The idea of a guitar tasting came to me at a local winery where the vintner was addressing a group of folks about the varieties of wines offered by his winery. As he talked about the process of making fine wines, about different grape varieties and how a wine needs time to mature, I was struck by the similarities between the way this winemaker talked about wine and the way my luthier friend, Les Stansell, and I talk of his fine concert classical guitars just off the workbench.

The winemaker went on to discuss the climates that are favorable to wine grapes, and I couldn't help but think about the rosewoods from tropical rainforests and spruces from the Alps. The winemaker offered advice to the tasters on how to appreciate the color and texture of the wines and how to savor them, noting how the taste evolves as it moves over the palate. Similarly, when Les and I sit in his living room in Pistol River, Oregon, we enjoy the beauty of the woods and the quality of Les' workmanship. Then we sample each guitar's tone by passing the instruments back and forth; playing, listening and comparing.

Sometimes, he is not convinced that I'm hearing the things I say I'm hearing, and so we do a blind listening test. I play each instrument with eyes closed and try to determine which is which. It is always an education for my ear and I come out of these sessions a better musician and player. For a long time, winemakers have realized the importance of educating the public in the joys of appreciating the subtle differences between various fine wines. As wine tastings have become standard fare around the country, consumers have become more knowledgeable about fine wines. I would suggest that "guitar tastings" might be presented with equal success.

Joseph Thompson performs on a Stansell guitar. Photo by Bob Pennell.

Luthiers Mike Brown (left) and Les Stansel (right) discuss a detail of guitar
construction as Cu-Hullan McGivern and Matt Dorris look on. Photo by Bob Pennell.

A guitar tasting is an event to entertain and educate the general public in the beauty of the sound of the classical guitar and in the refinements in guitar construction, which have contributed to the evolution of that sound. Admittedly, it is difficult-maybe impossible- to be completely objective when describing qualities of sound. How can we know, for instance, that someone else is hearing in the same way we are or that a descriptive word means the same thing to both of us? I think, however, that there is value in the effort to refine listening skills in this manner, and a guitar tasting provides the perfect opportunity.

But, why call it a "guitar tasting"? "Guitar tasting" is clearly a misnomer. In fact, taste is the only sense that is not involved in the appreciation of fine guitars. Sight is used to enjoy the beauty of the wood, and quality of the workmanship. Touch is critical in assessing the playability of an instrument. Hearing is clearly important. Even our sense of smell comes into play, especially with a cedar top guitar, which can retain that wonderful pungent aroma for years after it comes off the workbench. But....taste? Of course, we borrowed from the tradition of "wine tasting" in naming the event. Also, I like the way folks do a mental double take when they hear the phrase "guitar tasting". It gets people's attention because it is an odd juxtaposition of words. I have discovered that after you have said it a few times, "guitar tasting" begins to sound perfectly natural.

Joseph Thompson samples the tone quality of a cedar top, myrtlewood back and sides, Les Stansell guitar.

Recently, Les Stansell and I presented a "Guitar Tasting" under the auspices of the Jefferson Classical Guitar Society and Paschal Winery. The event took place at the tasting room of Paschal Winery in southwest Oregon near the town of Ashland. With it's panoramic views of the southern reaches of the Rogue Valley and it's sweet acoustics, Paschal's elegantly appointed tasting room was ideal for our presentation. The objective of this guitar tasting was to introduce the general public to the joy of listening to and comparing and contrasting the timbre of an assortment of fine concert quality guitars.

Just as there are many factors that can influence the taste of various fine wines, so there are many factors that can influence the tone quality of fine musical instruments. These can include the acoustics of the room in which the instrument is played, the player's technique, as well as the varieties of woods and construction techniques and designs used by the luthier. Other less obvious factors are the condition and length of the player's fingernails, the type and condition of the strings on the instrument, and the moisture content of the tonewoods in the guitar. I have found that the best way to compare the tonal qualities of different classical guitars is to eliminate as many of the variables as possible. If a variety of instruments are gathered together in one acoustical space and then played upon by one guitarist, then it becomes possible to more accurately compare and contrast the merits of the different instruments. In this manner, both player and listener are able to refine their listening skills and further the development of their appreciation for these different qualities.

Les Stansell guitars: myrtlewood back and sides with Port Orford Cedar top.

One of the variables that I didn't want to eliminate was the variety of woods which luthiers use. Les Stansell builds with alternative woods as well as traditional woods, and so we had an excellent assortment of instruments to compare. He is noted for his use of tonewoods from the coastal region of southwest Oregon, where he and his wife, Mary, make their home. These tonewoods include Port Orford cedar for top wood and the strikingly beautiful myrtlewood for backs and sides. Les offered four instruments for our consideration. For this tasting, he presented guitars with an Engleman spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, a Sitka spruce top with Indian rosewood back and sides, a Port Orford cedar top with myrtlewood back and sides and a Sitka spruce top with myrtlewood back and sides.

Less Stansell with a new Stansell guitar, outside his shop in Pistol River, Oregon

As I got more deeply involved in my research, I became fascinated with the words luthiers and guitarists use to describe timbre or tone quality. Seeking a common understanding of tone quality, they have evolved a specialized vocabulary in order to share and compare their listening experiences. For example, a certain guitar's tone might be described as "warm and silky" or perhaps "bright and open". It could be "dark and creamy" or "sweet and clear". What I find curious about the words we use to describe the quality of musical tones is that none of them are exclusive to the realm of hearing. These descriptive words have been borrowed from our experience of the other senses. For example, "warm and silky" are touch words, not hearing words. "Bright and dark" were intended to describe qualities of light, not sound. "Sweet" is a taste word. This lack of English words specific to the description of qualities of tone would seem to indicate that timbre was not an important consideration in the early history of our culture. Perhaps this alone is reason enough to develop a greater appreciation for the subtle differences in the quality of musical tones. With it's great variety of sound qualities, the guitar offers a perfect vehicle for this exploration.

Our program was divided into two sessions. The first was the guitar tasting. The second was a concert. The tasting session was a lecture/demonstration that focused on the great variety of sounds that can be produced on the guitar and the difference in the quality of tone between one guitar and another. I wanted to attune the audience's ears to the guitar's voice right from the beginning, so I began the session by playing a short and sweet Pavan by Gaspar Sanz. I then defined the word "timbre" as, "the quality given to a sound by its overtones". These "overtones" are an important key to understanding the beauty of the sound of the classical guitar. I explained how all of the potential for a guitar's tone is locked up in the overtones of the vibrating string. The manner in which this potential is realized is what determines the quality of the sound. A great guitar is one that emphasizes or amplifies certain aspects or overtones of the vibrating string in a manner that is especially pleasing to our ear. This can be favorably compared to the way a great painter selects and blends colors from a palette for application in a painting.

To explain the properties of a vibrating string, I prepared a black bungee cord with a hook on each end so that when it was stretched the 10 foot width of the stage and hooked onto 8-foot dowels which were held vertically by volunteers from the audience, it was taut enough to simulate a long vibrating guitar string. I placed white masking tape to mark the "node" points. Nodes are points along the string that are relatively free of vibratory motion and are the dividing points between overtones. I located one piece of tape at the halfway point, two more to indicate the one-third points and two to mark the one-quarter points. With this setup, I was able to demonstrate:

1.) How the entire string vibrates to produce the fundamental, and
2.) How the string has independently vibrating string segments that produce a progression of higher notes called overtones or harmonics.

Then I plucked the bungee cord string while holding the mid point to show how you can eliminate the fundamental and force the string to vibrate in two half segments. As I explained overtones, I was able to demonstrate their sound by playing harmonics on one of Les Stansell's guitars. I touched a string at the 12th fret, the half-way point and let the audience hear what the harmonic sounded like. This was the sound of the first overtone without the fundamental. I played harmonics at the 7th, 5th, and 4th frets and continued on up through the overtone series until I was playing barely audible harmonics around the 2nd fret. These individual overtones are all present to varying degrees in the sound of the guitar's strings but they blend together into one unified sound that we perceive as pitch and tone quality.

I was surprised and pleased to see the crowd was fascinated to learn about the secrets of a vibrating guitar string and to actually hear those secrets. As I demonstrated the harmonics, they were silent and leaning forward in their seats to better hear these tiny points of sound. For many in attendance, the bungee cord demo was central to their understanding of tone quality.

Thompson discusses the intricacies of the vibrating string with assistance from luthier
Les Stansell (left) and Jefferson Classical Guitar Society president, Grant Ruiz.

I showed how the bungee cord would vibrate differently depending on where you pluck it. The audience could actually see the string move differently when I plucked it at the center as compared to when I plucked it near the dowel. Next, I plucked an open string over the 12th fret noting the hollowness of the sound with mostly the fundamental involved. Then I plucked near the bridge and directed the audience's attention to the metallic quality of the sound with the involvement of very active high overtones. Then I gradually moved my right hand from the center of the string to the bridge to demonstrate how the tone quality changed progressively as I approached the bridge.

There were quiet expressions of understanding all around the room. The bungee cord demonstration had provided them with a basic foundation in the physics of a vibrating string. This foundation allowed me to explain that a "bright" tone quality means the higher overtones in the string are being emphasized, while a "dark" tone quality means that the fundamental and the lower overtones are the dominant elements. Once the audience understood the potential inherent in the manner in which a string vibrates, I was able to explain how one guitar might sound bright while another guitar might sound dark. They began to see how different woods, construction techniques and the technique of the guitarist all contribute to the quality of the sound.

Les and Joseph prepare the audience for the "blind taste test".

This was the perfect segue for Les, with his first hand knowledge and experience, to join in the discussion. We talked about the work of Antonio Torres and his revolution in guitar design over 100 years ago and how that has led to so much innovation in modern classical guitar design. Les talked about why he uses the Torres design in his own work. The audience received a two-page handout with their concert program, which included drawings of the Torres fan bracing system that Les uses, as well as seventeen other designs by noted builders, which have evolved over the last 100 years. This was an excellent visual reference for showing the influence Torres has had on modern guitar design. The handout also included a vocabulary list of words that have been used to describe the quality of the sounds, which a guitar might produce. We walked the audience through the list, briefly discussing what components of the overtone series might be involved.

A Vocabulary of Tone Words

-Common Tone Quality Words:
warm, bright, dark, clear, sweet, creamy, silky, brilliant, metallic, mellow, thin

-Other Tone Quality Words:
cool, complex, woody, dry, full, brittle, round, edgy, raspy, nasal, focused, neutral

-Words Relating to Resonance:
boomy, deep, open, full

-Words Relating to Attack:
crisp, punchy, rounded, raspy, bell-like

-Other qualities of a guitars sound:
projection, sustain, response, separation, malleability

Sometimes, guitarists and luthiers seek out just the right combination of words to describe the sound of a guitar, perhaps, "bright and clear with lots of color". Indeed, if we are going to talk about tone quality in guitars, we need a vocabulary to do so. On the other hand, at least one luthier believes that most of these descriptive words are mere marketing tools and he is more comfortable when he stays closer to the pure objectivity of the scientific method.

Admittedly, it can be easy to fall into a romantic swoon when describing the quality of a guitar's sound. Segovia once said of a guitar, "Its tone was deep and sweet in the bass notes, diaphanous and vibrant in the higher ones. The soul of its voice was noble and persuasive." There seems to be a fine line between descriptive words that are objective and those that are more subjective, and the line seems to shift depending on whom you talk to. Here are a few examples of descriptions of the tone quality of concert classical guitars offered for sale in a catalogue: "A boomer, but with focus and sustain"; "dark and dangerous"; "vibrant and gutsy"; "big lusty Contreras sound with great depth and volume". I would be hesitant to include lusty, dangerous or gutsy on this vocabulary list. Then too, when Segovia describes a guitar's sound as "noble and persuasive", I think I know, generally, what he means, but I'm not exactly sure.

We finished the discussion by taking questions from the audience. This lively and extended question and answer session gave a good indication of just how involved the crowd had become in the discussion. I have to agree, however, with the person who said, "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." At some point you just have to play the guitars and listen. We closed the session by giving the audience a chance to hear and compare the sounds of Les' guitars. The Port Orford cedar with myrtlewood back and sides, and the Engleman dpruce with Indian rosewood back and sides offered the most contrast in sound, so we started with these. I chose to play Tarrega's simple but beautiful "Lágrima" not only because of its connection to Torres, but because it takes advantage of the guitar's potential. I played the A section of the piece on the Myrtlewood, then switched to the Rosewood for the repeat. I stayed with the Rosewood for the B section and switched back to the Myrtlewood for the B section repeat. By hearing the same piece, played by the same guitarist, on guitars made by the same builder, under the same acoustical conditions, we were able to eliminate most of the variables. We decided not to influence the audience by trying to describe the tone quality of the guitars in advance, but rather let them make up their own minds about what they were hearing. Because each section of Lágrima is short, the audience was able to carry the memory of one guitar while listening to the other. This demonstration gave a good idea of how tonewoods influence the sound of guitars.

Finally, we offered a "blind listening test". The audience was asked to listen to the opening measures of "Preludio" from the "Suite Venezolano" by Antonio Lauro on each of the four Stansell guitars. They were asked to close their eyes so that they wouldn't be influenced by the appearance of the various instruments and they would then be asked to vote for their favorite one. I gave them a second chance to listen by repeating the process. Everyone was asked to vote for #1, #2, #3, or #4 by raising their hand. After the votes were tabulated, I played the entire piece on the winning guitar. We assumed that one guitar would be the standout and were surprised when the voting turned out to be very balanced. Les felt the voting was so close that, "It was a wash!" The Engleman spruce top with rosewood back and sides won out over second place by one vote.

The second session, after an intermission, was a concert performed on Les Stansell's guitars by members of the Jefferson Classical Guitar Society. I opened with four solo works by Granados, Tarrega, and Villa Lobos, changing guitars between pieces. I was then joined by Jaxon Williams for two duets by J. S. Bach. Grant Ruiz then took the stage performing two traditional flamenco pieces on a Stansell flamenco guitar. We closed the show with the Dark Rose Guitar Trio (Steve Berman, Grant Ruiz and myself) performing the music of Ponce and Granados.

There was some uncertainty going into this inaugural guitar tasting as to how the general public would respond to this presentation. We received a lot of feedback from the sellout crowd; all very enthusiastic and supportive. Many people expressed their delight at having come away with a deeper understanding of the meaning of tone quality, not just in guitars but also in music in general. There are many interesting aspects of tone quality that offer flexibility for discussion and a guitar tasting seems to offer the perfect forum. This particular presentation emphasized the physics of sound and the instruments of Les Stansell. Les' presence allowed us to approach the subject from the perspective of both player and builder. Ultimately, the form and content of a guitar tasting should reflect the interests of the presenter. Other possible approaches might include a guitar tasting based on the history of the guitar, which might include discussions and performances on early classical guitars, Baroque guitars and vihuelas, as well as modern instruments, or one that might focus on instruments of the great builders: Ramirez, Hauser, Fleta, etc. The challenge would be in bringing together such a collection of instruments. Guitar tastings offer the public an opportunity to enter into the intimate world of the classical guitar in a way that will deepen their appreciation for the beauty of its sound. They will come away more knowledgeable and more excited about attending future guitar concerts. Ultimately, guitar tastings can only expand the audience for our beloved classical guitar.

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