Spanish Guitar, amplified Keller JK-80

HANDMADE IN BODY AND SOUL

Today I'm holding in my hands a classic luxury guitar, handmade, of special selected woods, and a good craftsmanship, which results in a spanish guitar of international category.
The JK-80 from the well known house of "Keller", which is manufacturing very good guitars for many years.

The history says...

There has been written a lot about the origins of the classic guitar, but there is no clear document about it. What exists, are old records and plans of string instruments like the lute, the vihuela, the mora guitar etc.
These instruments were direct ancestors of the guitar we know today. What history confirms is, that the evolution took place in Spain. One of the persons who worked a lot in that, was Fernando Sor, born 1778 in Barcelona.
He dedicated himself with body and soul to playing the guitar, after having studied: cello, violin, composition and harmony. His development of the technique and virtuosity brought up a concept for teaching and established new standards which were very modern for this time (1795).
Many of his compositions are considered essential in the repertory of the contemporary classic guitarists. Sor left a very good and extensive documentation about his style and his technique, today a real classic. Being able to travel all over Europe, Sor got to know two very famous "luthiers": in Paris Rene Francois Lacote and in London Lovis Panormo. The two of them were amazed by the sound and the construction of his works, and as a sign of prestige, Panormo put a label on his guitars saying: "Only manufacturer of guitars of spanish style".
They must have been pretty impressed by the spanish guitars of these times. Certainly, the ones which were manufactured in other european countries had their proper characteristics and esthetic of each region, but in quality of the sound and solidness, the spanish guitars were absolutely superior.

Torres and his concepts

The man who really established the parameters of the classic guitar like the one I hold in hands today, was Antonio Torres, born 1817 in Almeria. He was without a doubt the one who deserves the honor to be announced the father of the classic guitar.
Torres learned the principals of construction in the workshop of José Pernas in Granada, where he decided to improve this instrument, establishing various concepts which would be used forever.
In 1850 his guitars have been refined to the maximum, experimenting with new ideas as: the enlargement of the body, the surface of the top and back and also the depth, changing it from the original 5 or 6 cm to the 10 or 11 cm used today, getting more bass and volume. He also rounded the curves, reduced the thickness of the wood used in the top, sides and back, permitting a better response to the vibration.
He increased the length of the scale to 65 cm and studied a lot about the chemistry of the varnishes. He took the improvement of the guitar very seriously and he was so successful at it, that we can say without a doubt, that the classic guitar is a spanish invention.

Let's see this neck

The neck of the JK-80 is made of cedar, a classic wood for this function. The neck has got a central nerve of carbon fiber and cedar, with the grain to the reverse direction, to get more consistence. Between these two longitudinal pieces of the cedar is placed a very fine laminate of carbon fiber which is an technical improvement, not just for aesthetics.
The central nerve of cedar has a triangular form and it's width at it's part near to the body is 1 cm and at the head 1mm. The neck has got classic measurements of width. At the nut it's 5,2 cm and at the 12th fret 6,3cm, the radius of it's curve is normal, which assures a comfortable performance.
The fingerboard is of ebony with 7 mm of thickness, perfectly polished and very good finished, it shows a dense and dark grain and certainly gives the neck an important amount of rigidity. The setting of the frets is perfect, with a very good polished profile of the frets, and very comfortable to play.
One has to keep in mind that one of the most important parts of the instrument is the neck, and if it's not properly balanced and comfortable, it can destroy an instrument. The head, in a classic style, has got a gold plated machinehead with the buttons of mother of pearl. The tuning pegs are functioning smooth, firm and safe. There is a very personal detail in the head; the letter "K" laid in with maple, a light wood. We find more inlays on the back of the head, another "K", this time of rosewood.
Another detail in his favor is the decision to make the nut of bone, this material is the most appropriate for his job because of it's characteristics.

This fine body

The body of the JK-80 conserves the classic measurements and is made luxurious in finish, polishing and the woods. For the handmade sides and backs of "The Keller" they used rosewood, an excellent wood of high quality with a very nice grain and with perfect characteristics for the sound.
The rosewood and also the jacaranda are the ideal woods to make sides and backs. They are dark woods o big density with a beautiful grain and work very good as acoustic body. They've got the inconvenience to be very hard and it's difficult to cut, brush and bend them. But the final result is worth all the trouble. Just by looking into the soundhole of the guitar, we see how much trouble they took to finish the inside; all the unions of the back are reinforced with pieces of cedarwood, perfectly polished to the smallest detail.
One also have to see how they finished the block which gathers the neck with the body: inside the body it's rounded and sanded, one notices that they dedicated a lot of time and love to it. Another detail to point out in the fine construction of the instrument is it's varnish inside the body. Very few instruments get to be varnished inside.
All the inlays which gather sides and backs are made of clear-dark laminated woods, ending in an outside inlay of rosewood, obtaining with that a very elegant "Look". The top is of pinewood, also of the best quality, worked with precision to the smallest detail. As you might know, pinewood is for it's characteristics the best wood for this function, it gives us a very good and warm soundprojection. The bridge is also made of rosewood, perfectly balanced and set, with a decoration in white and black. The rose which decorates the soundhole is made with a lot of love and the patience of an elephant because this type of complicated inlays need their time.
Another aesthetic detail which also needs its time and a good portion of patience is the inlay which gathers the top and the sides. It has a round form with a contrast in clear and black which stands out very nicely. Finally, the whole instrument is made to the detail and one notices that they took it very seriously. If not, it's not possible to obtain such perfection.
From my workshop y felicitate the workers of "Keller". One notices, if a collegue is working well. The search of harmony through an privileged expression.

This sound

The sound of the JK-80 is warm, deep and very sweet, obviously, the use of good materials, the top and a solid and studied construction give her a very good body.
Because it's a totally classic guitar, they didn't include a amplifying system. That would have been nice, as the house of "Keller" normally mounts in it's spanish guitars a transducer and pre-amp of Fishman, which work perfectly. On the other hand it's understandable that they didn't install it in this model, because it's a classic guitar for a sector which doesn't agree to the amplification of this type and prefers the pure sound of the instrument.
And I can understand that perfectly. It's wonderful to listen to her! Finally, congratulations for an instrument so well made.