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This old classical guitar I fixed up


raggety

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Posted

well done - in awe of techies.
:love:

 

:D

 

I'm no techie, this is my first attempt and apart from a huge bodge I made, it luckily went ok.

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Posted

The bridge looks kind of like walnut to me, looking at some of the larger grain, but I could be very wrong.

 

Nice job on the guitar. I was going to buy a junker classical from Elderly for $35, but I kept hesitating because it had a solid pine top, and that just worried me. I didn't think that plain 'ole pine had any tonal value to it. Now I'm wishing I would have purchased that guitar.

 

Oh well, live and learn.

 

Dan

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Posted

 

The bridge looks kind of like walnut to me, looking at some of the larger grain, but I could be very wrong.


Nice job on the guitar. I was going to buy a junker classical from Elderly for $35, but I kept hesitating because it had a solid pine top, and that just worried me. I didn't think that plain 'ole pine had any tonal value to it. Now I'm wishing I would have purchased that guitar.


Oh well, live and learn.


Dan

 

 

It looks like walnut to me, too. Never heard of walnut being used for bridges or fretboards, but why not? It's not American black walnut, though - some other variety.

 

On that classical with the pine top - according to Yamaha's website, my vintage G-120 has a pine top, too - and my first reaction was "Say what!?" But it does look like pine, and the many finger marks on it would indicate a softer wood than cedar or spruce.

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Posted

 

It looks like walnut to me, too. Never heard of walnut being used for bridges or fretboards, but why not? It's not American black walnut, though - some other variety.


On that classical with the pine top - according to Yamaha's website, my vintage G-120 has a pine top, too - and my first reaction was
"Say what!?"
But it does
look
like pine, and the many finger marks on it would indicate a softer wood than cedar or spruce.

 

 

Inside the guitar it says made in Spain, so it may be some spanish walnut?

 

the top is quite marked in places, even where the person in the shop had written on a sticker ''

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Posted

It looks almost identical to my old classical guitar (which is c.1969). Is the rosette inlayed or painted on? And any chance you could send me a higher resolution photo?

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The top looks to be spruce. If you could post a close up of the fretboard it could be easier to identify the wood. The fretboard is less likely to be finished and will be flat without distorting the grain as a rounded bridge would. It is the rule of thumb to make the fretboard and bridge from the same wood. There have been exceptions.

 

Nice looking guitar. It does make one feel good to bring one back to life.

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Posted

It looks almost identical to my old classical guitar (which is c.1969). Is the rosette inlayed or painted on? And any chance you could send me a higher resolution photo?

 

the rosette is inlayed. sadly i'm limited by the size of pic i can post and my camera is a bit old too.

 

it would be good if the guitar was that old, it would be nearly the same age as me then! ;):cool:

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Posted

 

The top looks to be spruce. If you could post a close up of the fretboard it could be easier to identify the wood. The fretboard is less likely to be finished and will be flat without distorting the grain as a rounded bridge would. It is the rule of thumb to make the fretboard and bridge from the same wood. There have been exceptions.


Nice looking guitar. It does make one feel good to bring one back to life.

 

 

this pic any good?

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Posted

^ That is deffinatly rosewood (fretbord).

 

The saddle looks like walnut, but its more likely to be mahogany or even rosewood (they go that sort of colour when they dry out).

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Posted

Looks to me like the fingerboard is rosewood and the bridge does look to be some type of walnut. The soundboard looks suspiciously like the spruce top on my Yamaha FG411S.

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Looks like you took some time with it. Nice detailing. Also noticed it's rigged for a south paw. Never seen that on a classical before.

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Posted

I think the reason I keep buying the old Yamaha Dynamics is not because I need em.....it`s beccause I really love cleaning them up...some appear to have not been cleaned in the 40+ years they`ve existed... and bringing them back to life. Fun isn`t it?

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Posted

this pic any good?

 

This fretboard is rosewood. If you think the bridge is the same wood as the fretboard I'd say it was rosewood too. The color doesn't look to match on the bridge but that could just be the photo glare or finish. You'd be the best to know if they are the same or not.

 

Is it all solid wood? I've heard that Espana made pretty decent guitars in that period.

 

It has some of you in it now and you'll always feel the love.:wave:

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Posted

the rosette is inlayed. sadly i'm limited by the size of pic i can post and my camera is a bit old too.


it would be good if the guitar was that old, it would be nearly the same age as me then!
;):cool:

 

Yes, that inlay is identical to mine so it is the same make. It was my first guitar, bought in 1969 (cost

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Posted

 

It looks like walnut to me, too. Never heard of walnut being used for bridges or fretboards, but why not? . . .

 

Godin used to use walnut on their Art & Lutherie models. They've since switched to rosewood.

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Posted

Thanks for the info:thu:


i had kind of planned to use this guitar as a beater,take it to friends houses, camping and so on, but the more i find out about its age, etc, the more I end up thinking i will treat it well
:)

yeah this one has a good few scrapes on it too, but its got a good sound, so why did someone take off the nut, cover it in varnish and then use sandpaper in places...then dump it off in a charity shop?
:confused::(

 

Recently I was at a conference held at a resort and at the pool-side lounge area sat a guy with a Taylor 110 all decked out with travel stickers from different countries. Of course, it didn't hurt the sound at all but I kind of cringed looking at it.

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Posted

Thanks for the info:thu:


i had kind of planned to use this guitar as a beater,take it to friends houses, camping and so on, but the more i find out about its age, etc, the more I end up thinking i will treat it well
:)

yeah this one has a good few scrapes on it too, but its got a good sound, so why did someone take off the nut, cover it in varnish and then use sandpaper in places...then dump it off in a charity shop?
:confused::(

 

OK, you're welcome. I checked the bridge and it is rosewood, same as fretboard but varnished. Here are some photos of my guitar:-

 

24904333161.jpg

 

24904333160.jpg

 

24904333251.jpg

 

24904333249.jpg

 

It's all original. Only work done on it has been a sanding of the top several years ago to remove some of the scratches and, about 3 years ago, I fitted an internal beercap type transducer with a strapbutton jack socket (although I don't use a strap).

 

Good luck with yours.

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Posted

yeah this one has a good few scrapes on it too, but its got a good sound, so why did someone take off the nut, cover it in varnish and then use sandpaper in places...then dump it off in a charity shop?
:confused::(

 

Who knows? I suppose some people just do not value things.

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