Notes on GAL Instrument Plan #53

2003 Manuel Reyes Flamenco Guitar

by Tom Blackshear

Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015

See also,
Manuel Reyes: Guitarrero by R.E. Bruné



The plan is straightforward and not complicated, but there are things that are difficult to show on a drawing; and there are things I’ve learned from my own experience that can help someone following the plan to make a very good flamenco guitar the first time. I’ll try to distinguish between what I think Reyes did to achieve the results that I saw and those things which I do to achieve similar ends. The top shape and dimensions as drawn assume an idealized symmetrical form not reflecting the exact shape of the individual instrument. I’d like to thank Chris Kamen of Classic Guitars International (www.classicguitar.com) for allowing me access to this instrument.

The top. The top is of medium density and that is an important consideration. If it were a less dense, soft top, the final top thicknesses, 2.1MM in the center and 2.0MM at the edges would be too thin. The plan does not show any arching of the top, and it’s basically built flat. However, there is a small amount of rounding or pull up from string tension, and additionally there is about a 1/16˝ “lift” approximately 2˝ from the bottom edge which is greatest over the “inserts” — four 1/64˝-thick spruce patches between the inner five fan bars. Those five fan braces are slightly bent at that point. I don’t know how Reyes builds this in, but I do it with 1˝ wide 1/32˝ thick shims mounted on my flat workboard along the bottom edge. In other words, I glue on the fan bars flat against the shimmed workboard, which causes them to bend at that point. It’s important to clamp lightly; otherwise you cause a nasty looking distortion. When the top is under tension, it will pull up to about 1/16˝ in that area. The other two fan bars are perfectly flat. The shimming and the string tension make the part of the lower bout behind the bridge appear domed somewhat from side to side. But sighting from the soundhole to the bottom of the lower bout, it’s basically flat to the area of lift, just over those spruce inserts.