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September 2014 Update

I am currently building 4 NEW guitars which I hope will be completed by years end.  All 4 new guitars will have "DOUBLE SIDES" and thicker backs.  I just completed a very successful guitar made with double sides.  A few well known makers have been using double sides for decades now.  The particular maker that impresses me the most is Daniel Friderich from France.  He started using double sides on his 279th guitar way back in 1971 and he continues to build with double sides to this day!  I found that using double sides (which is simply 2 sides, each 2-2.3mm's thick and glued together for a total thickness of about 4.5mm's) on one of my last 3 guitars really improved the PROJECTION and the PRESENCE of the guitar's voice.  The soundboard works more efficiently since the thicker sides and back do not absorb as much energy from the top while the strings are being played.  Also, I used a rather THIN spruce top (2.1mm's and less) on this first double sided guitar and I braced the top with my Desmond GRID bracing, which supports the top and helps the top sound more homogenious.  Well, the results were AMAZING!  This new Double Sided guitar is currently for sale at Savage Classical Guitars. (www.savageclassical.com)  Check it out if you have a chance.  It really is quite powerful and loud, but the sweetness is still there and the overtones are controlled because of the GRID bracing.  Every person who test drove this new guitar was really impressed with it's qualities.

    

 

Camatillo Rosewood/Indian Rosewood DOUBLE SIDE    9/11/2014

Below:  Indian Rosewood "inside" 

The above photos show a "laminated" Double Side.  The Camatillo Rosewood side was 2.0mm's thick at the time of lamination.  The Indian Rosewood side was 2.3mm's thick at the time of lamination.  Therefore, total final thickness of Double Side lamination is 4.3mm's thick.  If this had been an Indian Rosewood PLUS Indian Rosewood Double Side, the final thickness would be greater, about 4.6mm's.  Why then did I not use a thicker Camatillo side?  Because the Camatillo Rosewood is difficult to bend thicker than 2.0mm's.  The 2 sides that make up a Double Side can be any species of popular guitar woods.  Many builders will use Cypress OR Mahogany as the inside wood.  Although Double Sides make a guitar weigh substantially more, that extra weight translates to a more focused, louder and more powerful voice.   Note:  What ever kind of wood is laminated on the inside will influence the "type" of sound that the guitar will have.  This is why Jose Ramirez III used Cypress as the inside laminate on his 1a concert model guitars.  The inside Cypress adds a unique "flavor" to the sound of his 1a guitars.  Using Cypress OR Mahogany also keeps the additional weight to a minimum.  But the rigidity will still be there.  You could also make "triple" or "quadruple" sides using this lamination method.  Although, at some point, one can go too far I believe.

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