Skills
In general one can distinguish three main aspects of guitar making:
- "Sound" features
This includes everything from shaping of the wood (vibrational aspects: densities, stiffness); to wood-selection; to shaping of the bracing; to design; etc.
The aim is a quality of sound, that is defined by responsiveness, tonal depth, sustain, separation, dynamics, clarity, projection, evenness, balance, richness and timbre—all of which provide a palette of tone with which the music can be expressed and through which the music sounds better, more complex and more interesting. Often there is also an aim of achieving a desired style of "sound aesthetic" (different styles of "sound aesthetic" can be distinguished e.g. when comparing instruments of Lacote or Grobert, with Torres, etc. - all can have high sound quality, yet one may be more appropriate for particular repertoire choices, e.g. Lacote or Grobert for "classical era repertoire" or "central European romantic repertoire"; versus Torres for "Spanish or late-romantic nationalist repertoire", etc.). - "Playability" aspects
This includes the shaping of the frets, string-spacing, neck-width, neck, nut and bridge height (influence on action); decisions about scale-length; etc.
The aim is a guitar that is easy and comfortable to play, does not have string-buzz, and suits the requirements/desires of a particular player. - "Visual/decorative" aspects
This includes the visual features of the guitar, including rosette design, inlays, ornamentation, etc. (In general these creative visual aspects should not interfere or diminish the sound features, or hinder the playability of the guitar).
Fernando Sor has written that an instrument-maker "should be an accurate draughtsman, understand the common principles of mechanics, the composition and resolution of forces, and the laws of vibrating strings and surfaces".
Read more about this topic: Classical Guitar Making
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