The Flamenco Guitar

The flamenco guitar, or the flamenco guitarist, has always had problems with volume in the past. If the flamenco guitar (guitarra flamenca) was used as an accompanying instrument for cante (flamenco singing) and baile (flamenco dancing), it was always too quiet compared to the loud taconeos (percussive footwork) of the bailaoras (flamenco dancers) and bailaores (flamenco dancers) and the sometimes powerful voices of the cantaores (flamenco singers).

The guitarrero (guitar maker) was therefore required to build a loud instrument, the guitarrista (guitarist) to be heard. The guitarreros (guitar builders) solved the problem by building instruments with a high, brilliant attack, very loud in the middle frequencies, almost without bass and a tone that has a very short "attack" (level rise time) and also a very short "decay" (decay time).

The Flamenco guitar is immediately appealing because it is very lightly built. The wall thickness of the top, back and sides is a lot thinner than the classical guitar. A good sounding flamenco guitar cannot be compared to a concert guitar.

Everything else had to be contributed by the tocaor (flamenco guitarist). In the course of time, flamenco guitarists acquired a very loud, powerful toque (guitar playing), which has remained to this day, although electronic amplification is now widespread in flamenco. All strumming techniques involve playing close to the puente (bridge). Whether rasgueo (rasgueado), picado, arpegio, tremolo, the sound is always very brilliant and dry. More about this later.

Guitarrero = guitar maker - Guitarrista / Tocaor = guitarist

Source: School of Flamenco Guitar by Graf-Martinez

There is a big difference between the flamenco guitar and the concert guitar in the tocabilidad (string action and playability). At the fingerboard, the strings are not set as low as they used to be, since many flamenco guitarists play very concert style and this buzzing, or striking of the strings on the frets, is not desired. Much more crucial is the bridge height, or more precisely, the string spacing from the top. Many flamenco guitarists measure the distance with a cigarette. If it falls through between the top and the strings, the string spacing is too high. Others believe that the days are gone when the flamenco guitar was only an accompanying instrument. They demand a higher string spacing to the soundboard, because the low string action does not allow concertante playing, because one often hits the soundboard with the nails.

Source: Method of Flamenco Guitar by Graf-Martinez

Types of wood used for the flamenco guitar

Many guitar makers use a completely different top construction for their flamenco guitars than they do for concert guitars. Some use palosanto for the back and sides. Nevertheless, these guitars sound "muy flamenco". Visually, they differ from the concert guitar only by the golpeador.

Whether spruce tapa de pinabete or cedar tapa de cedro is used for the top is ultimately a matter of taste for the guitarist, or is left to the philosophy of the guitar maker. Some guitar makers allow you to choose, others use only cedar, or spruce.

The cedar top sounds a bit more wooden, nasal, the spruce top is more brilliant and powerful in tone. The best example of the cedar top sound is that of Ramirez by Manolo Sanlúcar.

For the components of the following woods are used: For the top, pinapete, pino abeto, abeto alemán (German spruce), or (Canadian cedar). For back and sides (cypress from Spain or Morocco), this guitar is called, or (East Indian or Rio rosewood), this one is called. For the neck (Honduras cedar, also called cigar box wood). For the fingerboard and bridge (ebony) and for the beams spruce and cedar.

Source: Method of Flamenco Guitar by Graf-Martinez

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  For the top (tapa)
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  For the top (tapa).
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  For the back and sides (guitarra blanca)
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  For the back and sides (guitarra blanca)
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  For the back and sides, bridge, headstock (Guitarra flamenca negra)
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  For the back and sides, bridge, headstock (Guitarra flamenca negra)
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  For the back and sides, bridge, headstock (Guitarra flamenca negra)
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  For the neck.
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  For fingerboard.

Click

The handmade flamenco guitar - or "factory guitar".

The guitars hecho de mano (handmade) are made of madera macizo (solid woods). It is amazing with what simple tools, even today, these quality instruments are made. The varnish (barniz), usually goma laca (shellac) is often still applied by hand by the guitarrero himself. Others, mostly the big ones, have the shellac, or even two-component varnish applied with the pistola (spray gun) in a varnishing workshop.

Besides the guitarras hecho de mano, there are also the so-called guitarras de fábrica (factory guitars, guitar manufactories), or guitarras de Valencia. In the region around Valencia there are a lot of guitar factories, or larger manufactories, which produce flamenco guitars of the lower price range. Also so-called flamenco guitars (price range under 500 €), but most of them are made of madera contrachapeada (plywood). That these are guitars, no one may deny, but whether among them you can find a flamenco guitar that sounds "flamenco", seems to me almost unlikely.

But, many of these workshops, also build guitars of the middle price range, which, considering the price-performance ratio, are partly not bad. Some big names also have their cheaper models made in Valencia according to their construction plans, which are then sold in the taller (workshop) of the maestro, or in the trade. Sometimes among these guitars you can find an instrument that may sound better than some primera clase.

Source: Method of Flamenco Guitar by Graf-Martinez

Which flamenco guitar is now the best, I do not want to judge among the many really good guitar makers. Of course, one is inclined to always stick to the big names. But I have also had very bad "pistolitas" from world-famous guitarreos in my hands, or discovered a fantastic "cañón" from an unknown guitar maker who still builds his instruments with much love and great craftsmanship somewhere in the Sierra Morena.

An essential aspect is from which region it comes, or from which climate it is "torn". An old proverb says: "La guitarra de Granada suena (sounds) en Granada, la guitarra de Sevilla suena en Sevilla". One from Malaga, which is on the coast, will not survive the first winter, kept in a room normally heated for us, where it is not uncommon for the relative humidity to drop below 40%, without cracks in the wood.

Source: Method of Flamenco Guitar by Graf-Martinez

One from Madrid this does not hurt, as it is very dry in Madrid. However, with this one, if it is too humid, there are tonal problems. Fortunately, this only applies to the first few years. The number 7 plays a not insignificant role, i.e. after seven years the guitar has acclimatized to some extent. Of course, this does not apply to Madrid , which are built in an air-conditioned workshop.

Source: Method of Flamenco Guitar by Graf-Martinez

Conde

Conde with open top

Conde with open bottom

Guitarrero (Spanish) is the guitar maker - Gitarrero is a German word creation - but does not exist in Spanish or any other language. Naively, here in Germany guitarists are called by this unword.

flamenco guitar = guitarra flamenca
guitar = guitarra
guitarist = guitarrista
flamenco guitarist = tocaor
guitar maker = guitarrero

flamenco guitar cypress = guitarra blanca
flamenco guitar rosewood = guitarra negra
playability = tocabilidad
capo = cejilla
handmade = hecho de mano
workshop = taller
strings = cuerdas
string tension = tension
sound hole = boca
body (guitar) = caja