice of Soundboards is quite simple, SPRUCE or CEDAR. I could go on forever about the different
qualities of these two woods, but first I would like to clear up what I think
is a huge misconception regarding cedar when compared to Spruce. The most common assumption is that cedar doesn't have the clarity of Spruce; I find this to be absolutely
false. This misconception seems to be
based on the typical old style Spanish guitars (i.e. Rameriz etc.) that, in my
mind, were built too thin with the tops caving in shortly after the guitar was
made, resulting in a guitar that actually gets worst over time and not
better. This design flaw causes the
bass to dominate the treble producing an airy percussive and thin attack
response which many players translated this into warmth -- I don’t. With the
correct doming, thickness, and bracing, I can produce a cedar guitar with great
clarity, as well as the warmth associated with this wonderful
wood.
I have made over 500 classical guitars over the last 30 years or so. Out of 500 guitars, about half have
been made from Engleman Spruce, and the remaining half Cedar. As of about three years ago, I discontinued
the use of Engleman Spruce and replaced it with Italian and German Spruce. Not to say that Engleman Spruce makes a bad
guitar at all, on the contrary, it can make a great guitar. However, these days
the quality of European Spruce is much more reliable than in the past and I
find this wood produces a guitar with the full spectrum of color; kind of like
a prism -- Engleman has 3 colors and Italian has all 5 plus a little UV to go
with it!
In the Spring of 2005, my wife and I traveled throughout Italy. To incorporate
business into our vacation, I visited the Rivolta's in Desio (40 miles
North of Milan) to hand select my Italian Spruce soundboards and to witness,
first hand, the process involved in procuring the wood and all aspects
of curing the soundboards. The most important aspect I consider in soundboards
besides split and quartered is Bear Claw (in English), Maschiatura (in
Italian), and Haselfichte (in German). Haselfichte gives the wood more
stiffness across the grain than on wood without this feature. In addition
to the already well-known qualities in Italian Spruce of stiffness, combined
with lightness, the haselfichte enhances these already existing qualities.
This is the wood that Stratavari and others used. It has similar qualities
of Andirondack Spruce, however, the grain is much finer and the quality
better.
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This is a very interesting and vital subject. All my finishes are hand made by myself from century old recipes with the ONLY exception being Lacquer. There are many different opinions, and I will put forth mine.
First, there is French polish. This finish is highly over romanticized and makers and players tend to just accept this without question. What is French polish? French polish is simply the method of application. One can French polish lacquer, oil, oil varnish, shellac, etc. In other words you simply wipe it on, with a great amount of skill, I should add.
The formulas from the past vary from country to country. Oil varnishes were a tradition in countries with a lot of UV (sunlight) like Italy. As the center of violin making moved north to Germany, spirit or alcohol varnish were used, as there was less sunlight to cure the oil varnishes. These spirit varnishes are basically what is referred to as French polish. One 17th century recipe for a sprit varnish is, shellac, sandarac, gum mastic, and spike lavender oil. This finish usually is applied with either a brush or padded on (French polish). Again, the method of application determines whether we call this French polish or Varnish.
I have tried many different formulas for French polish and basically found that shellac, as a finish is simply beautiful! Shellac, has a patina that seems to become one with the wood, this is undeniable. However, it does not offer much, if any, protection to the wood except to keep off grease and grime. It’s great for players who want to baby their guitars. Shellac is also hydroscopic, which means it actually absorbs moisture from the air, which makes a very temperamental guitar as the humidity changes day to day. One hot day in the summer playing your guitar while your body is sweating, is all that it takes to transform what looked like a brand new guitar into one that is 10 years old in appearance.
Once you acquire the skill involved (which translates to years), French polish is much easier to apply than lacquer, and is a very grounding and rewarding experience for the builder.
Lacquer’s method of application is with a spray gun and this, also, really takes some skill. If things go well, it’s great; but if things go bad, it’s really bad, especially if color is used in the lacquer.
Lacquer also has some misconceptions surrounding it that can be traced again back to the 1960’s when Rameriz introduced it’s use on concert guitars. The finishes on those guitars were very thick, as I can say from hands-on experience. Some of these finishes chip off in thick flakes that one could measure with a pair of calipers. A thick coat of lacquer (15 coats) can kill a guitar and make it look candy coated.
This leads us to the last finish; oil varnish. There are many different ways and recipes to make an oil varnish. I use a simple one made from pine resin (the stuff that oozes out of a wound in a tree) and walnut oil. The process of cooking the resin and oil is time consuming but yields unsurpassed results; a color and depth that can only be achieved by cooking it at the right temperature for hours. This varnish must be cured using a UV cabinet, as opposed to commercially made varnishes that have added driers in them that keep on drying forever, eventually causing the varnish to crackle. This finish I use mainly for my lutes and early guitars. But works very well with modern classical guitars.
Now, we must consider the effect that these finishes have on the completed instrument. This is really simple, as it comes down to how much finish, how hard the finish, and how smooth of a finish has been applied.
My preferred finish is a French polish base coat (without the oil) with 2 or 3 coats of lacquer on top. This has the best of both worlds -- tough and thin. The other, and in my mind, MOST important feature of any finish is the smoothness of the surface. The smoothness is important mainly on the modern classical concert guitar, and not so much an issue on historical lutes and early guitars.
These days, we have become accustomed to expect a guitar of considerable volume and brilliance that projects well in a concert setting. Much of the brilliance on the modern guitar comes from the finish itself. Many times, customers of mine will ask me to refinish a guitar originally done in French polish with lacquer. The consensus is that it vastly improves the brilliance and responsiveness on the guitar. I attribute this not so much to the material but the condition of the finish. I also, at times, have taken an older lacquered guitar and simply buffed it out on a buffing wheel, with the strings still on, so the player can have an instant assessment of the difference. Again, the results were considerable, and in most cases dramatic.
Next, we have to consider the different effect these finishes have on spruce or cedar. Without going into a lot more detail, I will say that generally cedar benefits more from a smooth lacquer finish than does spruce. Cedar needs to be disciplined where spruce needs to be set free. The use of lacquer on cedar also condenses and focuses the sound better than a French polish.
And finally, one must consider how musical instruments age. Julian Bream says in his book, A life on the Road, that “…a new guitar should sound tight for the first three years of it’s life”. As a guitar or lute breaks in, the initial tightness is slowly replaced with depth and roundness of tone, a smoother and instant response, and an increase of volume, that is, of course, if the instrument is structurally sound.
As the instrument ages, it looses it’s brilliance and becomes rather dull sounding. A finish in good condition can keep a guitar sounding brilliant and responsive throughout it’s life.
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In the life of your instrument, the worst enemy is
moisture. Most all luthiers strive to
build instruments in a humidity that is basically between the two extremes,
excessive, and not enough. The happy
medium is approx. 50% relative humidity.
When the temperature is warmer, the air can hold more moisture, than when
the temperature is colder, thus the term relative.
An instrument made in a slightly drier relative humidity than what it will live in, will survive very well. However, if it is made in an environment of higher relative humidity and introduced to a long-term environment of lower humidity, it will almost surely develop problems such as cracks, etc.
New Mexico and, in particular, Taos (7500 feet above sea level) is the perfect environment to build instruments. It would be difficult to find an environment dryer than here.
The exception being the back seat of your car, on a hot, sunny, summer day, in a black case, in the sunshine; hence, avoid this at all costs!
One must be absolutely, diligently mindful, in assuming responsibility for not exposing your instrument to this kind of extreme. Doing so for 15 minutes will have devastating effects on your fine instrument. Just imagine that your instrument is a 17th century Stradivarius worth $3,000,000 and is not insured. This mindset may help.
The responsibility of the luthier is to assemble the instrument in the correct humidity, and the owner’s responsibility is to protect it from these types of extremes. The rule to go by is to protect your instrument from heat in any form!
It is important to keep the finish of your instrument in good condition as well. I have found from experience that a finish in good condition contributes to the sound of the guitar in a very dramatic way. On any instrument, the sound waves emit from all surfaces: top, back and sides, neck, etc. If these surfaces are in good condition, it permits a more efficient vehicle for this to take place. A little Meguiars # 7 Show Car Glaze (available at most Wal-Mart stores will do the trick). Use sparingly, as it is an abrasive, once a year is fine.
The action of your guitar is important to understand. On most guitars, I set the string height at 4/32 of an inch on the treble side, and 5/32 of an inch on the bass. This measurement being from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string. This, of course, will vary according to taste, but as a starting point, this is perfect. It’s not a bad idea to find a guitar repairperson that you trust, in your area to perform fine adjustments to the action if needed. Remember, the action is really the simplest adjustment one can make, and there is no reason to freak out about it.
The frets should be trued and filed round every couple of years, or dictated by how much wear there is, and refretted every 5 to 7 years. It’s also a good idea, once a year, to take some fine steel wool and clean the fretboard of all grease and grime, and then to apply a little linseed oil to the ebony to prevent excessive moisture absorption, which also restores the fingerboard to a new look.
Your instrument is a living organism, even after the tree has been cut down. It breathes and expands and has its own sense of self, so to speak, be kind to it!
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To place an order, call or e-mail me so that we may discuss/confirm your
personal specifications, final purchase price and estimated time of delivery.
For a standard East Indian Rosewood 650mm guitar order, a deposit of 1/3 (one-third) of the purchase price is required at the time the order is placed of which $250.00 is non-refundable. The remaining balance in full payment, including the cost of shipment (flat charge of $150.00 for all U.S. orders), shall be paid in advance of taking possession of your instrument. ALL orders (other than the standard East Indian Rosewood 650mm mentioned
above) are "special" which require 1/2 of the purchase price
down at the time of order and the balance due prior to shipment.
Now that we've moved to Santa Fe, looks like our postal and delivery service
has come up a notch (let's hope...keep all fingers crossed since we are
still in New Mexico). Please call for shipping and mailing address. Thanks!
RETURN POLICY
Upon receipt of your instrument, you will have 3 days to decide if it is right for you. If the instrument proves unsuited to you, it can be returned for full refund of the purchase price, less shipping delivery cost, the $250.00 non-refundable portion of your deposit plus the cost of 2-day return shipment. I may also deduct from your refund an amount equal to any damage that might have occurred while the instrument was in your possession.
The above terms do not apply, however, to special/custom orders that have non-standard features. In these cases, there will be no return option.
WARRANTY
My instruments are guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship for my life as an active luthier; however, I will not be responsible or cover damage due to fair wear and tear, abuse, neglect, accidents, and extremes of temperature, humidity or natural disaster.
Periodic maintenance is the responsibility of the owner and is a condition of warranty. Appropriate care instructions are included with the purchase as well as a Certificate of Authenticity. Repairs or alterations performed by someone other than myself (without my approval), risks cancellation of the warranty.
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I have been building guitars for more than 30 years now, and have constructed over 500 thus far. This has given me a vast amount of experience and contributes to my present day approach to building. Throughout the years my taste has changed, and what I thought was good at one point has been replaced with a new approach to design and the philosophy of sound while constantly evolving.
All rosettes and purflings are hand-dyed, and made by myself. Each time I make a new batch of rosettes, they will differ slightly. A few examples can be found on the website. I like a more understated rosette, rather than what I call “butterfly rosettes”, and feel the beauty of the classical guitar lies more in the balance and proportions rather than a lot of gaudy colors and inlay. I use the finest Italian and European spruce Soundboards, as well as the best Western Red Cedar available. The Soundboard is really the heart of the guitar and I spare no expense in locating the best quality I can.
The sides are laminated with 2 woods, rosewood and mahogany in most cases. The sides are 4mm thick which contributes greatly to the sustain of my guitars. This process is much more time consuming, but these days I find I would not make a guitar without using this process. However, in making guitars such as a Torres or Hauser style, I will use a single rosewood side if desired to keep its historical perspective.
I use hot hide glue on all critical composites of the guitar, all top bracing and back bracing and use it for attaching both top and back to the sides, as well as the fingerboard. Hide glue is unsurpassed in transmitting higher partial harmonics. It dries to a crystalline state unlike tite-bond, which forms a plastic bond and actually inhibits the higher overtones. The guitars, as a result, have a much crisper attack and greater sustain.
Working with hide glue is again more difficult, time consuming, and takes much more experience than other glues, but well worth it. On lutes and early instruments, I use it on every part. It’s said that the Egyptians used it on their furniture and it is still holding together after 5000 years.
In the early years, I sought volume. While this is important, I now try to
combine balance and warmth along with volume.
I believe the single most important quality in the sound of a great
guitar, is the attack and ease of response.
My guitars have always been known for this. For those who prefer to focus more on volume, I make a model
featuring different composite tops, which makes for a very loud guitar. This type of guitar can be heard on Jamey Bellizzi’s excellent recording
“ El Delirio”. Click here
One model features a Kevlar honeycombed core with two skins made of either spruce or cedar. The other model features a bracing using a laminate of carbon fiber and balsa wood. These guitars are not for everyone, however, over the years I’ve known many guitarist whom I’ve considered traditional move more in the direction of composite tops.
I can make any string length guitar desirable; from 630mm up to 660mm on a modern concert guitar and, of course, other lengths on historical instruments. I use either Mammoth Ivory (not Elephant ivory) or Mastodon (20,000 year old) for the nut and saddle.Believe it or not, these fittings contribute greatly to the balance and sustain of the guitar.
I usually make about 18 to 20 guitars per year. At the beginning of the season, I will take several weeks to make all the parts of the guitar, tops, back and sides, rosettes, necks, etc. which I allow to marinate in the atmosphere and stabilize before assembly. At this point, I will focus on batches of 4 to 7 at a time.
In conclusion, after 30+ years and 500+ guitars, I’m thankful to all my dear friends and clients that have enabled me to continue to pursue my dream of instrument making which continues to open new doors for endless creativity and constant stimulation.
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