Guitarra de Golpe / 5 string tenor Project

[MdJ]

Just got this one back from my local luthier, Patrick McGrath. It's a Guitarra de Golpe that i bought online from a dealer in Paracho, Mexico. It is played in variety of traditional tunings in mariachi bands including DGBEA. I purchased it with the intention to set it up for FCGDA. 23" scale - 11 frets to the 4-3/4" (!) deep body- it sports a Solid cedar top, solid rosewood back and sides. My wife plays the Paraguayan harp and my steel strung tenors are just too piercing tonally to be appropriate for accompanying her.

It arrived with a flat fingerboard and frets with ends that would draw blood from a rhino. Patrick pulled the frets, put a nice radius on the fretboard, refretted the beast, and devised a clever little floating bridge/saddle that sits in front of the trad mariachi style tie bridge which works nicely with the newly radiused fretboard. It intonates just about spot on ..... much to patricks, and my surprise.

Anyway it just got strung up in FCGDA for the first time today and the damn thing sounds like a house-on-fire.

Now that i know that i really have something ..... i'm gonna have Patrick slim the chunky neck a bit from the back.





Keep it moist

MdJ

[E. Z. Marc]

Hard to judge the size, but it looks like a vihuela.
Perhaps the Guitarra de Golpe is the missing link between the vihuela and the requinto.

[DavidKOS]

Hard to judge the size, but it looks like a vihuela.
Perhaps the Guitarra de Golpe is the missing link between the vihuela and the requinto.

Maybe.

Usually the vihuela has a very vaulted back, not a flat back, and only a handful of tied-on frets.

[MdJ]

You are correct i believe



Note that the guitarra de golpe has a smaller body than the standard guitar, but it is deeper. Note also that the back is flat, as opposed to the arched back of the vihuela. Also, compare the shape of the guitarra de golpe peghead to that of the traditional vihuela peghead with clavijas. The vihuela in this photograph was made in 1981 by Roberto Morales of Guadalajara. Most vihuelas nowadays use geared tuners such as are found on classical guitars

More info here...

http://www.jaliscoharp.com/golpe.html

[MdJ]

Hope this works - my first audio link....

Here is short instrumental audio clip of the intro and first verse of Pancho and Lefty.

The bass response on this instrument is pretty amazing ... the low 'F' string and that deep body are quite well calibrated i believe.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...int=file%2cwav

Please let me know if this link won't play..

Moistly,

MdJ

[fox]

Love it! really interesting sound