Clear artificial harmonics: luthier techniques?

[David_Norton]

One of my chronic bugaboos about guitars is "how well do the artificial harmonics ring out?" (e.g. many of Llobet's folk song settings). I've often found guitars with a very good fretted sound, and good natural harmonics (e.g HVL's Prelude #4), but as soon as an extended passage in artificial harmonics comes up, they fizzle out.

What are ways that the builder can plan in advance to have the instrument produce good projection of these infrequent-but-quite-important notes?

[guitarseller345645]

I posted this question some time ago - how to ensure both natural and artificial harmonics are good?

There were no replies - I hope I can learn something this time

[jaujau]

I wonder if the answer is simply a light top is the answer. by perhaps making it very sensitive (might be too sensitive too) for any touch and thus enabling it to amplify even the weakest artificial harmonic.

[Waddy Thomson]

I think it's more of a result of responsiveness than "light top". The most responsive guitars do not, necessarily, have a light top. So, it's a combination of many things that make up a good guitar.

[Alan Carruth]

I think the paucity of answers the first time is indicative of the state of our understanding of this sort of thing. That looks like one of those things that might distinguish a 'great' guitar form a 'very good' one, and right now we don't know much about how to do that systematically and consistently. I do suspect that 'responsiveness' is a key contributor, but where _that_ comes from is far from settled too.

[Waddy Thomson]

Well, at least, we can agree on that point!

[mqbernardo]

i think it all boils down to patent bracing... (sorry).

[simonm]

I suspect the answer is "the player's technique" rather than the luthier's.

[bacsidoan]

I suspect the answer is "the player's technique" rather than the luthier's.

Not really. Many a time I've played the Sakura variation with artificial harmonics on all my guitars. Some sound clearly better than others.

[Trevor Gore]

Well, I've just tested four different guitars with three different top woods, two different back woods and three different weights - one not far short of a flamenco, one "average" weight and and two heavy weight, all with falcate bracing (not that I think that has anything to do with it) but strong artificial harmonics up to the 12th fret on all strings all guitars. Biggest single variable? My technique.

All treble strings Savarez KF. Bass strings a mix of Hannabachs and Savarez, but only one brand per guitar.

So not being able to replicate the problem I can't add much more light.

[thendrix]

When I tried a set of Augustine Imperial treble strings (instead of my usual Blues), I noticed that the harmonics really sang.