I don’t know how I missed this but it is certainly a reason for celebration. Something is finally happening is Spain even if it is limited to Almeria. Duh! The guitar is actually important to Spain! Her history, her people, her economy and of course her culture. See the story in spanish here.
Tag Archives: luthery
Nice blanca
Blancas are great fun to make and to play. I tend to put aside my lightest pieces of wood for flamencos and it really makes a difference. This one has come in under 1100g with strings and tuners. You can see below the final version of the rosette that I was so happy about. French polish really brings out the subtleties of it. 
ANTONIO MARIN MONTERO GUITAR MAKING COMPETITION
Good news! One more summer of guitar aficionados descending en masse upon Granada. I have met many, many guitarists, teachers, and builders here since this festival started three years ago. The festival has always brought some great concerts and young guitar students as well as the guitar making competition which seems to be gaining more traction each year. To be held July 28 to 31. If you are making guitars and would like to increase your visibility and show your guitars to GSI president David Collet, this is your opportunity. All of the necessary information is on the webpage. Whether you are a player or a maker there is something for you here this summer.
Rosettes
Availability
Every guitarist has specific needs (and even whims) and so needs a specific guitar. This is one of the reasons why Granada is such a fantastic place to come as a guitarist looking for a guitar. If you find you don’t fit with what Antonio Marín or Manuel Bellido are making there are a myriad of other makers within walking distance. I have found recently that making historical copies has been a great option for me but the fact that I never have all of my models on hand means that when visitors come they can only sometimes try the model that might best fit with their desires or playing style. Over the years I have welcomed many great players to my workshop but I have not always had the model of guitar I would have liked to show them and sometimes had no guitar available at all! I want to make sure that I have the full spectrum of my work available for audition when guitarits visit Granada. Here are a few I would like to meet again soon.
Marcin Dylla
Carles Trepat
Alex Garrobé
Alexei Khorev
Zoran Dukic
Gabriel Estarellas
Carsten Grondal
Edson Lopes
Aaron Larget-Caplan
and a long et cetera
So hopefully if my clients can be patient with their comissions over the course of this year and the next I will be putting aside one of each of my models: Santos copy, Torres SE 153, La invencible, my flamenco and my concert model. I think I will not bother with the 1900 Vicente Arias double back as that didn’t get much of a response and as for the romantic guitar no one is willing to pay 7000 Euros for that so it too is pretty much off the menu.
The first element in this “collection” is the 1924 Santos Hernandez, faithfully copied from the original which Andrés Segovia donated to the Musical Library in Madrid and is conserved there. Someone get the word out to Russell and Barrueco that now is the time to visit Granada. 😉
