Thread: flamenco guitar

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Antonio-Ariza-Fla...d=p3286.c0.m14

US$222 on ebay recently. From what I could find online he's a long time but not particularly sought after luthier. Possibly still building.

If your interested in selling email me using the link off my username.

Will have to discuss the sale (if I do sell it) with the family first. Seeing as I've never used it, it shouldn't be a problem. I think the guitar has just never been set up from the start.

IMHO lowering the action isnt going to affect the sound of the instrument markedly apart from make it sound a bit more buzzy. If the instrument is supposed to be a flamenco but doesnt sound like one then maybe its just not a very well built guitar. Hard for me to judge without seeing the instrument.

What sort of woods are the instrument made from? How heavy is the bracing? What sort of strings are you running?

As far as the tuning pegs go...if theyre slipping and roughing up with sandpaper doesnt work then just fit new pegs. As a matter of interest Ive got a K Yairi flamenco built in 1976 and the pegs are still good.

Cheers Martin

HI MARTIN.
Good to have your input into my dilema ,the guitar in question is labeled ADMIRA FLAMENCO made in spain by KELLER,now I realise its by no means the dearest flamenco guitar on the market quite to the contrary.The thing that gets up my nose is the fact that if your going to go to the trouble to make an item that is supposed to act in a certain way ,WHY not do it right! or at least near as possable to an eccepted level.[Don,t call it a duck unless it quacks like a duck .The craftmanship judging by my non professional opinion is reasonable good ,I have checked inside the instrument [soundhole] and felt under the top of the guitar and there is a fan bracing of 5 struts, for the wan,t of a better name.The guitar weighs the same as a classical [750grms]which leads me to come to the conclusion that its not a true flamenco guitar which one would expect automatically to associate with the word FLAMENCO.I doute whether the maker even considered making this instrument any different from the many hundreds of classical guitars that preceeded this one especially when the thickness of the wood and other components are concerned, it even sounds like a classical guitar.The strings that I am using are DANIEL MARI FLAMENCO 300. I knew when I bought this instrument that I would,nt be getting a top flight guitar especially when the average price is floating around 2-3 thoundsand dollars but I did expect some sound that I could reckonise as flamenco.

Blackbird,

I neglected to mention that the player's technique will also affect sound to some degree.....IMO this is especially be the case when comparing classical technique to Flamenco technique.

Your guitar should have a model number on the label. This will tell you alot more about your guitar.....eg price, materials etc.

Cheers Martin

HI YA martin.
where were you when I needed you to give some sound advise before I got myself into this position?[chuckle] All jokes aside MARTIN its good to have some good advise from someone who obviously knows the difference between a plank of wood and a guitar such as yours truely. The serial no inside the guitar is 20015368 can you elaborate on this for me[ at one stage I tried to get in touch with the factory in SPAIN for this imformation but got no reply.Since I have lowered the nut and bridge I must amit there is a difference to the tone of the guitar
I,m not saying its a true FLAMENCO sound , lets call it a hybrid half way classical and the other half flamenco .[ it doesn,t have that mellow sound of the classical any more.]

I,d be interested in your opinion of my attempts to rectify this problem.
cheers les.

Hi Les,

A stupid question perhaps but I notice in your original post you bought the guitar recently. Did you like the sound of the instrument when you played it in the shop before buying it? Im assuming that you bought it from a shop and not privately. Has the instrument changed in sound since you bought it?

Interesting that you say your guitar sounds too mellow for a flamenco guitar. My Yairi flamenco has actually been my workhorse classical guitar since I bought the thing. Im not a flamenco player so its not really a problem for me but I can understand a flamenco player finding my Yairi not to his/her taste.

My only suggestion if changing strings and action doesnt help you then consider either trying to get your money back or trade the instrument in on something more to your liking.

Sorry I cant be of more assistance.

Cheers Martin

He says in his origional post that he bought it near new second hand. Probably sigh unseen. It's an admira, big spanish factory. It's probably one of the cheaper models. Their high end models are well made but the range extends down to plywood cheapies. He hasn't offered a purchase price nor model but from what he's said I assume it's a cheapie. Given he's modified it and it was secondhand anyway a return is probably out of the question.

The instrument with the tuner problems is another guitar altogether.

If your feeling inside the guitar, or you put a mirror in, see if there are closing bars on the fan struts. If you imagine the guitar neck pointing to the cieling teh fan struts radiate away from the sound hole (actually the 12th fret). The closing bars run perpendicular across the ends of the fan struts near the bottom. If it's got them that's more classical bracing, if they aren't there it's a more flamenco pattern.

Anyway...

HI GUYS.
DAMIAN your right when you say its a cheaper model guitar 20015368 [ don,t ask what this serial number represents] Iv,e tried to find out through the their email address but they don,t respond.I was hoping MARTIN could help on this score, I have investigated the inside of the guitar and it does have a five fingered fan shape bracings but thats all I can feel, no other structure .As you guys have read it did have a high action which the original ower was told by the music store from whence she bought it . [who also informed me that the shop suggested to her that it could be lowered[ nut and saddle] for the price of $100.00 extra.but I declined that offer because I could do the job myself.Personally I think most of the problem lyes within the materials used ,mainly that the thickness of the wood is the main culperate [taking into account that the sides are probable veneer of some description , So putting the high action and the wood thickness together ,one could conclude that its going to sound somewhat different from the familiar FLAMENCO sound ......................what do you guys say?. I still can,t for the life of me understand why go to the trouble of making a ball if its going to turn out like a cube.............its got to be me.

Is there a word other than admira on the label ? The serial number is pretty useless on those, but they usually print a name on the label.

I assume the top is solid spruce, not cedar or plywood ?

May I ask how much you paid ?

HI DAMIAN.
The label inside the guitar says''AUTHENTICA GUITARRA ..KELLER ESPANA ... MADE IN SPAIN...A-20015368... MODELO FLAMENCO thats about the size of it . ...........CHEERS LES.

HI DAMIAN.
The label inside the guitar says''AUTHENTICA GUITARRA ..KELLER ESPANA ... MADE IN SPAIN...A-20015368... MODELO FLAMENCO thats about the size of it . ........ PAID $100.00... as I said damian I tried to get all the information regarding materials used and etc. CHEERS LES.

They are about $600-$700 new in aus, pretty much a student model. I think th flamenco designation is more about the blonde back and sides than anything else.

http://www.guitar.com.au/guitars/aco...mira/index.htm

Oh well, $100 is cheap, especially for a solid spruce top. You won't lose money at that price.

You'll find the more upmarket admiras like the duende are more proper flamenco's...

Marie strings are good, but as I recall savarez have ones that are brighter. I think they are the black plastic ones. Can't recall the name. Anyway try different strings, buy online and they aren't too expensive.

Good luck!

I just wanted to follow up in the transaction. I realsie this isn't buy and sell but it's a heads up to other forum members.

"Buzza" and I have completed this sale and I am very happy with the outcome. There was much communication back and forth for various reasons (life getting in the way), communication was always clear and polite. I can recommend him unconditionally should other forum members be thingking of buying or selling with "Buzza".