Stunning Brazilian Rosewood Classical Guitar Unveiled!

This week's student built a double top classical guitar. This is just not any double top guitar. We incorporated carbon fiber over and under each brace and used a radial bracing design. This type of construction adds about 4 days to my typical 6 day class, or the normal 6 days if I prepare the top beforehand. This week's student was up for the challenge and so we made it happen! He brought the most stunning set of Brazilian rosewood to use for the back and sides. For those that follow Trevor Gore and his teachings, we had a box resonance of 100hz and a top resonance of 192hz. The back was a solid 230hz, which would be right on the edge of the 40hz separation for a live back that Trevor talks about in his Guitar Design and Build books. Let's just say that the guitar was a home run! Jon has already built two other guitars with me and said that this guitar "blows away" his very expensive concert classical guitar he had commissioned with a very famous builder. Check out the video below to see and hear more of this guitar.

What is a double top guitar? It is a soundboard built with an outer wood veneer that has been hollowed out and then Nomex honeycomb material glued in the cavity. A thin veneer is then glued to the inside leaving the Nomex sandwiched between the inner and outer cores. This allows the mass of the soundboard to be reduced significantly. This type construction was invented by German luthier, Gernot Wagner. He personally taught me how to do double top soundboards at his shop in Frankfurt, Germany using his techniques developed over 30 years. We produced an online course about double top construction and it is available at the Lutherie Academy
If you are curious about the advantages a double top soundboard can add to your classical guitars but do not want the hassle of making the top, I can do it for you. All you would have to do is add the braces and put it on your guitar. Contact me if interested. If you would like to come and build a double top guitar with me in my shop, contact me for available dates. My 2026 teaching schedule is already half filled.

If you are interested in learning to build guitars or just want
to see how I build my guitars then schedule a class with me.
If you are in need of a concert quality classical or steel string
guitar then let me know as I would love to build a guitar for you.

Thank you,