Flamenco Guitar
© Frank Ford, 9/7/99; Photos by FF
Here's Tom, playing a flamenco guitar:
It's a twelve-fret guitar similar to a classical guitar and it has similar nylon strings.
The main difference is the choice of wood for the back and sides:
In order to emphasize the percussive and bright sounds which are part of Spain's fabulous flamenco dance music, the back and sides are of a light colored and light density wood, usually Spanish cypress.
Flamenco players usually want low action for fast playing, and actually prefer a little string "snap" or "buzz" which adds to the percussive dance rhythms.
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