Vicente Arias Event and the 1899 example.

 

A special Vicente Arias event has been held in Florence 2005.

This marks the growing popularity of this important builder.

There are 28 instruments known in existence all over the world.

13 instruments were to be seen at the event. I was invited but

I had a performance. Organized by Stefano Grondona.

As far as I know one out of three Vicente Arias' guitars with
a  double back. I bought this one on a flea market in Belgium 
being not fully aware of it's value and tonal qualities.

Arias was the only luthier in the 19th century whose work

came close to rivalling that of Antonio deTorres.

I would like to ask your attention for the Orfeo magazine 

and the publisher / Photographer Alberto Martinez. He 

wrote a book about this remarkable luthier and his 

photograph work simply is gorgeous. The two pictures 

here above are from his hand.

This was the last label used by the later Madrid based luthier.
This guitar dates from the year 1899, the same year the instrument
of Raphaëlla Smit has been built. The resemblance of the
tonal color of the different Arias guitars is remarkable
in spite of his experiments. 

Vicente Arias was really praised for his beautiful rosettes:
They all are different and this particular instrument has a 
beautiful decorated lining as well.




Though it's not the back of the 1899 guitar it can be
clearly seen that the typical darkcoloured Rio Palissander
was used being so common in the 19th century.
The tuners are a replacements.
Arias often equipped his guitars with violinlike
tuning pegs because of the lightness of his guitars. 

Luckily I found another picture. The back from the 1899

Vicente Arias guitar. As this guitar has adouble back the

inner back can only be seen around the label. It was out 

of one piece of Brasilian rosewood.

Black Widow (Matsumoku made) Guitar (1972 - 1974)

 

In fact not my guitar but the Acoustic brand (USA) introduced 

this model being quite scarce and played by Jimi Hendrix and 

Frank Zappa (among others). Quite heavy but still a semi 

acoustic guitar with its' cavities. There are very few 'parts'

pictures on the internet alas, so I will make them and explain 

what I found further around these remarkable guitars. Take a 

listen to one of the Black Widow guitar video's on YouTube.

A bit in the Gretch tradition as that brand also equipped the back

of some of their models with a leather looking piece.

What is original and what is not I'm still not able

to say but the pick ups do not seem to be humbucker 

types of pick up as the magnet are in the middle and 

within time I will take more pictures of these Maxon

type pick ups and in fact the same as on the guitars

of Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa. They more look 

like the so called P 90 pick ups from Gibson. But

a dummy coil on top could be responsible for the 

fact that it is a humbucker. A fretless version of the

first edition of these guitars was given to George

Harrison. Quite rare but he used that guitar on the 

"White Album" in the song "Happiness is a warm gun"

Sold in 2020 for about 300.000 USD.

About the same guitar found on the internet. No logo

but certainly produced by Matsumoku - Japan. A se-

curely crafted body but the pots, wiring and selector

switch are quite mediocre. A good working bridge 

and solidly made neck with good fretwork.

I can understand that the two screw attachment to

the body might raise questions but the neck has been

sticked into the body as far as the bridge placing.

A really stable solution regarding the tension that

is coming on the neck itself. Also satisfying as

we are dealing with a 24 fret neck!

I already made remarks around the electronics but seeing 

these tuners one might believe that this guitar has been 

fitted with very deluxe tuners from Gotoh, a respectable 

factory and brand. They work very well.

This added piece of wood to the actual neck is making this 

guitar stable and apart from that the neck that is quite long 

it still is absolutely straight and can be adjusted if needed

by a built in truss rod.

The fingerboard is a nice piece of rosewood and this guitar 

has been taken apart as it needed a good cleaning and to make

pictures about how it has been designed. As for the fretwork

this guitar needs about 7 frets to be replaced. They are too

far gone. A new topnut will complete this neck as everything

was sturdily glued together and simply broke off.

As this picture attests the guitar has been provided with 

a partly semi acoustic construction. The stop tailpiece 

however has been mounted on solid wood again. I do

not think the whole body is made out of maple on this

Matsumoku made Black Widow. I think they used the

darker colored mahogany though very fine grained

(and heavy!) while the cap glued on this wood seems 

to be maple indeed.

A bit strange is that the neck pocket and the pick up cavity

are done in one move. There is no issue in this construction

as the neck moves all the way through the cavity here above.

Besides the two holes for the neck attachment there is a 

third insert used to install a round piece of cork on this spot. 

The neck itself has the same small cavity and together with

the two screws at the end of the body and one screw near 

the bridge it makes a sturdy fit for this neck and gives the

possibility to adjust the neck / body angle. The pick ups 

have been mounted with springs so the possibility is there 

to adjust the height of the pick up pole pieces to the strings.

The cavity for the selector switch is also a difference 

between the formerly produced Black Widow guitars 

in the USA. This is more in the Gibson tradition but

can be used as a confirmation this guitar to be produced

 in Japan either not branded or Aria branded though 

Moseley claimes the last 200 guitars to be made by

himself. He already had connections with the Japanese

in an earlier stage.

The non branded headstock is a bit of a mix between a Gibson 

and an old Kay guitar, popular long ago in the USA. The truss

rod cover is another detail to look at. Most of the original truss

rod covers do have this shape but there are also covers 

modelled in another, more square way.

Discussions may arise around these pick ups but these are

the Maxon produced ones. The pole pieces can be adjusted

with an Allen Wrench key. And the rather wide coil seems 

to betray it not to be a humbucker pick up though the possi-

bility may arise that there are two coils placed on top of each 

other. And indeed there seemed to be a dummy coil placed 

on top of the real coil.

Another side view where the springs can be seen for

height adjustment,

To my opinion AlNiCo magnets but I'm not a connaisseur

in that field. The pick ups work very well in combination

with this guitar. That cooperation isn't always there but when

you take a look at the Danelctro Convertible guitars in

combination with their lipstick pick ups. Great sounding.

As for AI, the magnets used by Matsumoku were AlNiCo 8.

On the left there is a extra ground lip to be screwed together

with the mounting of the pick ups.

This is the back of an original Acoustic USA produced guitar.

4 screws to hold the neck. I think the Japanese did a very 

successful addition in adding a piece of wood all through the 

body's guitar as the neck is already quite long and therefore

must be able to resist a lot of tension. On the other hand I

presume the American made guitars are fitted with better 

quality pots and pick up selector switch.

More screws for the imitation "leather" back plate.

Moreover, the switch cover plate difference can be 

seen as well. I think to have seen a volute on the 

back of the head of an original "Acoustic" branded

guitar as has been published here beyond!

On the left is the "Acoustic" branded back of the headstock

so USA made. The original tuners on that one have gone but

they are present on the back of the head on the right but

the "original" USA made one indeed is made with a volute.

This is the original bridge with their specific rounded saddles

that can take care of the right intonation with Allen Wrench

screws. The bolts on either side can be adjusted in hight to

your own liking

The 'hole" in the middle has been ment for the third screw

to hold the neck. As the distance between the two visible 

outer screws at the end of the body and this one near the 

bridge is quite big, it makes a very reliable connection.

The rather big saddles were ment to add more sustain to the 

guitar. Though there is a cavity up to the bridge in the body,

the 2 bolts are mounted on a solid wooden part of the body.

Chitara (Replica) 2000 / 4000 B.C. (Mesopotamie - Africa)

A lot of Guitar related books start with a story about

the instrument and its' history. As a young guy, more 

interested in electric guitars I tend to overlook those

chapters but in fact they are interesting as well in the 

development of the guitar as it is to these days.

The "soundbox" consists of a turtle shell that has been

covered with what most likely was a goat skin. The neck

already was a "neck thru body" construction as it holds 

the 3 strings as well. In this case the strings are nylon

ones but in history they must have been made out of gut.

The strings can be tuned but weren't ment to be fingered

on a neck like this

And the tuning machine heads!

• The carvings as have been done on this neck have a mere 
• ornamental function and probably different each time and 
• in correspondance of a certain tribe that made them.
• 
  
• 

The bridge construction consist of a simple wooden bow that

has been been carved for the support of the three strings.

In the Forderer collection an identical example can be found 

on youtube however the "soundholes" made here are not present 

on that instrument. Probably a new invention later in time? 

As the Oud is a more well known predecessor of the guitar, 

I figured this simple instrument deserves a place here.

Augustin Claudot Romantic Guitar / Manuel Contreras 2A Concert guitar

This french early romantic guitar has been built
by Augustin Claudot who was a member of the
well known Claudot Family of violin makers at
Mirecourt. Though affected by wood insects this
particular instrument still has a wonderful sound.

The back of this Augustin Claudot guitar has been
done with maple as are the sides of this instrument.
This whole instrument has been treated with
Gamma rays in order to kill eventually existing
insects. It should last now for the future.

I allready published these pictures though the wood insert
haven't been made to the surrounding colours yet.
The effect of the first darkening of the wood may
last for one or two years. It is better to fix
the colourmatch after that period.

As on his violins Augustin Claudot allways stamped or branded his instruments.
His violins are said to be made with nice woods and great craftsmanship.

Manuel Contreras 

This is a 1983 non signed label premium concert guitar from
the workshop of Manuel Contreras, that is, as we do have
to believe the label. When a Contreras label says Guitareria
it most likely is a student or intermediate guitar. The other
labels say: Constructor de Guitarras (older labels) and
Luthier or Lutherie and those are the handbuilt ones but
by who?? Ignacio Rozas built a lot of guitars  at the
Contreras workshop (Calle Mayor) but most people
who have been there hardly ever saw Manuel Contreras 1
on the workbench being busy. He is said to be lazy...
Cedar topped guitar, ebony fingerboard, 655 mm scale.

The beautiful back of this guitar that shows us the Rio 

wood used for sides and back. That is a bit of an odd 

thing for a 2A concertmodel. As the plantilla also differs

from the later doble tapa models suspicions are there

that this guitar has been built in another workshop

though definately by hand!

On this picture the beauty of the wood is apparently but
also the outer heel is visible that it less sharp than on
his later models. We still have to compare this Contreras
to other, earlier models as it could well have been that 
Contreras changed the plantilla (model of the soundbox)
together with other minor details such as headform and

outer heel when he changed to the doble tapa models.

The center inlay in this head is the same as on the 1A models

but the outer edges aren't that sharp. Of course genuine

Fustero tuners that are hand engraved from Barcelona.

The label of this guitar.

On this picture the rosette and the playing marks are

obvious. Moreover the guitar has a repaired crack behind 

the bridge. This guitar was equipped with some self

cut scratchplates that in fact killed the sound a bit.

I removed them and also made a better fitting bridgebone.

The result was a much deeper and richer sound of

the lower strings and a very pleasant brightness of

the higher strings.

A nice shot of the sides and the great playing action.

The Contreras guitars are known for their comfortable

ease of playing. This one is no exception. As for the

sound it is typical Contreras and as saxophone players

often do but guitarplayers hardly ever: Play your

instrument pointed towards a wall about 1 meter away. 

The sound will be reflected and you are able to hear

and experience the guitar the way a listener does.

Epiphone "ES 230 TD" Casino (More photo's - more details)

Being the model John Lennon used to play and later on Noel

Gallagher this particular model remains popular among collectors.

It should be all original. This one came to me in a bad condition.

There were deep carvings in the neck and back. At that time it
seems to be cool behaviour to treat your guitar this way and
having placed DiMarzio's on it! On this guitar they did some 
work on the cavity for the bridge pick up but it is not visible
at the outside at this moment

Though not original I refinished both neck and back.

This instrument now has the old ease of playing again.

Due to the scratches and carvings the neck didn't

had a nice feeling anymore and I figured it

had to be playable in the first place! The back of
the body has been provided with some layers of
clear lacquer so no staining process.

As this guitar has been put up for sale I will describe it as 

securely as possible. The back of the head with its' original

tuners. As for the screws: I don't know....

As I stated earlier the neck has been refinished and also the

stain had to be removed so this spot might be interesting to

potential buyers. For collectors it all comes about originality.

And another shot of this neck / body construction. Be aware!

This is the original neck and NOT a replacement. The number

on the back of the head is a match with the sticker inside.

This is a real player and if someone is planning to make 

it "road worn" - It looks a bit like a pity to me!

The back really wasn't that bad and then 

the original staining process still is there.

Another possible issue could be the neck / body angle

which can result in a too low bridge placement. To my

opinion in fact too high in order to have the magnetic

poles right under the strings so I placed a plastic ring

underneath the metal caps of the pick ups in order to

get a stronger signal.

The angle is a good one as this picture proves.

And here the neck pick up and the distance to the strings.

I haven't played this guitar that much though I know

that about the lowest 5 to 7 frets have been replaced.

The neck bindings however are intact! Width of the

nut: 41 mm what in fact makes it too narrow for 

me as a mainly classical guitar player. Never any 

damage there as a repaired neck is not uncommon.

The front of the head that has been refinished 

as well. Original truss rod cover and topnut.

It might be another issue: I'm not sure wether if all 

knobs are out of 1967. The switch is from 1967 as are 

the capacitors and pots. A lot of these guitars lost their

scratchplate and the prefix on it: "E". It is all still

there on this example.

This guitar came with a frequensator tailpiece in fact not 

uncommon on these type of guitars. In order to have less

tension in the higher strings once tuned, a player could

change the two parts. Original bridge and pick-up  caps.

This old lady aged gracefully so some traces in 

the lacquer are inevitable. It "crazed" a bit.

  

Therefore another spot that shows this effect.

The original blue label and the number of this guitar.

At that time the Kalamazoo workforce was responsible

for these guitars. Original model nr. E230TD. This

number corresponds with that printed on the back

of the head.