The Guitars of Gila Eban
Email: GEguitars@aol.com
For string spacing at the bridge, i.e. distance between first and sixth
string, I prefer to stay within the 57.5-59 millimeter range. (Ramirezes
are usually around 57-58 mm). I've made guitars with 60 millimeters and no
one's complained, but then players will have to accept stretching a little
bit more on some fingerings, and not feel too strongly entitled to a 62
millimeter width at the 12th fret. All the numbers above, as well as
breakover angle and neck-relief, can change if, for example, the string
tension is very high or very low.
This page was originally created on 3/29/99 and updated on 2/17/06.
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Price:
Around $5,000
Projected waiting period for delivery:
I seldom work on an order basis. I prefer to finish guitars first so, when
they go on sale, prospective buyers can hear and play them and be sure
this is what they really want.
Sound the luthier is seeking:
Currently I am interested in the "Spanish" sound, and its roots in
flamenco music and the music of other Mediterranean or Middle Eastern
instruments. I try to incorporate the Spanish sound within the framework
of the more modern designs I use. It is well known that authors of fiction
often use real-life persons as models for characters in their stories. A
fictional character may be a composite of several such models. Painters of
course use models too. I believe that, in a similar fashion, a luthier can
use one or more instruments as models for a desired sound. A model for a
guitar doesn't necessarily have to have the same architecture as the
guitar being built, in fact it doesn't have to be a guitar at all. In
recent years I've attempted to model some of my guitars after instruments
whose sound I like. Although this is a very intuitive process and
evaluating the success of such an enterprise is, to a large extent,
subjective, I think I can say I've had good results.
Preferred sound wood:
Spruce
Optional available sound woods:
Redwood (Seqouia sempervirens) which I like a lot and has its own austere
but rich characteristic.
Preferred scale length:
I prefer a 66 centimeter scale; 65.5 cm is also a favorite.
Sound-wise this has worked well with the plantillas (guitar-body outlines)
I've used so far, but my new plantilla will probably be able to
accommodate a 65 cm scale very nicely.
Neck width (at nut):
Usually it's the standard 53 millimeter, with string-spacing of 43.5-44 mm
between the first and sixth strings.
Optional available neck widths (at nut):
Other arrangements can be made with the client, and even with the 53 mm
width, many adjustments can be made with the string-spacing on the nut.
Thickness of neck (at first fret):
Between 20.5 and 21.5 millimeter. This varies according to neck wood,
structure, and cross-section, as well as the way surfacing the fingerboard
turns out. I put a slight (bass-to-treble) radius in the fingerboard.
Other available options:
I leave as much room as possible for adjusting action and
string-breakover-angle at the saddle. With my current bridge design, I can
make tiny alterations to string spacing at the bridge. Such alterations
are possible on standard bridges but usually require more work. However,
it seems that when the fingerboard and frets are sufficiently level,
preferences for setup tend to gravitate towards numbers which lie in a
narrow range but work well for different players with different techniques
and styles: The typical setup is 2.7-3.1 mm at the 12th fret treble-end
and 3.6-4 mm at the 12th fret bass-end (with standard classical fretwire),
a 63 mm neck-width at the 12th fret, and string-tension of medium to
medium-high.