"Aesthetics of Tone" - Fine Classical Guitars by Tobias Berg

» Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves
are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others. «

- "The Book of Tea" by Okakura Kakuzo

My guitars are built in the Spanish tradition. This means that the neck is an integral part of the body. When looking through the soundhole you can see the typical Spanish "foot". I believe this system to be superior to gluing or bolting the neck to the body.

Soundboard, Back and Sides

I use either European Spruce or Western Red Cedar for the soundboards. Here one can not say that one is truly better than the other. It is a matter of personal preference and taste. I find it stimulating that there are alternatives to choose from, it makes our lives richer. You have to try both to find out what is right for you.

For the back and sides I usually select well quartered and aged East Indian Rosewood. However, if you are looking for a lighter instrument, both in weight and colour, I would urge you to try out maple. Either flamed or with birds-eye figure, it can be very appealing both musically as well as visually. Maple is a traditional choice for musical instruments, just think of all of the violin family instruments. They have been made of spruce and maple for centuries.

Neck Construction

The neck is made of South American Cedar. Being light-weight, stable and strong it is the traditional choice for fine classical guitars. Due to the string tension I reinforce my necks, gluing in a piece of hardwood in a recessed channel under the fingerboard. This is done to ensure that the neck will stay straight under tension, making set-up easier and more predictable.

Finish

I finish all of my instruments with Shellac, giving them a full French polish. In my opinion it's the finish most suited for really fine instruments for the following reasons:

Shellac is so thin when correctly applied that it has no negative "dampening" effect on the soundboard.
It's been used on instruments and fine furniture for hundreds of years, being the only finish where we have any proof of longevity. This cannot be said for a finish like nitro-cellulose lacquer, which starts to chip, crack and degrade after only a few decades. As to more recent developments like Polyurethane lacquer nobody really knows what will happen to otherwise finely crafted instruments in the years to come.
The solvent being used with shellac, (99% Alcohol), is the least toxic solvent to the environment or myself during application as opposed to other lacquer solvents. Shellac in itself is also being used in the food and pharmacy industry to coat time dissolving capsules, candy like M&M's, apples, or fruit.
The beauty of shellac is it's warm hue, and a transparency that enhances the natural look and beauty of the wood in an unobtrusive way opposed to modern lacquers. They, on the other hand mostly give me the feeling of being "plastic poured over wood".
With time the guitar will get signs of wear (hopefully). On the other hand, this reminds me of a valuable piece of old china, it ages with dignity. One has to care for it properly but it has much more character - think of drinking out of a plastic tea-cup.

Scale Length and nut width

650 mm is standard, but other scale lengths are available upon request. Most customers are used to the standards of either 52 or 54 mm nut width. If you would prefer something different, let me know and I will make corrections accordingly.


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