As the direct descendant of the traditional Spanish guitar, the nylon-string classical has inspired decades of discussion about what constitutes a successful design. While luthiers and players alike were once critical of anything that deviated from the basic design developed by Antonio de Torres at the end of the 19th century, today there is a growing sense of experimentation and acceptance of more contemporary instruments. I recently talked to a group of luthiers who specialize in nylon-string instruments and whose work represents a colorful cross-section of the various contemporary approaches to building. I asked these industry leaders about the innovations they’ve used in their own guitars and where they think the classical guitar as a form is headed.
An R.E. Bruné classical with cypress back and sides.		Keeping Up with the Players Over the past 30 years, classical guitar departments have been sprouting in universities like wild mushrooms, and general guitar pedagogy has been elevated to new heights--the level of playing today is higher than ever before. "The demand of the players on the instrument is much more sophisticated than it was 20 or 30 years ago," says Richard Bruné, who started building guitars in 1966 and was among the first American luthiers to specialize in the classical guitar and to receive the acclaim of international players. "When I moved to Chicago in ’72, somebody who could actually stumble through a piece without faltering was considered a ‘good’ classical guitarist," he says. "Today, people are compared against some of the best recordings by some of the top artists in the world." As a result, players want instruments that won’t hinder their virtuosic expression. There are, of course, many different opinions about what constitutes the ultimate classical guitar. Some makers feel that it has already been built and that it is important to focus on what has worked well in the past. "A great guitar, such as a Fléta built 30 years ago, is still a great guitar and a huge inspiration to me," says Australia’s Jim Redgate, who nevertheless likes to experiment with radical building techniques. Similarly, Gila Eban points out that some early ’70s Ramírez guitars are "extraordinarily loud, and still have a beautiful clear sound," qualities that are valued by contemporary players. Eban began making guitars in the late ’70s, and though she strives for a sound that resembles her favorite Spanish guitars, she incorporates Michael Kasha’s unique design concepts into her instruments. Other luthiers feel that guitar design has only scratched the surface or, even worse, has kept the music from evolving. "The classical guitar world missed out on the major-league 19th-century and early–20th-century composers, simply because the guitar didn’t have enough volume to be an ensemble instrument," says Thomas Humphrey, a self-taught guitar maker who emerged from the lutherie boom of the early ’70s and is best-known for his unique, elevated-fretboard Millennium design. "I believe that the time of great, immensely popular, and high-quality composition in classical music is going to come again. And this time around, due to the immense popularity of the guitar, we need to do our very best to be prepared."
Gila Eban's Kasha-inspired design.		Pumping Up the Volume Players’ requests for more volume were cited by every maker I talked to. Redgate agrees with Humphrey that more volume is needed to make the guitar competitive with other orchestral instruments. "Greater volume gives a better range of dynamics and tone colors to the instrument," says Redgate, "and many performers and audiences still prefer the unamplified sound in concert. Increasing the volume also allows the guitar to work effectively in chamber music with other types of instruments, and composers are beginning to consider the guitar as a ‘serious’ instrument." Highly respected American luthier Robert Ruck, who has built more than 700 instruments during the past 30 years, says that players seek instruments with more brilliance, in an attempt to be heard better, but then get tired of the tone and go back to more mellow guitars. "When a guitar is very brilliant, it feels as though it is cutting through the deadening effect of the audience and the conditions," he explains. "Around 20 years ago, a lot of the top players gravitated toward instruments that were very bright, and it generated a need for that. Brightness, however, is only satisfactory up to a point. Players have to live with this sound many hours a week, practicing. So then they compromise with a more sympathetic, sweeter-sounding instrument--something with more responsiveness that gives them joy in the confines of a small room." Bruné is also concerned about a boost in volume that comes at the cost of tone. "Whatever minute gains [in volume] you make by radical alterations of other elements, you make at the expense of some of the other essential elements of color and dynamic range," he claims. "The amount of extra volume you might achieve is so miniscule, it’s completely lost on the average audience in a typical hall." Some luthiers feel that instead of trying to get the maximum volume out of a guitar, it’s better to build the instrument with optimum tone and take advantage of modern amplification systems, such as pickups and high-quality microphones. "Electronics are improving so much that loudness has become less of an issue," says Eban. "I don’t think anyone can increase the loudness of the guitar to the level of a violin or a trumpet and still keep the original sound. But with developments in electronics, this may be possible." Jeffrey Elliott, who has been active since the ’70s building fairly traditional instruments as well as special guitars for crossover players, concurs and stresses that luthiers should consider amplification when designing an instrument. "If modern classical guitarists are going to continue to play in large halls with 2,000–3,000 seats," he says, "they’ll need an instrument that amplifies well and is an honest classic-sounding instrument. More and more are amplifying their guitars." Manuel Rodriguez Sr., on the other hand, is skeptical about using amplification for serious concert work. He continues the traditional art of hand-building guitars he learned in Madrid in the 1940s and has also become a major producer of factory-made nylon-string guitars. Even though the Rodriguez shop offers a number of acoustic-electric models in its factory-made line, he says, "these are not for the pure classical music player."
Kasha-style bracing system inside an Eban guitar.		Rethinking the Soundboard In addition to heeding the demand of many players for a louder guitar, luthiers are always working on ways to improve the tone of their instruments, and much of that tone is determined by the soundboard. Soundboard design was advanced significantly through the work of Australian luthier Greg Smallman, whose instruments were brought to international attention by the great John Williams. Smallman’s guitars feature extremely thin tops braced in a lattice pattern (as opposed to the standard fan pattern devised by Torres) with carbon fiber–capped balsa wood, combined with heavy backs and sides. A thicker ring around the perimeter of the upper bout inhibits the edges of the top from vibrating and changes the way the top interacts with the sides. Other Australian guitar builders have followed Smallman’s lead and are building innovative and muscular classicals. Jim Redgate uses a similar approach to bracing but has developed his own design, which is the result of his desire for a more traditional sound. The thickness of Redgate’s tops falls somewhere between traditional and more radical designs, and because he designs the entire top to vibrate, he feels that his guitars have a fuller sound with a richer bass. "With carbon fiber–reinforced strutting, the material will not distort over time," he explains, "so the supporting structure for the soundboard can be made more flexible and open-sounding right away." Humphrey is also an advocate of lattice bracing. "I’ll go so far as to say that Torres was only half right," he proclaims. "Had he left the bracing that was in the guitars prior to his time, the lute-style bracing, or ladder bracing, as it was called, and simply added his fan bracing, he probably would have brought the guitar 100 years ahead." Humphrey believes that lattice bracing allows him to optimize the top to respond equally both with and across the grain of the wood, leading to an increase in performance. Past luthiers were forced to develop their designs slowly by trial and error, but today’s builders can take a more scientific approach. "A lot of the groundwork in sound production and power has now been done," says Paul Fischer, perhaps the U.K.’s best-known luthier, who has amassed more than 40 years of experience building musical instruments. "The next task is to refine these benefits, which can only happen through close study and analysis of the work undertaken so far. The most important single improvement has taken place with the soundboard bracing system--in particular those braced on the grid system. The benefits of this can be further enhanced by an understanding of the acoustic properties of the body materials and their energy-efficient response." Germany’s Gernot Wagner, who has firmly established himself on the European scene, concurs: "To really determine the potential and limitations inherent in the new designs, it would be necessary to do methodical experiments with acousticians. Unfortunately, this exceeds the possibilities of the individual luthier, so the industry as a whole would have to become active." Wagner’s own research led to a lighter top without any loss of strength. His bracing is based on a fan pattern, but Wagner uses a sandwich top consisting of two ultrathin (about .6 mm.) pieces of cedar with a layer of Kevlar fiber in the middle. This reduces the weight by as much as 40 percent, and Wagner says that the weave of the Kevlar fiber gives him a structural effect similar to that of lattice-style bracing. "The use of Kevlar gives me control over the stiffness along and across the grain of the wood," he says. Rather than delving into the high-tech world of carbon or Kevlar fibers, Ruck prefers to work with different species of wood. "My top is a composite of different woods used for different reasons," he explains. "In the past, we would see spruce as the predominant bracing material for the main cross braces as well as the fan bracing. I’ve moved toward selecting species––yellow cedar, red cedar, Douglas fir––because they have very specific properties, and those properties can be used to an advantage." Ruck is trying to optimize fan-style bracing. "I use what I call a wide bracing system," he says. "It is seven fan braces, but three of them are very wide and very low, and they control the top in a very different manner."
A Jim Redgate eight-string.		Modernizing Construction Techniques Spanish guitars used to be built practically freehand on a basic workbench. Today, most luthiers rely on their own jigs and fixtures to increase the accuracy of their work. While luthiers such as Bruné and Elliott use an organic approach based on traditional hand tools and techniques, others are embracing power tools and advanced machinery. "The development of small, handheld machines––routers as well as machines and tools designed by the makers themselves––has speeded up the manufacturing process and improved quality," says Fischer. Unlike steel-string guitar makers, none of the classical builders I talked to have begun using parts made on CNC (computer numerically controlled) machines, although Rodriguez is interested in exploring the possibility for his company’s line of factory-made instruments. Redgate and Wagner stress the importance of building a stress-free soundboard, and both use vacuum pressure to assist this process. "I’m now using vacuum technology in soundboard construction to glue bracing and build the soundboard into dished molds, so they fit exactly into the sides," explains Redgate. "A relaxed soundboard is free to move with no built-in tensions." Wagner also uses a vacuum clamp to glue braces, and he uses vacuum pressure when he glues the bridge to the guitar. Wagner relies on polyurethane glues that don’t contain water or solvents (which can cause the wood to swell or shrink). Redgate claims that the amount and type of glue used for critical components can have a significant impact on the sound and adds that his carbon fiber/balsa wood struts would be "impossible without epoxy resin." There are, however, some doubts about the longevity of guitars built with space-age materials. "Many of those guitars are virtually unrepairable or very difficult to repair without seriously invading the originality of the instrument," cautions Bruné, who has a lot of experience repairing guitars. "When I build an instrument, I’m always thinking that sooner or later someone is going to have to repair it or take it apart, and the instrument is either going to survive that or be destroyed by it." Wagner agrees that his guitars may not have the greatest longevity, but he feels that superior sound and performance are more important than an indefinite life span. While advanced designs and new materials often go hand in hand, Eban, whose guitars are perhaps the most radical-looking of the bunch, pursues a traditional Spanish sound by merging contemporary ideas with old-world techniques. "Nobody says that if I use Kasha bracing, I have to use epoxy or Titebond," she says. "Within the Kasha framework, I’ve been going toward the traditional stuff like hide glue, French polish, and the very traditional ‘meat-and-potatoes’ spruce and Brazilian rosewood." Environmental concerns also play a role in the choice of glues and finishes. "I use a French polish finish," says Elliott, "but the reason is not because I’m hung up on the traditional finish; it’s because I don’t want to pollute and I don’t want to poison myself. I also believe that of all the finishes, French polish has the most appropriate affect on the sound. It’s easiest to touch up, even though it’s more delicate to take care of, and it’s the most beautiful."
A Paul Fischer Concert model with alpine spruce top and rosewood back and sides.		Appealing to Crossover Players Classical luthiers are also getting more requests for features that appeal to crossover players (guitarists who combine classical music with other styles like flamenco or jazz) and those who are more used to the feel of steel-string guitars. Although they are still not readily accepted among classical purists, cutaways are beginning to be seen on some high-end nylon-strings. "I’ve made a few cutaway classical guitars recently," says Elliott, "and I think it’s partly because of people who are used to playing 14-fret instruments and find it a lot easier to play with a cutaway." Ruck also offers a cutaway option on his guitars, but he feels that most players are still skeptical. "It does give a guitar tremendous ease and playability," he says, "but [players] haven’t embraced it due to its asymmetry." Two other increasingly common requests are narrower necks and position markers in the side of the fingerboard. "Classical guitars used in other genres will have a narrower neck than the classical standard," says Elliott. "There’s some design crossover. It’s a reflection of the way these instruments are being used to make music." Redgate has fulfilled orders for each of these wishes, and while he enjoys tailoring an instrument to a customer’s desires, he is wary of the potential consequences. "There is still a largely conservative body of classical guitarists who do not accept these changes," he says, "and resale of a custom instrument can be a problem for the owner."
		Using Alternative Woods A similar kind of reticence has prevented some builders from experimenting with alternatives to traditional woods. "I have used alternative woods since the mid-’80s," says Fischer, "but only at a pace guitarists have been willing to accept." Redgate, who has begun using native Australian woods on some of his guitars, agrees, particularly since his instruments already break with tradition. "In the classical field, there is only a certain amount [of innovation] you can introduce at once," he says. Aside from substituting Indian rosewood for Brazilian rosewood, due to its increasing scarcity, Ruck hasn’t seen a need to use alternative woods. "I have done a few experiments," he says, "but we have good wood supplies. Because of the demand in recent years, there are a lot of wood merchants." German luthier Dieter Hopf, who can trace the lineage of instrument builders in his family back to 1669 and combines this sense of history with a desire to improve existing designs, remembers a time when even cedar was considered unusual for tops. "Today, it’s not seen as a substitute, but as an excellent alternative," he points out. Elliott and Bruné have both used cypress (a wood generally associated with flamenco guitars) for the backs and sides of guitars designed for classical playing, and they feel strongly that the woods used to build a guitar don’t have to dictate its future use. Humphrey agrees and doesn’t feel stifled by preconceived notions about which woods sound good. "I’m doing two guitars right now out of some kind of a tropical hardwood," he says. "I have no idea what it is, but it’s beautiful. I don’t give a damn about the wood. The reason I don’t care about the wood is that I don’t know guitarists that care about the wood. Virtually nobody calls me and says, ‘I want a Brazilian rosewood and so on.’ They’ll basically say they want a spruce or cedar top, but they don’t give a damn if I make the body out of oak!"
		Going Out on a Limb In addition to alternative materials and construction innovations, even more unusual concepts are finding their way into today’s classical guitars. Ruck is including soundports in the upper bouts of his guitars, which give the player a more immediate experience of the guitar’s sound. Hopf’s top model, La Portenosa, includes small holes in the wings of the bridge, a feature that Hopf has patented. In addition to saving weight in the bridge area, these openings affect the overall sound of the instrument by blending in different tonal qualities. In an attempt to create a smoother, more natural-feeling neck, Hopf also laminates a thin veneer of ebony around the back of the neck, eliminating the need for finish. Several makers are beginning to double-drill the tie blocks of their bridges, allowing the strings to be attached with a greater angle over the saddle. In a radical departure from traditional nylon-string neck design, Redgate has been using adjustable truss rods in his guitars. He also builds a slight amount of back bow into his necks, which he then straightens with the double-action rod. "A preloaded neck is stiffer and absorbs less string energy," he says, "which helps the overall volume and tone of the guitar." Elliott likes to use spalted woods for his rosettes and is taking more liberties with his purfling and binding. "Segovia would never have stood for it," he muses.
Robert Ruck in his shop.		Looking Ahead It’s apparent that while their approaches may vary, today’s classical luthiers are building some of the most advanced guitars ever made. All their instruments, even those without unusual materials or designs, are being built with more precision and with the experience of several decades of modern lutherie. "If I were to define the difference between the guitars we’re making now and the guitars that were made 50 or 80 years ago," says Bruné, "at least among American builders, it’s that we have the ability to control our environment and our moisture content to a much greater degree than any of the old makers. Much of the deterioration of the older instruments that came from Spain and elsewhere is because they had no way to control their humidity." Although he enjoys the challenge of continually improving his design, Ruck feels that his customers are "very happy with the tone of the guitar. I haven’t heard from any players who have said, ‘There just isn’t a guitar out there that has a beautiful enough tone.’" While much of the innovation and progress is happening at the high end of the guitar market, Rodriguez hopes that all players will benefit from the field’s growing maturity. "Everyone has the right to a nice instrument," he says, "from the beginner to the concert player. It’s very important to create a future for the younger generation. If we have nice instruments for beginners, it will stimulate them to learn more, and perhaps they will become professionals." There are few limitations that contemporary luthiers haven’t attempted to overcome, and it will be interesting to watch the nylon-string guitar’s progress in the future. "If it’s conceivable, not only is it possible, but it’s probable," says Humphrey. "That is my philosophy of guitar making. Fifteen years ago, nobody knew about using graphite fiber in guitars; now many people use it. What does that mean for 15 or 20 or 50 years from now? What materials will be used in the making of guitars that we haven’t even conceived of? I believe that a guitar will be built that is as loud as a piano and as beautiful as an unamplified guitar."

LUTHIERS INTERVIEWED

R.E. Bruné
800 Greenwood St.
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 864-7730
www.rebrune.com

Gila Eban
PO Box 95
Riverside, CT 06878
(203) 625-8307
members.tripod.com/handmadeguitars/3.html

Jeffrey R. Elliott
2812 S.E. 37th Ave.
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 233-0836
www.maui.net/~rtadaki/elliott.html

Paul Fischer
West End Studio
Chipping Norton
Oxfordshire OX7 5EY
England
(44) 1608-642792

Dieter Hopf
Platter Strasse. 79
65232 Taunusstein
Germany
(49) 6128-8014
www.konzertgitarren.com

Thomas Humphrey
1167 Bruynswick Rd.
Gardiner, NY 12525
(845) 256-0035
www.thomashumphrey.com

Jim Redgate
46 Penno Parade N
Belair SA 5052
Australia
(61) 8-8370-3198
www.ozemail.com.au/~redgate/

Manuel Rodriguez Sr.
Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
7975 N. Hayden Rd. #C-100
Scottsdale, AZ 85258-3246
(480) 596-7195
www.fender.com/rodriguez/rodrihome.html

Robert Ruck
5805 Minder Rd. N.E. #3
Poulsbo, WA 98370
(360) 297-4024
www.maui.net/~rtadaki/ruck.html

Gernot Wagner
Landgraben 19a
60388 Frankfurt
Germany
(49) 6109-23759
wagnerguitars@t-online.de

Excerpted from Acoustic Guitar magazine, July 2001, No.103. That issue also contained a feature story about the new generation of classical-guitar vituosos, a profile of Pat Donohue, and more.

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