Sylvius Leopold Weiss (born in Germany), contemporary of J.S. Bach, was a prolific composer for the lute and was one of the most technically accomplished lutenist from the late Baroque period. The piece comes from the Sonata no. 11 in C minor (Dresden) and has been transcribed for the guitar (D minor) with a drop D tuning.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Saturday, October 8, 2016
THE JUAN ÁLVAREZ CONCERT CLASSICAL GUITAR: DETAILS
This is a follow-up to my previous post on the Juan Álvarez Concert Classical Guitar. On this occasion I'll take the opportunity to point out mentionable aspects that make this guitar unique in sound, quality and playability. I have provided photos detailing the 20 frets, the maker label, close-up of the bridge and the heel.
Photo 1 Front view of the guitar showing the 20 frets reaching a C on the 1st string and a G on the 2nd. The addition of this extra fret changes the appearance of the soundhole area. I believe this innovation is a step forward in the evolution of the instrument because it has increased the sound of the B on the 1st string 19th fret substantially.
Photo 2 Detail of the maker label with the luthier's signature indicating serial number and year of construction:2016.
Photo 3 Detail of the bridge. Notice how the string passes through the hole, comes back around and through again (there are 2 holes -near the saddle- and another one on the other end per string). This contributes to great sustain and facilitates tuning.
Photo 4 Detail of the heel. The "neck joint" where the neck meets the body is considerably smaller allowing easier access to the lower bout, thus adding to the guitar's wonderful playability.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
THE JUAN ÁLVAREZ CONCERT CLASSICAL GUITAR
In this post I will describe some of the basic features found on my recently (July) acquired Juan Álvarez Concert Guitar. J. Álvarez (born in 1960-Madrid, Spain) is a second generation guitar maker located in Madrid, Spain.
He learned a lot from his father, Juan Álvarez Gil (1932-2001), a very respectable luthier who is a follower of the tradition of the Madrid School of Guitar Making dating back to Marcelo Barbero who was a disciple of the famous Manuel Ramírez.Juan makes both flamenco and classical guitars and are hand made using traditional methods. For more information visit http://www.guitarrasjuanalvarez.com/inicio-guitarras-juan-alvarez.html I'm very satisfied with this instrument for many reasons but I would like to point out a few, namely its excellent sound quality (very noticeable on the 3rd string and in the higher register -most guitars' weak-points), great balance between bass and treble strings, playability and abundant volume when playing both ppp and fff on both open and stopped notes.
Make: Juan Álvarez Concert Classical Guitar
Model Year: 2016
Model Number: 1904
Soundboard: Canadian Cedar
Back & Sides: Indian Rosewood
Scale: 650 mm
Neck: Cedar
Fretboard: Ebony
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