Classical Guitar Making - Contemporary Classical Guitar Making

Contemporary Classical Guitar Making

The basis of most modern classical guitar designs was developed by Spanish luthier Antonio Torres Jurado in the mid-19th century. Earlier guitars were often smaller bodied (though there are exceptions: Scherzer, Guadagnini, etc.). Torres created a Spanish design, with light materials supported by fan bracing. Torres' fan bracing was influential for modern classical guitars: it consists of wooden strips glued inside the body to provide support and particular deep resonance that is saturated in fundamental. (However, a type of fan bracing was already used before, in some guitars by the Spanish builder Joseph Páges, and after him Louis Panormo used a fan bracing too in some of his guitars from 1830–1850; but both Páges' and Panormo's guitars have a different sound aesthetic to Torres' guitars.) Torres used a string scale-length of 650 mm, which is usually the standard length for today's modern classical guitars.

The designs Torres developed were later adapted by several very influential luthiers; Manuel Ramirez (1864–1916) and his brother José Ramírez (1858–1923), Hermann Hauser, Sr. (1882–1952) and Ignacio Fleta (1897–1977). Today, luthiers utilize the ideas and designs of Torres, Hauser, and Fleta in their own guitars. Some luthiers experiment with their own bracing, and some also offer cutaway, acoustic electric and composite top models.

For years, Brazilian Rosewood was the industry standard as the best wood for the backs and sides of guitars. Unfortunately, the export of Brazilian Rosewood has been restricted due to the endangerment of the species. Much of the Brazilian Rosewood used for guitars is of poor quality, and the inflated price of the wood has caused many luthiers to search for alternative tonewoods. There are many other good very dry woods for guitar construction. In fact, of the surviving Torres instruments, the most common back and side wood used was maple. Many guitars made today use East Indian Rosewood because it is a close substitute for Brazilian Rosewood, is readily available in high-quality, and has desirable characteristics as tonewood. There are many other woods with the characteristics to make excellent guitars and which are excellent alternatives: cocobolo, maple, bubinga (African Rosewood), African Blackwood, Camatillo Rosewood, Spanish Cypress (used exclusively for flamenco guitars), grandillo, ebony, satinwood, ziricote, among others, are excellent choices for backs and sides.