Classical Guitar Features
The Indian rosewood on a standard instrument will be quarter sawn, dark, rich and striped. Only the finest grade of Indian rosewood is used in the shop. Also, all soundboards are master grade quality for all the types of soundboards offered.
All my rosettes feature a natural wood center ring. This wood is typically highly figured burls, spalted, or crotch wood. Most clients typically leave the selection of the scheme and motif up to me, but if you have a favorite I will be glad to accommodate as long as the wood is available.
There are two styles of Sloane tuners used, the bronze leaf and the stippled bronze. Both are high quality mechanically, the only difference being the baseplate. The bronze leaf is darker in color with a handsome antique patina and the leaf pattern is etched in the metal. The stippled bronze tuners have a regular pattern cut into the baseplate and have a higher shine. Both tuners have bronze alloy 16:1 toothed gears, are very smooth adjusting and durable. There are three types of knobs available, Ivoriod, Pearloid, and ebony. The rollers can be either black or white except with ebony knobs in which case only black is offered. Alessi tuners can be ordered but will incur additional cost.
Below is a list of standard features that come with every guitar. These features are included in the price of the instrument. Substitutions or changes may require an additional fee.
Standard features
- Indian rosewood back and sides
- master grade European or Engelmann spruce, western red cedar
- Rosette with natural burl or spalted center ring
- Ebony fingerboard with 20th fret
- Subtle 7th fret indicator .040" dia.
- Sloane bronze leaf or stippled tuning machines
- Arched top hard shell case
The 7th fret indicator (pictured above right) is a .040" diameter piece of galvanized wire. The small size makes this a very subtle marking, yet the silver color makes it easy to see even in harsh lighting conditions. Even after 40 years of playing I would be lost without this invaluable aid. And all guitars come with a 20th fret.
Classical Guitar Specs
You can build your own guitar to your exact specifications. Below is list of standard dimensions to which my guitars are built if the end user is unknown at the time of construction, as is the case when building a guitar for a dealer. These dimensions will suit most people, but there are exceptions.
Standard Dimensions
- neck width at nut - 53mm
- neck width at 12th fret - 63mm
- neck depth at 1st fret - 22mm
- neck depth at 9th fret - 24mm
- string spacing at nut - 43mm total, 8.6mm per string
- string spacing at saddle - 60mm
- scale lengths availavble - 650, 656, and 640mm
If you are not sure what you are comfortable with as far as dimensions go, I encourage you to go out and try some instruments and see what feels good. You can ask about the dimensions in question or measure yourself. If you require a guitar with dimensions different than those of the standard guitar described below, it may require a larger deposit to secure an instrument.
Three scale lengths are offered, 640, 650, and 656mm. These scale lengths will accommodate a wide range of players. Typically, dimensions which are often customized are the width of the neck at the 1st and 12th frets, and string spacing.
The thickness of the neck is a critical dimension. Making the neck thinner than the standard (depth) dimension is not recommended due to risk of hand injuries. If you have experienced pain in the back of your hand from playing the guitar chances are your neck is too thin. This is something learned from personal experience.
All Bogdanovich classical guitarsare built with 5mm of space between the outer strings and the edge of the neck.
