African Blackwood B&S, Double Sinker/Spruce top Concert guitar. DEC 7, 2009.

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men.
No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man

African Blackwood B&S, Doble tapa (Contreras style), LATTICE BRACED 270 years old Sinker redwood + Cedar . Birds eye Maple bindings, 16" radiused ebony fingerboard, violin tie, armrest & bridge. Soundports in upper and lower bouts 640mm fret spacing. Embossed leather case included. SPLENDID !

Whenever I have the privilege to work with Sinker redwood and African Blackwood, I know that the resulting instrument will be an epic one. The deep, guttural sound of African blackwood, combined with the Brazilian rosewood Double top and the Lattice braced Sinker redwood/Cedar top combine in creating a sound so unique as the blend of different tobaccos may be...The set of Sinker is 0.7 mm thick and the Western Redcedar is 1.3 mm summing up 2 mm in the central section of the soundboard. The deep reddish/
brown coloration of the Sinker top is quite striking to the eye.... Cavatina comes natural to play on a guitar so expressive and profound. Working around the tricky barres in the upper positions mixed with hammer ons and pull offs results swift and agile on the stylized 640mm radiused action. The instrument is of amazing beauty and the pictures cannot deliver all her splendor. The owner of this babe will treasure unforgettable moments of music on this amazing masterpiece.

blend

Sinker logs like the ones above, are pulled from the bottom of lakes and rivers. Sometimes, scuba divers are needed to achieve the extraction. Most of these logs are hundreds of years old (In one of the pictures above, you can see that the tree was cut with an hatchet). Due to a series of factors (The logs were too big and heavy to be pulled out of the rivers or the logs were caught by currents and were sucked to the bottom) these logs were trapped by the muddy buttons of these water beds and this created like a time capsule where the wood was preserved in fantastic humidity conditions that made the wood season in a slow natural way during many centuries. Some of the logs are selected for musical instruments construction. The sound that these woods produce is unique and the grain has a beautiful coloration that changes according to the type of mud present in the water bed.

Bellucci guitars
Premium Embossed Leather case with Brown plush interior

The doble tapa, was developed and introduced by Master Luthier Manuel Contreras the II at the end of the 70s and 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".

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. Lattice delivers a lot of volume a tremendous clarity.

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?
Guitar scale lenght

Hear this African Blackwood, SINKER REDWOOD top

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African Blackwood B&S, Doble tapa (Contreras style) 270 years old Sinker redwood + Cedar

African Blackwood B&S, Doble tapa (Contreras style) 270 years old Sinker redwood + Cedar

96 years air dried Brazilian rosewood B&S, DOBLE TAPA, CONTRERAS STYLE (variation 1)

* ACTUAL PICTURES AND VIDEO

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