120 years
air dried Brazilian Rosewood B&S, Alpine Spruce top,
9-fans Hauser Braced DOUBLETOP. African Walnut, 640mm,
16" radiused Ebony fingerboard. Ebony Violin Tie and Bridge. 4 band Equalizer/Digital
tuner. Diamond position markers
on 5, 7 and 12. Handmade Embossed Leather case included ! MASTERPIECE !
The
set I used for this beauty is one of the oldest sets of Brazilian Rosewood
I ever used. It is over 120 years old ! It was shipped to me by my good
friend Eng. Joao Teixira from Mato Grosso. He is always on the lookout
for gorgeous sets and this one is no exception. The tap tone displayed
by the set spoke clearly of the super instrument that was going to result
from it. I added a beautiful Alpine Spruce top from Val D'Aosta (Northern
Italy), the same wood Antonio Stradivarius used for his world famous violins
and proceeded to decorate her with the finest handmade marquetry and a
gorgeous Handmade Russian rosette from Tula (Northern Russia). I made her
a Hauser and if it were not for the violin tie (tailpiece and the 640mm
fret spacing, she would be identical to the Hauser that Segovia used for
many decades. I added 3 diamond position markers to give her attach
of royalty and mounted an onboard 4-band EQ and Digital tuner to make her
as versatile an instrument as possible. She's ready to be plugged and play
amplified should you need to do so depending on the concert venue. The
digital tuner is fantastic and very easy to use. I recorded Galilei's Saltarello
because it pushes the instrument to sound fully and also moderately to
generate the needed contrasts. The power she emanates is phenomenal...like
a freight train in the bass pedal and the clear sounding, malleable melody
that is drawn on the relentless D-A-D bass counterpoint. The action is
swift and extremely easy thanks to the 16" radius, the slim neck and low
action (barely 3.5mm at fret 12. |
..
LIMITED EDITION SERIES
 |
The Guitar carries three diamond
position markers on 5, 7 and 12. |
|
US$ 3,580
650 mm or
640 mm?
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
Hauser + DOUBLETOP
The double top with the 9 braces
Hauser fan, was developed and introduced by Master Luthier Manuel
Contreras the II at the end of the 70s and reached its peak in the 80s.
In this Variation of the Double top, a second top is located halfway between
the main top and the back. It is held in place by means of little Mahogany
bridges located above and below the second top along the inner part of
the sides (frames 1 & 3). The second top rests on the upper bridges
and once it is glued on each little bridge (frame 2), a second bridge is
glued on top of the preceding corresponding bridge below the second top
(frame 3). This second top vibrates a fraction of a second after the first
one creating an immense sustain and punch using the air moving inside the
sound box and thus creating a multiplying effect of the sonorous waves.
|
Italian Alpine Spruce is
the highest growing tree on the planet. It grows at or above 1,800 meters
where the oxygen is rarefied. This makes the grain much tighter resulting
in a strong reverberating tone wood. This is the species Stradivarius used
for his legendary violins. |
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. |
|
