Hear this Magnificent Double top Concert guitar

African Blackwood, the hardest, densest, most expensive and rare wood on the planer always creates astounding guitars. It has an amazing human like quality to the sound with a touch of night owl attached to it that make it sing like no other tonewood. This wood is the top choice for clarinets and oboes because of its sound capabilities and ease of work with rotating machines. The story is a different one when luthiers want to bend the sides for a guitar and start sculpting it. Tools literally break down and have to be constantly filed to recuperate their edge. The bass in the prelude seems to have a life of its own and jumps out of the body at an amazing speed. The lattice braced Alpine spruce adds the clarity and punch typical of the Italian species. Finally, The Brazilian rosewood Double top, is responsible for the tremendous sustain and reverberance of the whole instrument. You can hear what I mean in the Bach recording I made as a demo. The Bass pedal consisting of the two Ds played on the 6th and 4th string respectively, send huge vibration throughout the guitar and to the player. The Ds seem to last forever and I am literally astounded by their power and presence.  She's easy to play and is a great ally of the performer in the creation of every musical sentence. Ebony to accompany the Blackwood is present all over: In the bindings, fingerboard headstock, violin tie armrest and bridge giving her a unique appearance worthy of the greatest guitars. A jewel instrument ! 

The double top, 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 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. Lattice delivers a lot of volume a tremendous clarity.

640mm or 650 mm?

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.
 

640mm radiused action

Alpine spruce

Preparing the double top

Lattice Bracing

Hear this UNIQUE Double top Concert CUTAWAY guitar

Bellucci concert cutaway are the ultimate cutaway guitars by far. Averaging 220 hours each to be constructed, when Tahiti mother of pearl is added to the rosette, bridge, violin tie and headstock like with this babe, the work hours easily stretch to 300. She's breathtakingly beautiful. Her sound is full, powerful and long lasting. Listen how the bass booms while the melody dominates throughout Romance. I felt the vibrations of her body every time the bass strings were plucked. It is quite a sensation and one that only the best instruments on the planet can deliver. I matched the gorgeous book matched Brazilian rosewood from Minas Gerais (Brazil) with an equally beautiful set of Alpine spruce. This particular spruce is the highest growing tonewood on the planet: above 1800 mts. The high altitude forces the fibers of the wood to be much tighter resulting in a much more sonorous tonewood. It grows on the Italian Alps and I get all my supply by my schoolmate Pierre that lives in Val D'Aosta. This is the type of Spruce Stradivarius used for his violins and the sound on spruce top instruments is known to age for centuries...so much so that Stradivarius violins peaked in sound around the year 2000. Almost 600 years after being built !
The mother of pearl is hand sawn and is originally of Tahiti. Beautiful greens and full of sea blues. Marvelous ! She's easy to play and I set the action at 3.5mm although there is room to lower the saddle and extra mm or 2 should you find it necessary and more adapt to your plucking style. Swift changes of positions, easy barres thanks to the radiused 640mm fret spacing. Definitely, the best cutaway money can buy !

The double top, 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 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. Lattice delivers a lot of volume a tremendous clarity.

640mm or 650 mm?

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.
 

640mm radiused action

Alpine spruce

Preparing the double top

Lattice Bracing

Hear this Magnificent Double top Concert guitar

The sheer beauty and powerful sound that emanates from this masterpiece Cedar top is simply fabulous. A gorgeous 94 years aged set of dark Brazilian rosewood from Minas Gerais (Brazil) was matched with a superb set of Western Redcedar (commonly known as Cedar). The Brazilian rosewood back and sides were made in a double top Contreras style using  Brazilian rosewood for the second top. Contreras double top were made using cedar. In my part of the world Brazilian rosewood is cheap and I can indulge in using it for the double top construction when it is called for. What this does is augment the depth and dramatically of the sound. Other woods I used in the past for the double top are Cypress, Spruce, Cedar and Blackwood.
The birdseye Maple bindings add a masterful touch to the lines of the guitar and the luxury marquetry is breathtaking. The handmade Brazilian Style rosette is a work of art on its own right and care was taken to ensure that this babe would be an eye candy as well as a sound powerhouse. The action is low and agile. 3.7mm at fret 12 (from the bottom of the string to the top of the fret). It can be lowered 1 more mm if your right hand plucking is more towards the soft side. Cavatina came out easy when I made the video clip and I was amazed at the fast response of the guitar sound as I worked my way around the barres and while trying to keep the melody in center stage. The armrest renders playing more comfortable because it allow the forearm tendons to be presented more naturally whilst preventing the forearm to interfere with the full vibration of the top.  The violin tie is simply the perfect upgrade for a concert guitar because it allows the strings to be mounted much faster (no special strings needed) and because it removes the amazing strain of anchoring the strings from the most delicate part of the guitar (the bridge area) to the sturdiest part. This gadget alone prolongs the life of the instrument geometrically. You will be able to pass her along to the next generation in pristine conditions.  Finally the gold plated tuners are precise to achieve a perfect tuning and a smooth rolling.

The double top, 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 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. Lattice delivers a lot of volume a tremendous clarity.

640mm or 650 mm?

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.
 

640mm radiused action

Preparing the double top

Lattice Bracing

Hear this Magnificent Double top Concert guitar

If this amazing concert guitar were an Opera singer, she would be Maria Callas. I say this after having played on her for nearly 15 minutes after she had finished the lacquering process this morning. An amazingly clear and strong singing voice full of sweetness and sustain and an almost miraculous separation of voices between the sustaining basses and the ringing trebles. Perfection !  I decided to go with Romance in the video because I could show the reverberating and punching bass contrasting with the magnificent first string that carries the overwhelmingly famous melody. The second and third string complete the arpeggio to perfection adding the right amount of mid ranges and overtones.
The set of Brazilian rosewood air dried over 94 years. It is dark with a beautiful two tones texture. The Alpine top is also magnificent, and the Mother of pearl rosette is like a crown that declares this babe's Royalty status.
The Cedar top is responsible for the amazing sustain on this double top. It is also responsible for the sweetness and tremendous punch. Playing her is pure pleasure.

The double top VARIATION 1, 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 (Cedar, Image below) is located halfway between the main top and the back. This top vibrates a fraction of a second after the first one creating an immense sustain and punch. tremendous clarity. 

640mm or 650 mm?

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.
 

640mm radiused action

Alpine spruce

Double top V1

Hear this BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD Concert guitar 

This is probably the oldest set of Brazilian rose I had the chance to work with (Approximately 99 years air dried). It has been air drying since 1909, way before the beginning of WW1. The aged set is responsible for he mature sound and the powerful and fast response on this stupendous guitar. As I played Galilei's Saltarello, I could feel the amazing punch of the D-A-D bass pedal sending amazing vibrations throughout the instrument and passing them to my chest. The feeling is difficult to put in words, but you feel all the life in this work of art literally coming to you. I made her a double top Contreras style Variation 1. What this means is that a second top, Western Redcedar, is mounted halfway between the main Alpine spruce top and the back. It is held in place by means of minute mahogany bridges.... The blend  that Spruce and Cedar bring about in the sound is fabulous. You get the clarity of Spruce and the amazing punch of cedar. The sustain is breathtaking. The second top vibrates a fraction of a second after the first top. This creates the amazing sustain and power. Playing the instrument is easy due to the low action on the radiused 640mm action. Her beauty will conquer you from the first moment when you lift the lid on the case. She is pure and so full of minute details that you will find yourself staring at her for long stretches of time. A guitar o make you PROUD and HAPPY.

The double top VARIATION 1, 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 (Cedar, Image below) is located halfway between the main top and the back. This top vibrates a fraction of a second after the first one creating an immense sustain and punch.

640mm or 650 mm?

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.
 

View of top #2

Alpine spruce

640mm radiused action