Flamenco Guitar Shop: Valeriano Bernal, Hermanos Conde (Esteso) and Jose Ramirez

Rafael : No, he has retired. I am now making the guitars with the help of my nephews and sister Chari.

Rafael : My guitars are not reinforced with a metal rod inside the neck because we use high quality and well seasoned Cedar. We have a quality control on all the Cedar we use to build the necks:if the wood is not good we do not use it. The proof is that we have not had one single complain with guitar necks failing to hold the tension of the strings since 1997.

Ramon: Is it natural that the neck of a guitars bends after 10 or more years?

Rafael :I have seen guitars that are over 50 years old and the neck is still in perfect conditions. As i said , if you select good wood it is rare to ever have problems. The reason guitar makers use metal rods inside the neck is because they buy the necks already cut to size and they haven't got quality control on the selection of the wood. Mass production guitars leads to lower quality control.

Rafael: Most of my wood is bought from specific dealers that select wood for musical instrument. I then season the wood here. The wood i use has been seasoned for at least 10 year.
The good thing about seasoning wood here in the sierra is that there are big changes in temperature and humidity. We have very hot summers and cold winters. Temperature changes are good for wood and makes it more stable.

Rafael: The Cypress comes from Spain, all the rest from abroad. Germany, North Italy, etc. Wood for guitars can only be bought from dealers that use wood specifically for instruments. The wood used for instruments is light and not dense. Usually this sort of wood is not good for furniture.

Rafael: I like Spruce because it ages better and it looks better .
I make Cider top guitars because there is a demand for them. Funnily enough there wasn't a demand for them until the eighties. Before then, guitars where only made out of Spruce.

Ramon: Why do flamenco guitars have a distinct smell?

Rafael: Even after decades a handmade flamenco guitars never loose their smell of Rosewood and Cypress. If a guitar hasn't got an intense smell of wood that means they were made with synthetic fast drying glues. That is not good for the sound of the guitar. You need slow setting glues to increase the quality of sound.

Ramon: What lenght of neck do you use:

Rafael: I normally like to use guitars that are 65cm long from bone to bone. I occasionally make them also 66cm long. It is a delicate compromise between tension and comfort. Flamenco guitarist like their guitars to sound bright, with an instant attack on the note, comfortable and that don't rattle(Chasquear) too much.
A little bit of rattling sound is necessary for the flamenco sound. You will never find a guitar with a comfortable neck that doesn't rattle a little!. It is hard to guess the sound flamenco guitarists like because there are so many different ways of playing flamenco: some people have a heavy hand so they need high tension and bright sounds, others have a light touch and need softer tension and rounder sounds. Since the constant use of microphones the sound requirements of flamenco guitars have changed.