Tag Archives: johnray

Then and Now

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I have begun taking photos of every finished guitar and trying to keep a careful record. But… why didn’t I do that from the beginning? I have made some instruments with some amazing colour combinations, decorations or downright stunning wood and I will probably never see them again. On the one hand that is the way of a creative line of work but on the other hand we can become inspired by what we have done in the past and the photos make for good publicity 😉

Looking back is good in another way too: Now I can perform certain tasks in a much shorter time and to a greater level of perfection but in the past I did some extra work on decorative elements which today I might shun as unnecessary. I might never do those things again but I would like to have them around to refer to. For the most part my rosettes have become better with time but maybe some of the first ones had a freshness or originality that are worth preserving.

 

Javier Riba with his Santos Hernández copy

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Javier Riba is full professor at the Córdoba conservatory of music, scholar of the guitar, and tremendously musical concert player. He has performed music by great contemporary composers and made a number of recordings of music for guitar and transcriptions. His performances, his work as a composer and his publications contribute to making him one of the best teachers in Spain. The link on his name goes directly to his blog which gives you a lot more information. Here he is playing a Leo Brouwer transcription of sonata K. 208 by Scarlatti. The guitar is my Santos Hernández copy, a guitar which is becoming the one that is most asked about and purchased. The dimensions of the guitar, the slanted transverse bar, the aesthetic and of course the sound seem to be just what many players are looking for. Like the rest of my instruments this model is easy to play and has great tonal range.

 

Shabatz Guitar Duo

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Facebook video

SHABATZ GUITAR DUO consists of former professor and student, Marko Erdevicki and Stevan Jovic. The duo is dedicated to performing original compositions and arrangements for two guitars from the first half of the 19th century on historical instruments. In the video you can see Stevan playing my Antonio de Lorca copy.

 

Santos Bracing

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You can sure see where Barbero got his ideas.

Buy a guitar today!

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Barbero, Santos, Santos

Many businesses, especially in Spain are grinding to a halt. The idea is that we can avoid any more contact than the strictly necessary and I am fully supporting this but the economic result will be hard on many, many people. In my case it will actually be against the law for me to go in to work from today until April 9. I do have work that needs doing and I would love to have some guitarists come by to try out my latest guitars but that is not going to happen for now.

So how about those of you with severe Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, what to do? Dealer showrooms closed down, makers not opening their doors to anyone. Needless to say no one is travelling to Granada to buy guitars and guitar exhibitions have been cancelled. So what is left? If you have been drooling over pictures of a guitar and are a hair away from shelling out for a new beauty now is not the time to step back. If you are willing to buy sight unseen now is the time to pump your money into the economy and take the plunge. Most makers will give you a trial period as long as you pick up the bill for shipping. And due to the slowdown a lot of them might suddenly have guitars on hand that they can part with.