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Brazilian rosewood B&S Doble tapa (Contreras style +Variation 1) LATTICE braced Spruce top, Maple bindings, radiused ebony fingerboard, violin tie, armrest & bridge. 640mm fret spacing. Double soundports in upper bout. Embossed leather case included. MASTERPIECE!
I loved this babe with all my heart from the first arpeggio in Romance. The separation and clarity between the tone of each string is amazing. The shining melody in Romance takes center stage from the very beginning and the bass delivers the perfect background for the melody to move on swiftly. A 93 years old set of Brazilian rose from Cascavel (Rattle snake) Brazil was used for the B&S and the Contreras' doble tapa system complements the construction perfectly. The resulting guitar is this Epic Cutaway.
Doble tapa
View of top # 2
Alpine spruce
Italian Alpine spruce
Lattice

Bellucci guitars
 Brown plush interior

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The doble tapa + V1, 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 Variation 1 adds a second floating cedar top halfway between the first doble tapa and the main lattice braced spruce top.

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. As you see from the picture above, the thinned area is approximately 1.2 mm thick (VS 2-2.5 in the standard thinning techniques). Lattice delivers a lot of volume (approximately 21 dbs more) and wonderfully clear trebles.

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.

Brazilian rosewood B&S, Alpine Spruce top
Hear this Brazilian rosewood Masterpiece!
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Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top

Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top

Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top
 

Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top

Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top
 

Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top
Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top

Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top

Brazilian rosewood  B&S,  Alpine spruce top
 

Brazilian rosewood  B&S, Doble tapa (Contreras style)+LATTICE, Alpine spruce top

* ACTUAL PICTURES AND VIDEO
 
 

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