I've gone a bit GASy over the last year, and have fallen in love with the tone of London-based Nick Branwell's guitars. His usual 00 "Estuary" is based on the Torres 1864 shape, which is 13.9 inches lower bout, but in a 14 fret configuration. I've asked him to build one based on the 1888 Torres, slightly larger (14.2 inches) but still smaller than a standard classical. I'm currently borrowing an Estuary model in Engelmann/Wenge that has a really big, meaty, chunky sound.
The new build is "Coyote" wood (one of the
Platymiscium species like macacauba aka hormigo aka grenadillo), which we obtained from Timberline here in the UK. It has the most wonderfully satisfying and lively tap tone, and the density is similar to Braz. John Arnold has said on many occasions that this wood is one of his favourites. The top is Italian spruce from the 1980s which has a fair bit of coloration, and you can see how it has aged. We spent a happy afternoon tapping various tops, and this one just had an extra dimension to the tone, an intoxicating dry ring.
