Brazilian rosewood B&S, doble tapa, June 15 2009, sinker top

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

Aged Brazilian rosewood B&S Doble tapa(Contreras style), 270 years aged Sinker redwood top, Ebony bindings, radiused ebony fingerboard, armrest & bridge. 640mm fret spacing. Armrest, aged neck process. Embossed leather case included. WOW !!
Wow is the best and first word that came to my mind when I looked at her for the first time. She's absolutely striking! I used one of the oldest and longer aged sets of Sinker redwood I ever had the chance to work with. I used an all cedar Hauser bracing and under top to make it more resilient and allow for doming of the top. This is like a blend that gives the top a deep sound, typical of the sinker redwood and clear, and the dense and sweet punch of cedar. The Brazilian rosewood doble tapa is done with a second Brazilian rosewood top and all the engineering is Bellucci. The set is from Minas Gerais (Brazil). It is so dark that it is almost black. Therefore, I made her in the Zorro spirit using an aging process for the neck and using as much black and white for the bindings, marquetry and rosette as possible. The resulting instrument is this SUPER guitar. Easy, swift action that will make moving from one position to the next easy and natural. I know I will not use such old sinker again because it requires too much work in the preparation and is extremely time consuming to brace and dome. I recommend you have the soundports and violin tie mounted. I ant to make her available to as many players as possible but I am sure that both add ons will enhance the sound and playability A LOT MORE. This is a fabulous babe you do not want to miss.

Above I show how I make the Contreras Doble tapa and the cedar fan brace with cedar undertop

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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Aged Brazilian rosewood B&S Doble tapa(Contreras style), 270 years aged Sinker redwood top

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

* ACTUAL PICTURES AND VIDEO

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