Brazilian rosewood B&S, Doble tapa "Contreras", Lattice, April 22, 2009

In primitive society, beating the ground with clubs and yelling, it was called witchcraft;
in civilized society, it is called golf

Custom Series

Testimonials

Bellucci guitars GALLERY

92 years air dried Brazilian rosewood B&S, Doble tapa (Contreras style)+Lattice Braced Alpine spruce top, Gabon Ebony bindings, radiused fingerboard, armrest, and bridge. 640mm fret spacing. Lute type sound hole, Embossed leather case included. Lute type Soundport. Huge, marvelous sound !!
It was just a matter of time before I ventured in creating a new world first. This is the ONLY Doble tapa contreras style with lattice ever built. It simply made sense to me that if I added the best system for the enhancement of mid high ranges (the lattice) and coupled with the best sound boomer (the doble tapa contreras) the resulting guitar had to be simply outstanding. I WAS !00% right. The guitar is a WONDER !! She sings with a power and clarity I am not used to and the sensation I get as I play through Barrios' La ultima canción is that she is the most responsive guitar I have ever played. In over 33 years teaching, playing and building, the guitars I played are counted in the hundreds!
The whole instrument send these huge set of powerful soundwaves through my studio and I am impressed at the sustain and fast response. The combination of the double top aged Brazilian rose from Cascavel (Brazil) with the lattice braced Alpine spruce brings to life a cannon of sound and beauty.
The Doble tapa (Contreras style) was first introduced by Master Luthier Manuel Contreras the II at the end of the 70s and which reached its peak in the 80s. The word "Tapa" in Spanish translates to top in English but it refers to the back of the instrument. Therefore, Contreras doble tapa is actually a "Double back". I improved on the system by using a second back of Brazilian rosewood instead off Cedar and using lighter built pine transverse struts. The second consecutive back is 0.8 mm thick and the main back is 1.8 mm thick. Due to my geographical location, Brazilian rosewood is much cheaper to get than it would have been for Contreras. That is why I can afford to offer a doble tapa made entirely with Brazilian rosewood. This delivers a great response and much sturdiness to the back and sides which in turn enhances the full vibration to the top. The result is a full sound rich with innumerable harmonics and an AMAZING presence.
Finally, the guitar will carry a special commemorative label for being the first of its kind.

Aged 94 years Brazilian rosewood B&S, LATTICE BRACED Alpine Spruce top

Italian Alpine spruce

The lattice is a concept based on the A frame of grand pianos. The back and sides are kept rigid by means of a sturdy A shaped frame and the top is thinned as much as possible to allow the top to vibrate generously. As you see from the picture above, the thinned area is approximately 1.2 mm thick (VS 2-2.5 in the standard thinning techniques). Lattice delivers a lot of volume (approximately 21 dbs more) and wonderfully clear trebles.

Bellucci guitars
Brown plush interior

Radiused or flat fingerboard?
The radiused fingerboard has been around the acoustic and the electric guitar since day one. The same is true for most instruments of the Stringed family of instruments (violas, violins cellos, bass). Radiusing (image above) makes barre and left hand stopping A LOT easier. The only drawback is that you will NEVER want to play a flat fingerboard after that. If you are having your custom guitar built, I am all pro radiusing the fingerboard. The standard fingerboard is flat.

The hand embossed leather case is a work of art on its own right. Built by one of a handful of very talented leather embossers in Latin America.
Its built following my specifications for the interior to fit Bellucci guitars like a glove. All Plush interior, key and accessories compartment. You can
request an upgrade to a Cow hive front and back version.

640mm or 650 mm?
Regarding 650mm or 640 mm fingerboard fret spacing, keep the following rule at hand: If the distance between the tip of your thumb and the tip of your little finger is equal or less than 9 in. when fully stretched, use 640 mm. Adapting from one scale to the other takes no adaptation
.

92 years air dried Brazilian rosewood B&S, Doble tapa (Contreras style) LATTICE braced Alpine top

HEAR this DOBLE TAPA LATTICE Alpine top Masterpiece

Please allow a few seconds for the image to load

92 years air dried Brazilian rosewood B&S, Doble tapa (Contreras style)+Lattice Braced Alpine

92 years air dried Brazilian rosewood B&S, Doble tapa (Contreras style)+Lattice Braced Alpine

Leather case

* ACTUAL PICTURES AND VIDEO

TOP

Home | Biography | e-m@il