Cocobolo
Back & Sides, Sinker Redwood top (Quad top: Contreras V1+Nomex),
640mm,
16" radiused Ebony fingerboard, Lute type soundport on the upper bout,
Ebony bridge, armrest and violin tie.
Walnut bindings
and luxury marquetry on all sides, gold plated carved tuners, hand crafted
Leather embossed case included. Pure Beauty !
The
beauty of the woods I used to create this amazing Cocobolo have turned
this Queen in a truly stunning work of art. I used a wonderfully
striped 270 year old striped set of Curly sinker Redwood to make
the Nomex double top, then, proceeded to use another beautiful set of Sinker
Redwood to make the Contreras style V1 double top halfway the main top
and the back of the instrument. The resulting instrument is one with a
stunning sound. The V1 double top takes care of every wolf note while the
Nomex double top augments her sustain and projection. The 6th string
seems to explode every time I pluck it and I really cannot tell where her
limits are... add to the power of the bass the amazing sustain and you
will understand why she stands out from the crowd. The trebles allow for
a lot of expressiveness during the performance of Recuerdos and the tremolo
comes out with ease and amazing clarity. As I player I know immediately
when I have a super instrument in my arms and I know that she ranks
as a Super Guitar. I decorated her using the highest standards in marquetry
and every inch on this guitar speaks of art and mastery. |
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Hear "Recuerdos" on this fabulous
Cocobolo Quad top
Double top with Nomex core: the
system is also known as Hollow top...where a aerospace material developed
by Du Pont is located between 2 tops. This allows for tremendous sustain
a powerful sound.
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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.
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.
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.
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Sinker logs, 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.
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Request the Signed POSTER
23.6 in X 51 in
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