The Wood
Back and side wood give my flamenco guitars one of three names."Blanca," with Cypress back and sides. This is the traditional flamenco guitar wood and also the most unique due to its incredibly light weight and pale blond color. “Rosa," with Padauk back and sides. Though many call any flamenco not made of Cypress a Negra, I feel Padauk deserves its own reference for the phenomenal tonal results that are just as distinctive as its burning crimson color. "Negra," all other woods not Cypress or Paduke.  The most common Negra I make is of East Indian Rosewood.

 

Shape

I offer two body shapes of my own design.  The standard body is appropriate for the majority of players, but for those that prefer or require it, I offer a smaller body design as well.

 

 

 

Bracing

Back braces, side braces, heel block, tail block and all kerfing inside the box, are carved from Spanish Cedar, finished with a few coats of shellac. The one exception is the flamenco Blanca, whose side braces and back kerfing are Cypress.

 

Side Bending
One of the most enjoyable parts of building a guitar is bending the sides. I do this by lightly wetting the side material and then pressing or pulling the wood over a very hot steel pipe. The heat of the pipe steams the water inside of the wood relaxing the fibers and allowing the side to bend.  As the wood cools down, the fibers lock up again, and the curve is set.

 

Binding
Depending on the wood used for the back and sides, the binding material can vary.  I’m always on the lookout for unique and highly figured material.  Jet black ebony, ziricote, bacote, figured maple, snake wood, tulip wood, padauk, bloodwood, teak, striped maccaser ebony, lace wood, tiger myrtle, and zebra wood are some of the woods I’ve used for binding.  I try not to limit myself to just a handful of woods, but that’s not to say I don’t have my favorites.

 

Purfling
One of the few physical characteristics that separate a flamenco from a classical is that flamencos rarely have purfling (thin strips of colored wood between the binding and guitar) along the back and the sides. This absence originally indicated an economy model guitar, but as time passed it became a tradition, giving the flamenco a minimalist appearance.  I personally love the look and only periodically will include a single layer of perfling along the back and sides if the wood combination calls for it.