There is a particular moment worth filming: a guitarist picking up an unfamiliar instrument for the first time. Before any interpretation, before any decision about how a piece should go, there is simply the question of what the guitar does when you play it. In this video Cristina Galietto meets the Siccas Luthiers Creation Doubletop Triptych.
You can read more about the guitarist in our profile of Cristina Galietto.
Why first impressions are worth hearing
Players who try many instruments develop a fast and specific vocabulary for them: how quickly the top responds, whether the basses stay clear under a chord, how far the treble carries before it thins out, how much the guitar gives back when you press it. Those judgements are usually made privately, in a shop or a workshop, and they are rarely spoken aloud.
A first-impression recording puts that process on the record. It is also honest in a way a prepared performance cannot be — nobody has had time to learn the instrument's habits or work around its limits.
The Creation Doubletop Triptych
The Creation Triptych is a double-top instrument from our own Siccas Luthiers line. Double-top construction sandwiches a lightweight core between two very thin layers of wood, producing a soundboard that is both light and stiff — the usual result being greater volume, faster response and a wide dynamic range. Our double-top guitar guide explains how the design works and where it came from.
The Creation Triptych has been heard on our channel in demanding company: Duo Vona chose it for Golfam Khayam's Night Triptych, and Brandon Acker played Dowland's Fortune My Foe on it — Renaissance melancholy and contemporary extended technique on the same instrument.
Watch the First Impression
Explore the whole workshop line in our Siccas Luthiers overview, or browse our full range of classical guitars.
