J. A. Stauffer 6 String Early Romantic Guitar "Legnani Model"

Most modern classical guitarists and luthiers are familar with the name Johann George Stauffer but a lesser number are aware that his son Johann Anton Stauffer was a fine guitar maker in the early to mid 19th century Viennese tradition as well. He followed in his fathers footsteps and carried on the innovations that the Stauffers brought to the instrument. The so called "flying fingerboard" was one of these innovations that through the help of virtuoso guitarists like Luigi Legnani and Johann Kaspar Mertz gained great popularity and  spawned many clones.

This method of attaching the neck to the body of the guitar by means of a clock key and bolt allowed the player to easily and quickly alter the action of his/her guitar mid concert if need be.

However, the original purpose for the detachable neck had little to do with adjusting the action of the guitar. It was an early 19th century attempt to design a "Travel guitar". The instrument could be taken apart and stored in a smaller box than a regular guitar case. For this purpose the design had some serious flaws. Not the least of which was that one had to remove or at the very least slack off all the strings when taking the instrument apart and put them all back on to re-assemble the guitar. Not a particularly handy feature for a traveling professional with much playing to do.

But in spite of this and other shortcomings the design became popular because of the easy of adjusting the action and because the fingerboard "flew" over the soundboard the upper frets were more easily accessible than on a more conventional guitar.

From the luthiers point of view making the two major parts of the guitar in seperate pieces makes for more intricate joinery and added time. However, on the positive side finishing is noticeably easier with fewer difficult corners to navigate.

It is interesting to note that a variation of the flying fingerboard (usually refered to as a "raised fingerboard") was used by the late Thomas Humphrey and carried on by present day luthiers Gregory Byers, Michel Bruck and many others. 

Next we will look at some other of the innovations from the Stauffer family of luthiers that have and are finding their way into the modern classical instrument.