Some of you will appreciate this video. It shows a master luthier at
work at the Maldonado shop in Spain. The background music ain't bad,
either. Mostly hand tools and an interesting collection of jigs and clamps.

http://tinyurl.com/d2tjaq6
--
I'm a liberal because the militant fundamentalist ignorant
science-denying religious xenophobic corporate oligarchy of modern
Republican conservatism just doesn't work for me or my country.

"X ` Man" wrote in message
m...

Some of you will appreciate this video. It shows a master luthier at
work at the Maldonado shop in Spain. The background music ain't bad,
either. Mostly hand tools and an interesting collection of jigs and
clamps.

-------------------------------------------------

I can't remember if I ever posted this video link, so at the risk of
repeating it, I'll offer it again below.

The luthier is Sylvan Wells. He's a retired trial attorney who has
also been building guitars for almost 40 years now. We have become
good friends and I sell his guitars at my shop. My younger son
actually spent a couple of months off and on at Sylvan's shop and
built a custom guitar for himself.

The guitar in the video that you posted is traditional classical style
guitar, designed originally for gut strings and now nylon strings.
The type of bracing that is shown is for the light string tension of a
classical and would never hold up to steel strings which have a much
higher tension when tuned to pitch.

The video in the link was done about three years ago. The first half
is in my guitar shop and Sylvan was totally unprepared for having to
take part in a video. We all thought the reporter was just going to
take pictures. Still, he did ok. The second half is at his
workshop located in the next town over from the Re-Tunes shop where he
builds them. The maple guitar with Brazilian Rosewood trim (the one
he is describing how the frets will be installed) is now part of Mrs.
E's guitar collection. It really is a wonderful playing and sounding
guitar. (You can hear a couple of us in the background yakking it up
while the poor reporter was trying to interview Sylvan).

The last guitar that he shows and describes ... the rare "Turtleback
Mahogany" one .... is one of two that he built of this unique
tonewood.
He is keeping the one in the video. I purchased the second one and
owned it for a couple of years, however a customer came along one day
and made me an offer for it that I couldn't refuse and it is now owned
by a major, nationally known artist who's identity I cannot divulge.

Anyway, here's the video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRn8A1rQRp8

On 8/18/12 10:27 AM, Eisboch wrote:


"X ` Man" wrote in message
m...

Some of you will appreciate this video. It shows a master luthier at
work at the Maldonado shop in Spain. The background music ain't bad,
either. Mostly hand tools and an interesting collection of jigs and clamps.

-------------------------------------------------

I can't remember if I ever posted this video link, so at the risk of
repeating it, I'll offer it again below.

The luthier is Sylvan Wells. He's a retired trial attorney who has also
been building guitars for almost 40 years now. We have become good
friends and I sell his guitars at my shop. My younger son actually
spent a couple of months off and on at Sylvan's shop and built a custom
guitar for himself.

The guitar in the video that you posted is traditional classical style
guitar, designed originally for gut strings and now nylon strings. The
type of bracing that is shown is for the light string tension of a
classical and would never hold up to steel strings which have a much
higher tension when tuned to pitch.

The video in the link was done about three years ago. The first half is
in my guitar shop and Sylvan was totally unprepared for having to take
part in a video. We all thought the reporter was just going to take
pictures. Still, he did ok. The second half is at his workshop
located in the next town over from the Re-Tunes shop where he builds
them. The maple guitar with Brazilian Rosewood trim (the one he is
describing how the frets will be installed) is now part of Mrs. E's
guitar collection. It really is a wonderful playing and sounding
guitar. (You can hear a couple of us in the background yakking it up
while the poor reporter was trying to interview Sylvan).

The last guitar that he shows and describes ... the rare "Turtleback
Mahogany" one .... is one of two that he built of this unique tonewood.
He is keeping the one in the video. I purchased the second one and
owned it for a couple of years, however a customer came along one day
and made me an offer for it that I couldn't refuse and it is now owned
by a major, nationally known artist who's identity I cannot divulge.

Anyway, here's the video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRn8A1rQRp8




Thanks. I enjoyed the video.

I can't think of a reason why anyone would ruin a good classical guitar
by trying to string it with steel strings.

--
I'm a liberal because the militant fundamentalist ignorant
science-denying religious xenophobic corporate oligarchy of modern
Republican conservatism just doesn't work for me or my country.

"X ` Man" wrote in message
m...

Thanks. I enjoyed the video.

I can't think of a reason why anyone would ruin a good classical guitar by
trying to string it with steel strings.



Unfortunately, we've seen several that have been ripped apart by people
trying to put acoustic steel strings on a classical. Certainly not
intentional on the owner's part, they just didn't know.

Steel strings didn't become popular and in common use for guitars until the
1920's. Before that gut strings were used and all guitars, classical and
those with the evolving thinner and radiused necks where still braced for
the light tension of gut strings. Bracing design has become one of the
primary differences in modern guitars and is responsible for much of a
guitar's "voice". The total string tension on a modern dreadnought, tuned
to pitch is in the order of 200lbs or more.