Beautiful & Unusual Classical Guitars - Episode 3: 'Black Diamond' (Rafał Turkowiak)
'Black Diamond' by Rafał Turkowiak.
Introduction
Polish luthier extraordinaire Rafał Turkowiak is no stranger to building and designing some of the most stunning and ground-breaking classical guitars in the world. After deconstructing an ancient guitar in 1983 Rafal developed his passion for playing and building guitars right up until the present day. At 51 Turkiowak has built a respectable reputation with almost 35 years of luthier experience reinforcing his skill. The exquisite guitar featured here is known as 'Black Diamond' because of the black diamonds embedded in the headstock - amazing!
A fabulous shot of the front & back of this magnificent guitar.
Design Innovations
- Acoustic Tubes - special 'holes' placed in the neck that increase resonance and reduce neck mass
A perfect view of Turkowiak's 'Acoustic Tube' innovation.
- WAVE type resonator - increases vibration through the soundboard; reduced bridge mass
A diagram of the WAVE type resonator pioneered by Turkiowak.
Guitar Specs:
- Top - Western Red Cedar
- Back and Sides - Black and White Ebony
- Neck - Flame Maple (assymetric)
- Fretboard - Ebony
- Head - Crafted with natural black diamonds and authentic Mother of Pearl
- Bridge - Black and White Ebony with Mother of Pearl
- Armrest - Beveled (see my article on armrests here)
- Tuners - Ebony, Aluminium, White Mother of Pearl with an 18:1 ratio
- Fret markers - Mother of Pearl
- Varnish - custom
Specs aside this is a staggeringly beautiful guitar with attention to detail and perfection evident at every turn. The combination of woods, mother of pearl, and synthetic are fused to create a truly memorable guitar.
A nice closeup of the 20th fret, Nickel-Silver frets and striking rosette.
A headstock to remember - Black Diamonds & Mother of Pearl.
Check out the 'Parabolic' or 'Arched Back' made from Black & White Ebony below. You can also read my article on Arched Back classical guitars here.
I'm starting to really love Black & White Ebony.
All of this beauty and innovation doesn't come cheap though. With a price tag of US$8,640 it certainly is an investment and probably only for top class players or serious amateurs and collectors. The cool thing with this guitar though is that all of the workmanship, innovations and care that have gone into crafting it will ensure that you have a wonderful instrument for a lifetime.
Check out my other articles on Beautiful & Unusual Classical Guitars here.
Let your fingers fly!