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Those clients ordering a guitar directly from me can take
advantage of many personal features which can be
specified, or developed in the workshop, to your preference. A
number of changes can be incorporated at no additional cost e.g. neck
shape and widths.
Options at no additional
cost
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Scale (String)
Length - Any reasonable scale length can be built from 630mm to
660 mm, however I would warn against
very short or long scale lengths as these
can be very personal and can result in lower re-sale values.
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Neck and String spacing at
nut and saddle - This varies by the type of guitar and your
preferences but typically the nut width can be from 46mm to 54 mm and
the saddle from 55mm to 60 mm with corresponding width at the body-join
(normally 62 mm for classical/flamenco and 58mm for acoustic). The
normal classical/flamenco string-inset at the body join is 5mm at the
high E and 4.5mm at the low E, less for acoustics.
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Neck shape and profile - I normally shape my necks into a comfortable "flattened
C" shape, but you can choose whichever shape you want. The neck
(fingerboard) on classical and acoustic guitars carries a variable
amount of relief (or up-bow with twist) to allow for the lowest possible
string action without buzzing however the neck of my Flamenco can be
setup with positive, negative or no relief, to your specification.
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Wedge-shaped body - for exceptional playing comfort
(can also be requested on acoustic guitars)
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Left-handed Guitars -
Any guitar can be supplied built and
setup left-handed at no additional
cost.
Decoration and
Bindings
Many choices are available, look
here or please contact me for
availability
Choice of tone woods (Please enquire
for cost and availability)
I can offer various top-quality, well-aged, figured timbers including
English Walnut, Mahogany, Maple, Palo Escrito (Mexican Rosewood),
Madagascar Rosewood (similar to Brazilian), Lacewood, Zebrano, Wenge or
Cypress. Brazilian Rosewood has an additional cost which can be c.
£400 - 600 depending on quality and figure.
Alternative top quality soundboard woods are available
from old stock
including Western Red Cedar, Sitka Spruce, Engelmann Spruce or even your choice of hardwood if preferred.
Other Options at additional cost.
(Please enquire)
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A Florentine cutaway or a stepped-shoulder can be incorporated in any
model to improve access to the higher frets.
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Rodgers tuning machines
can be supplied or other tuners from any
quality manufacturer.
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Shell inlay of your choice can be added to decorate
bindings and/or rosette.
Amplification
My guitars can be
supplied with your choice of transducer, pickup, microphone and
pre-amp electronics. However I do recommend certain combinations of
product that seem to achieve the most natural acoustic
sounds. They do not in any way affect the normal acoustic
sound and are very discretely installed.
In Classical and Flamenco guitars excellent results are obtainable with the
B-Band
transducer systems which seem to suit the characteristics of nylon
strings particularly well. They have to be correctly fitted
for optimum performance and balance but the extra effort is well
rewarded. The B-Band system is used by such eminent players as
John Williams. I particularly recommend four configurations.
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The BBand UST (Under saddle Transducer) and
the simple A1.2 end-jack preamp with soundhole volume control.
This is a lightweight system with a heavyweight performance,
offering a balanced and full-range amplification with a clear, crisp
tone and very low feedback.
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The BBand AST (Acoustic Soundboard
Transducer) which fits under the soundboard near the bridge and
detects the vibrations of the soundboard. This gives a
somewhat warmer, woody sound but is still clear and well balanced.
Can be susceptible to feedback at very high volumes or when driven
percussively by the players technique.
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The BBand UST and AST in combination with the
A2.2 (2 channel) preamp and onboard soundhole mixing and
volume controls. This system provides the ideal balance of
tone for any occasion.
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The BBand UST used with the BBand internal
microphone and the A2.2 preamp provides another solution
especially for the solo artist where feedback in the microphone can
be more easily controlled. Onboard balance and mixing of the
input sources is included.
I have many
satisfied customers that will testify
to these choices of pickup system.
For the best quality sound I strongly recommend external control and
equalisation with a good quality mixer or preamp/control unit such
as the DTAR Solstice or Highlander unit, although input into a good
quality acoustic amplifier is quite adequate.
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