1981 Dake Traphagen SP/CSAR

This 1981 Dake Traphagen is a classical guitar with a bear-claw spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, made in the United States by one of America's best-known classical guitar makers, admired by Pepe Romero and Scott Tennant.

A Rodríguez-Inspired American Classical Guitar

This is a lovely, meticulously-made guitar from Dake. It has a smooth, round and balanced classical tone, with a fast response more typical of a Spanish flamenco guitar. It is a very fun guitar to play, and since it is primarily influenced by Miguel Rodríguez, it has added punch that will provide plenty of sound for any concert situation.

Bear-Claw Spruce and CSA Rosewood

The beautiful bear-claw spruce top gives the tone great color and balance, while at the same time it provides fullness in every note without sacrificing clarity between the voices. It has a lovely and colorful set of CSA rosewood for the 4-piece back and sides.

Playability and Condition

Playability and setup are very comfortable. It is in excellent condition, with only one small (nearly invisible from the outside) crack in the back – repaired with glue only – as well as a repaired (invisible) crack on the side of the fingerboard and some superficial playing wear in the finish. Overall a very handsome and strong concert instrument in performance-ready condition.

Dake Traphagen: American Classical Guitar Maker

For Dake Traphagen, becoming a classical guitar luthier was a very pleasant surprise in his life. When he was young his parents bought him a viola from a violin maker, who told him "you have workman's hands" – and in the end, he was right! Dake began as a self-taught maker, building his first instrument on the dining room table of his apartment with a couple of hand tools and books for clamps. In 1972 he started learning the art of lutherie with that very same violin maker, Mr. Ed Hunnington, serving a two-year apprenticeship in violin making.

Studying the Great Instruments

Dake then opened his own repair shop, where he repaired and restored every type of acoustic stringed instrument imaginable. In 1976 he went to Europe and visited many museums to study great instruments of the past, and with encouragement from Michael Lorimer he spent a month working with the well-known Dutch lute and guitar maker Nico van der Waals. Dake, who still builds in Bellingham, Washington, primarily uses hand tools and traditional glues and finishes, and to this day he admires the guitars of the past masters: Torres, Esteso, Hernández, Hauser and Rodríguez. It was in Dake's workshop that Pepe Romero Jr. built his first guitar.

Praised by Pepe Romero and Scott Tennant

"One of the world's most artistic guitar makers. The personality and voice of each instrument express the depth of this luthier's understanding of the true art of guitar making." – Pepe Romero

"I believe that Dake Traphagen is one of the world's great guitar builders. I have performed many concerts with the L.A.G.Q. on my Traphagen; it balances well with the others in the group and has great volume, clarity, and depth of sound. I've also been happy with the recordings I've done with it. Each Traphagen I see just gets better and better!" – Scott Tennant