Flamenco Guitar
Cyprus Sides and Back with Spruce Top
Cyprus Sides and Back with Spruce Top
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Avinaash Munohur, owner of the 2004 Tom Blackshear “Reyes”
"I have been lucky enough to play and own a lot of guitars in my 15 or so years of playing flamenco (and many more if you consider that I come, like
many non-Spanish players, from the electric guitar world). From the average factory guitar to the most refined hand-made masterpieces, I have been lucky to pretty much see it all. I am by no means a very good guitarist but I have always been obsessed with guitars. This obsession has caused me to gather as much knowledge as I could about them, meet and talk to as many builders as I could, and actively seek special instruments.
Throughout this quest, I have come to understand and learn what guitars work best for me as a player. This has taken a lot of trial and error, but the journey has been a very fulfilling one, filled with very special encounters.
One of the precious lessons I have learned is that a good builder will not only build an instrument that makes you want to play all the time, but will also tune a guitar to have a unique voice, a voice that might speak to you in a very deep way. As such, finding the right guitar really is like an encounter.
The effective aspect cannot be understated, and can never be reduced to pure ergonomics. This is, I think, what makes a guitar special: it is something more than just a good build or a comfortable instrument to play. A great flamenco guitar will have a voice that will deeply connect with the way that you hear flamenco as a player, and as such will translate the sound that you hear in your head into actual music.
Tom’s take on the fabled Reyes flamenco guitar has been such an encounter for me. To put it simply, Tom Blackshear has managed to get everything just right, from the pulsation, the bounce of the strings (what the Spaniards call “rebotar”), to the dynamic range and the very unique voice.
Some people say that the sound of a Reyes is very rich, complex and filled with overtones. I would tend to agree with that description and there’s no denying that Tom has definitely nailed that voice. It’s spot on! And from what I understand, there’s a fair bit of « fine-tuning » involved on the top in order to highlight some frequencies and buffer others.
This is done by what Tom calls fan brace polishing with very fine sand paper on some areas of the top after the guitar is completely built. This is to help the braces communicate with a synergistic quality to create total harmony. The process is more akin to an art form than an accurate science, so the experience of the builder plays a huge part in getting it right.
In conclusion, I would say that my 2004 Blackshear does not sound exactly like the 1982 Reyes that left such a big impression on me years ago. The Blackshear sounds a little warmer and is less aggressive, whilst still producing a very loud flamenco bark. As such, it is closer to the Reyes flamenco guitars from the later years, which would make sense, as it was inspired from a 2003 Reyes.
But I would say that Tom has definitely captured the essence of what makes a Reyes guitar so special, and he has managed to reproduce it with unparalleled fine-tuning skills, as my guitar has that special DNA all over it. It is no easy feat to analyze and comprehend different elements of a design and then manage to reproduce and assemble them together to produce the same effects. And it is a great testimony to Tom’s skills, as a master builder, that he has gotten everything so spot on."
"I have been lucky enough to play and own a lot of guitars in my 15 or so years of playing flamenco (and many more if you consider that I come, like
many non-Spanish players, from the electric guitar world). From the average factory guitar to the most refined hand-made masterpieces, I have been lucky to pretty much see it all. I am by no means a very good guitarist but I have always been obsessed with guitars. This obsession has caused me to gather as much knowledge as I could about them, meet and talk to as many builders as I could, and actively seek special instruments.
Throughout this quest, I have come to understand and learn what guitars work best for me as a player. This has taken a lot of trial and error, but the journey has been a very fulfilling one, filled with very special encounters.
One of the precious lessons I have learned is that a good builder will not only build an instrument that makes you want to play all the time, but will also tune a guitar to have a unique voice, a voice that might speak to you in a very deep way. As such, finding the right guitar really is like an encounter.
The effective aspect cannot be understated, and can never be reduced to pure ergonomics. This is, I think, what makes a guitar special: it is something more than just a good build or a comfortable instrument to play. A great flamenco guitar will have a voice that will deeply connect with the way that you hear flamenco as a player, and as such will translate the sound that you hear in your head into actual music.
Tom’s take on the fabled Reyes flamenco guitar has been such an encounter for me. To put it simply, Tom Blackshear has managed to get everything just right, from the pulsation, the bounce of the strings (what the Spaniards call “rebotar”), to the dynamic range and the very unique voice.
Some people say that the sound of a Reyes is very rich, complex and filled with overtones. I would tend to agree with that description and there’s no denying that Tom has definitely nailed that voice. It’s spot on! And from what I understand, there’s a fair bit of « fine-tuning » involved on the top in order to highlight some frequencies and buffer others.
This is done by what Tom calls fan brace polishing with very fine sand paper on some areas of the top after the guitar is completely built. This is to help the braces communicate with a synergistic quality to create total harmony. The process is more akin to an art form than an accurate science, so the experience of the builder plays a huge part in getting it right.
In conclusion, I would say that my 2004 Blackshear does not sound exactly like the 1982 Reyes that left such a big impression on me years ago. The Blackshear sounds a little warmer and is less aggressive, whilst still producing a very loud flamenco bark. As such, it is closer to the Reyes flamenco guitars from the later years, which would make sense, as it was inspired from a 2003 Reyes.
But I would say that Tom has definitely captured the essence of what makes a Reyes guitar so special, and he has managed to reproduce it with unparalleled fine-tuning skills, as my guitar has that special DNA all over it. It is no easy feat to analyze and comprehend different elements of a design and then manage to reproduce and assemble them together to produce the same effects. And it is a great testimony to Tom’s skills, as a master builder, that he has gotten everything so spot on."
Tom Blackshear has built flamenco and classical guitars for over 55 years
in the Spanish tradition.
Through the study of the master builders, he developed a technique of fine-tuning the voice of the guitar. Notable Spanish guitar builders acknowledge his ability to recreate the sound and tonal projection of the old masters.
"There are numerous ways to build guitars and adjust sound, but my methods have been judged with proven results for the past 30 years. These techniques are hardly new as some of them were taken from the old masters and experimented with to add a more modern concept to strengthen the guitar’s resolve. This, along with some of the more modern patterns, has helped lift the traditional guitar to its highest level in modern building practice. The goal is to consistently bring each instrument to its premier voice level, on the bench, before age takes over and improves the guitar to its maximum level of quality and performance.
My guitars are built and finished using the 5 physical senses. Scientific methods of tonal production cannot replace these human reactions. Even though science can identify quality by recording what has been achieved by the human touch, it cannot create a human voice alone. I believe, along with a physical response, there must be an innate understanding how the woods interact with shape and design in order to create a magnificent instrument.
Can science assist the human touch? Absolutely, but it can’t create a quality voice without human technique, and nuance."
"There are numerous ways to build guitars and adjust sound, but my methods have been judged with proven results for the past 30 years. These techniques are hardly new as some of them were taken from the old masters and experimented with to add a more modern concept to strengthen the guitar’s resolve. This, along with some of the more modern patterns, has helped lift the traditional guitar to its highest level in modern building practice. The goal is to consistently bring each instrument to its premier voice level, on the bench, before age takes over and improves the guitar to its maximum level of quality and performance.
My guitars are built and finished using the 5 physical senses. Scientific methods of tonal production cannot replace these human reactions. Even though science can identify quality by recording what has been achieved by the human touch, it cannot create a human voice alone. I believe, along with a physical response, there must be an innate understanding how the woods interact with shape and design in order to create a magnificent instrument.
Can science assist the human touch? Absolutely, but it can’t create a quality voice without human technique, and nuance."
NEW GUITAR UNDER CONSTRUCTION
MAY 2017
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MAY 2017
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Tom Blackshear Guitar Builder
Contact: (210) 494 1141 Email: tguitars@texas.net
San Antonio Texas
Welcome to the Web page of Tom Blackshear Guitar Builder
San Antonio Texas
Welcome to the Web page of Tom Blackshear Guitar Builder
