African Blackwood B&S, doble tapa, + Lattice + V1 July 13 2009, sinker top

I'm at an age when my back goes out more than I do

African Blackwood B&S Doble tapa(Contreras style) + V1+ LATTICE, 270 years aged Sinker redwood top, MAPLE, Padauk, Rosewood, & Ebony bindings, radiused Ebony fingerboard, armrest & bridge. 640mm fret spacing. Armrest . Embossed leather case included. WOW !!
Let me introduce to you the "PERFECT GUITAR" . She's absolutely stunning. The sound she produces is UNBELIEVABLE and she'll blow you away from note 1. The 6th string makes my whole body shiver when I pluck it. Amazing. Sheer power and clarity of sound throughout the fingerboard. The Contreras doble tapa mixed with the Variation 1 and the lattice Bracing is the equivalent of taking a guitar to the limit of its sound capabilities. A dense full sound that will fill any concert hall. The african Blackwood B&S with the doubling made of Brazilian rosewood is simply the perfect BLEND. Smooth and fast 640mm fret spacing and a low action to make your music blossom every time you pick up this MASTERPIECE !

Double tops

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.
This particular set is the oldest I ever worked with. To ensure it would resist the dominga and thinning required, I used an all-cedar fan brace and opposing top.

Bellucci guitars
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".

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.

HEAR THIS Doble tapa SINKER top MASTERPIECE

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African Blackwood B&S Doble tapa(Contreras style) + V1+ LATTICE, 270 years aged Sinker

* ACTUAL ICTURES AND VIDEO

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