Our new arrivals are the auditorium and orchestra models, the largest of the small guitars, built for clarity and percussion.
The auditorium sized guitar has tremendous volume, yet retains much of the tone and clarity of its smaller siblings the concert and grand concert. The orchestra model was originally developed about 1930 for newly out-of-work banjo accompanists suffering from the American public’s changing tastes; it is really a bigger sister to the tenor guitar. The orchestra was intended for use in noisy brass ensembles, so punch was paramount.
Orchestra and auditorium guitars actually have the same body size and thus offer similar playing positions and comfort factors. In large part, what makes them sound different is their scale length; the auditorium uses a 24.9” scale length, and the orchestra is a little longer at 25.4”. This, of course, means they feel different to play, because the longer scale length requires more string tension to be tuned to pitch. More tension means slightly more punch, but trades off just a tiny bit of the buttery sound and feel of the auditorium.
Read more about the origins of the orchestra model in this article by Eric Schoenberg and Robert Green.
Please contact me to get your new auditorium or orchestra model started.
This is a wonderfully balanced guitar with great string and note separation. The palo escrito sides and back glow under the French polished finish. In addition, I’ve added a sound port for the player, solving one of my biggest complaints with rosewood guitars: the player can’t gauge the guitar’s sound accurately, especially in loud or large rooms. You’ll know what you’re doing right (and occasionally wrong, maybe) with this guitar. \
Continue reading “Palo Escrito Orchestra” →
This is a huge-sounding guitar with a very forward, focused sound. The maple reinforces the trebles, producing the thick mids and trebles that work beautifully for melodic flat- or finger-picking. In addition, I’ve added a sound port for the player which provides a high-resolution picture of what your playing sounds like. (I can’t wait to try out the sound port in a loud, PA-monitor-less dance situation. Maybe I’ll finally be able to tune!)
Continue reading “Red Maple Orchestra” →
Measuring 15″ across the lower bout, this guitar is the largest guitar I’ve built to date, and it sounds even bigger than it is. It features a narrower nut (1-11/16″) and correspondingly narrower string spacing at the saddle (2-1/8″). I finished it with a French polish/varnish/French polish sandwich, and the cherry looks incredible. The Adirondack spruce and cherry for this instrument came from Old Standard in Callaway County, Missouri.
Continue reading “Orchestra Prototype” →
Orchestra and auditorium guitars actually have the same body size and thus offer similar playing positions and comfort factors. In large part, what makes them sound different is their scale length; the auditorium uses a 24.9” scale length, and the orchestra is a little longer at 25.4”. This, of course, means they feel different to play, because the longer scale length requires more string tension to be tuned to pitch. More tension means slightly more punch, but trades off just a tiny bit of the buttery sound and feel of the auditorium.
