Classical guitar luthiery and design articles. Includes posts and videos about luthiers and guitar construction for classical guitar.
French guitarist Thomas Viloteau plays Caterete, written by Sergio Assad on a guitar made by Bastien Burlot. Notice that this guitar has no soundhole…it frightens me. It’s like looking at a face with no eyes..or eye holes I guess. I…
“Austin Classical Guitar interviews Kris Barnett in his guitar workshop in Atlanta, Georgia. He speaks about the makings of a guitar, and the work & passion put into it.” This come via the Austin Classical Guitar Society on YouTube. It’s…
A big thank you to Marcus Dominelli for this great interview. Marcus is always willing to sit down and have a talk with me over some coffee and answer my many guitar questions. He’s a friendly guy and always very interested…
This is a guest post by luthier Marcus Dominelli, Victoria, BC, Canada. I’d like to discuss the basics of bracing used in classical guitar making. This article is intended for those who know little about how classical guitars are made;…
Luthier Douglass Scott explores the sound of his guitars before and after applying French polish (Oil varnish back, sides & neck, French polish on soundboard). Read his notes and listen to samples here. To my ears it might sound a…
When I first saw this title on YouTube I thought I’d have to hear the piece six times in a row (am I in purgatory?) but they clipped it all together into one performance switching to different guitars. Much better.…
Fellow Vancouver Islander and luthier Douglass Scott has a nice little article about making some rosettes in tribute of Manuel Velazquez who passed away in April. Via his blog. I love his updates, he always includes some personal reflections and…
A great demo by Tolgahan Çoğulu. Great playing too. I’ve only dabbled with microtonal music but having a fixed fret guitar would really help the process. However, depending on the composer or style of music you might need many different…
I was very pleased to have a nice visit the other day by luthier Douglass Scott. Douglass came over to my home in Victoria where we also had a good chat with Marcus Dominelli. Douglass sets up shop in Ladysmith on Vancouver…
Harp–lute, ca. 1815 Edward Light (English, active 1780–1820) London Wood, lacquered and gilded; H. 32 3/4 in. (83.2 cm); W. 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm) The harplike pillar supports diatonically tuned bass strings to extend the range of the fretted strings. The pitch…
A very nice performance of Tarrega’s Adelita by Taso Comanescu via GSI. The 1890 guitar Antonio de Torres sounds great. Guitar: 1890 Antonio de Torres. Here’s Taso Comanescu playing Francisco Tarrega’s ‘Adelita’ on an 1890 Antonio de Torres classical guitar at the Guitar…
Another great performance from David Starobin, this time of Menuetto (Presto) in G major, op. 20, no. 10 by Wenzeslaus Matiegka (1773–1830). He’s playing guitar made by René François Lacôte (1785–1855) with a label signed by the virtuoso guitarist Fernando Sor (1778–1839)…