Ariel Ameijenda’s New Guitar for GSI Features a Cedar Top from Daniel Friederich
Uruguayan luthier, Ariel Ameijenda, is currently working on a special guitar that will soon be available at GSI. This guitar is significant not only for its craftsmanship but also for its materials. When Alberto Martinez from Orfeo Magazine recently visited Ariel and gifted him one of the last Friederich Master grade Cedar tops, along with a jar of shellac flakes he got from Friederich.
70 Years of Ameijenda Guitars
2024 marks the 70th anniversary of Ameijenda guitars, a family tradition started by Ariel’s father, Manuel Ameijenda who built his first guitar 70 years ago and continued by Ariel himself as a second-generation luthier who has been building guitars for 45 years. Over the past decades, Ariel has developed his own methods of guitar-making, with a strong focus on the acoustics and balance of each instrument.
We asked Ariel if this would be a Friederich copy since he uses one of Friederich's tops. Ariel told us that he admires Friederich's improvements in guitar making, and feels honored to have such an aged top that was seasoned in the master's workshop for many years. However, he doesn't intend to make a copy since his approach differs significantly from Friederich's. While he respects Friederich’s masterpieces, Ariel focuses less on bracing and more on a system he has refined for over 25 years. He adjusts the thickness of the top in specific areas to balance the guitar’s tonal qualities, particularly using a method of stiffening or thinning based on timber flexibility.
Ariel said:
"...since 20 years ago or so, I’ve been developing a system of tone production through a lot of investigation on thicknessing and doming the top. Mainly on my Cedar guitars by the way. When I studied acoustics at the University ( my musicology degree) I noticed that drum skins behave similarly to strings, the fundamental tones are present at the center, and higher pitches vibrate closer to the sides ( in the strings toward the ends). This is easily perceptible bumping with one finger from the center outward. Many people tend to think that the trebles on a guitar top are at one side, and basses at the other. However, in my point of view lower frequencies are affected when modifying the center of the top and higher frequencies are at the area closer to the sides."
Check out some sneak peek photos below!
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