The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress and spruce, which accounts for its characteristic body color, and is lighter in weight and a bit smaller than a classical guitar, to give the sound a "brighter" and percussive quality. Volume has traditionally been very important in flamenco construction, as guitarists needed to be heard over the sound of the dancers' nailed shoes.The action or the height of the strings above the fingerboard is generally lower (<3mm at the 12th fret) than that of a classical guitar. (wikipedia)