Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Here is the second part of the workshop at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, in which the subject of
the characteristics & qualities that a good flamenco guitar
should have were explained.

http://www.rdiaz.org/rdvideo149.html

To summarize some essential factors:

1) QUALITY OF SOUND (concepts of female & male, etc.)

a) “timbre” and tone of every string
b) Balance (between trebles and basses etc.)
c) Quality & age of the soundboard or top, and wood.
d) Intonation & harmonics, sustain etc.
e) Projection & response.
f) Diverse bracing patterns and the “golpe” or taping
g) different kinds of bridges, thickness & symmetric, etc.

2) PLAYABILITY

a) Bridge measurements (even distance between holes, bridge proper height etc)
b) Action (millimetres between 6th and 12 fret, etc)
c) Tension of the guitar while playing.

3) BEAUTY

a) Kind of varnish (how it affects the sound etc)
b) Colors of wood & kinds of woods traditional and beyond.



Be creative and have fun!



Ruben Diaz
http://www.rdiaz.org/rdfoto5.html

One would assume that the more one pays, the better the guitar will sound. But obviously this isn't true. It's shocking to hear a guitar of thousands of dollars sound the same as one of a hundred dollars. Thank you for exploring this phenomenon in detail, although my experience is that I have not cared for the sound of steel string guitars with polyester finish at any price.

kiramdear wrote: Thank you for exploring this phenomenon in detail, although my experience is that I have not cared for the sound of steel string guitars with polyester finish at any price.

I find myself generally in agreement with your observation Kira.

Friends KIra and Brian:

Thanks for your interest on this subject, in fact is not about the price because there are 4 possibilities:

Good guitar & expensive
Bad guitar & expensive
Good guitar & inexpensive
Bad guitar & inexpensive

In this workshop I was asked to explain this issue, because some of my students realized that they have paid much money for bad guitars, and they really want to know (some were not able to accept they were cheated…etc, and did not want to even hear about, they just fled…when others asked this questions) so although there is a very subjective element on liking a guitar, there are some rules valid for all, and that’s what we were trying to explore, with the goal of getting knowledge, just for the pleasure of that…in fact some friends brought their
bad-expensive guitars joyfully to be examined, and said they feel relieved after knowing why this is good or not.

On this style flamenco guitar,although everyone can start with any nylon string guitar,but if you want to get more involved and grasp subtle nuances you have to have that kind of guitar, that is designed with those characteristics that are required for that specific technique.
I know how hard is to buy a guitar, when I was young I struggle
to get my first one too,so most important thing is to play and not the guitar, I witnessed that great players can play with anything…
but this does not mean that if you can afford it,to have a better guitar…so although its true that a great player can play a great interpretation on a “bad guitar” that does not mean that this is the goal, namely to play great music on bad guitars…or that to play bad guitar in itself has any merit whatsoever…

imo there are 4 possibilities:

1)good player playing on a good guitar.

2 )good player playing on a bad guitar.

3) Bad player playing a good guitar.

4) Bad player playing a bad guitar.

so the ideal thing or what we should aspire (imo) is option 1.
who has stated that the goal should be to aspire for option 2 ?...
still my students sometimes don’t meditate carefully about this…

just imagine if we say to John Williams in a informal reunion:
“Ok sir, now don’t play your $25,000 Greg Smallman , please play with this $1000 dollars guitar to show us how great you are regardless of the quality of the guitar you play”

you see…the more advance you become as a player, the quality of your playing has a lot to do with a high quality instrument, this is undeniable, many misunderstandings about this I see some of my students have, and I also witnessed beginners improving a lot with the help of proper practice, proper teacher, and a better guitar, in fact years ago I myself was one of those who did not regard so much the guitar issue, until Paco convinced /advise me some 12 years ago regarding certain measurements and aspects that dramatically improve my anyway poor playing,I do not play great, and therefore I do need a nice guitar to compensate for that!,If I played like Paco then I wouldn’t mind at all about guitar!, so as you see I just wrote all this due to my passion for guitar, and to remember my teachers advise etc, as I said it applies only to me perhaps, and meaby I stressed so much on the guitar issue, because I am not a great player myself and I keep dreaming that if I change to a better guitar I can make it!...,I think that has some true also,
I personally feel I can not play other guitars, even my old ones that were supposedly great I am selling, because I became so used to those I play now,I think that life is a bit short, and I am already grow old, so I rather play the best guitar I can otherwise I will feel frustrated, so please forgive my obsession with the guitar issue, you know that Spanish people is a bit too passional / crazy, that’s true, and I am one of them!


I send you my best wishes, its always a pleasure to talk to you!

Ruben

Ruben,

I have a similar conviction. The player makes the guitar sound good. The guitar does not make the player sound good.

Ruben, if you say that you are not a great player I know what you mean - there are maybe a handful of GREAT players on the planet at any one time. But your passion and knowledge and desire to share with others, combined with your wonderful playing, put you in the class of very, very, very good and important players that I have seen. I've enjoyed these videos very much and learned a lot about a style that was previously unknown to me.

Thank you Kira

You really encorage me to play better,some players say that if you play good you can play in any guitar,but I need a nice guitar to play my best.

I try to teach and play better than me yesterday,everyday is that challenge that keep me inspired!,and of course the friends and guitar lovers like you that keep me going in this adventure of music...

Thanks so much

Regards

Ruben