2015 Andy Culpepper w/pegs CD/CY

This 2015 Andy Culpepper is a flamenco guitar with a rare reclaimed "sinker cedar" top, Spanish cypress back and sides and mechanical pegs, handmade in Ithaca, New York, braced after the famous 1970s cedar-top guitars of Gerundino.

Sinker Cedar and Spanish Cypress

Andy Culpepper is one of our favorite young American luthiers, building both flamenco and classical instruments that we have sold to many happy clients. This particular instrument was built with special materials: a rare "sinker cedar" top, reclaimed from downed, very old-growth cedar, with extremely fine grain structure and a beautiful color imparted by minerals in the water it was submerged in. The back and sides are traditional Spanish cypress with a bit of figure, and the bridge and head plate are a fantastic matching old-stock CSA rosewood.

A Nod to Gerundino and Manuel Ramírez

The rosette is a Manuel Ramírez tribute, but the guitar itself was built and braced to suggest the famous 1970s Gerundino cedar-top guitars – Andy even modified his usual headstock slightly in a nod to Gerundino. The mechanical pegs tune just like machines but continue the old-school aesthetic.

Sound and Condition

The sound is loud and powerful, with a very snappy response and the colorful character that cedar can bring. A stand-out instrument from a very interesting maker, in excellent condition with no prior damage or repairs.

Andy Culpepper: A Player Turned Guitar Maker

Andy Culpepper grew up in a musical family and started to play classical guitar as a teenager, later moving into flamenco – he even studied flamenco in Spain and has since done a good amount of performing: solo, accompanying and for dance. As with many luthiers, Andy's first guitar was an instrument to play on himself, but after showing it around he began getting orders, and so eventually he decided to become a full-time luthier. His guitars are truly a "player's" instrument, very easy to play and responsive to both the left and right hands.

Training with Richard Cogger in Ithaca, New York

Andy's formal studies were done with Richard Cogger, a classical and flamenco guitar maker in Ithaca, New York. Andy shared workspace with him for a couple of years before establishing his own shop in Ithaca, where he continues to work today. He builds both classical and flamenco guitars, and GSI is the only dealer in the USA that carries his instruments. Read our interview with Andy.

Torres and the "Open Bar" Bracing System

Andy believes that the best guitars are still modeled on the designs and ideas of Antonio de Torres (1817–1892), and he admires Torres for his constant experimenting with different ideas. The "open bar" system of top bracing, where the outer fan struts pass through openings in the harmonic bars, is a key design element in Andy's classical guitars. It creates an extremely responsive, clear, even and beautiful tone that can envelop the listener in a kind of "surround sound" – quite an experience to hear, and perfect for any concert hall.

Built by Hand and Voiced "in the White"

Andy prefers to work in a traditional manner – very few power tools, and as much by hand as possible, to achieve the maximum amount of control over the quality of his work. His guitars are assembled by first joining the neck to the top to precisely establish the center line of the guitar. This assembly is placed face down on a solera, or workboard, the sides are slotted into the heel block and glued to the top with individual glue blocks called tentalones, and finally the back is fitted and the box is closed. The bridge is glued on before finishing, because Andy likes to play all of his guitars "in the white" and refine the voice by sanding the top if necessary. The entire guitar is then French polished with shellac, applied completely by hand with the traditional muñeca, or cloth pad.