Andres Martin de Diego - Concert guitar 1960 (Signed / Dated). / Mercian labelled guitar

 

You will not meet them frequently but Andres Martin made 

a lot of stringed instruments in his life. He has therefore been

mentioned in the Jose Romanillos dictionary as someone who 

learned his craft with Julio Bustamante and Marcelo Barbero. 

He was influenced by Santos Hernandez and Domingo 

Simplicio. He taught his brother in law, Javier Rojo Solar. 

His workshops were at the Rollo 3 and at Calle Divino Pastor 

22 in Madrid. He died in 1977. Scale of this guitar is 660 mm. 

Width of the topnut is 53 mm. Price: 950 Euro's

It must have been a lot of work to create a rosette like this...

And the same thing counts for the edge purflings.

                The scratch plate could point towards a flamenco model as

             does the cypres sides and back but classical Spanish music suits

              this guitar as well. Profound basses and a bit of the old school

              "wooden"  tone. A good example of this sound can be found on

                YouTube where Nikos Tsiachris plays a 1975 classical guitar

                    from his hand. The guitars' own frequency lies on a G#, 

                  about 104 Herz.

Here the signed label can be admired, stating that he already

was working at the Divina Pastor 22 location in Madrid.

To our believe the year written at the lower right on this

label mentioning the year 1960. Apart from that in the

inside of this guitar a stamp can be found on the upper

bout on the left side. Near the sound hole on the right

the guitar has been signed (by 2 persons?) and dated

1960 even being numbered 275 and no doubt within 

the handbuilt range we can confirm.

His graceful and immediately recognizable head, but also

showed here is the condition of the lower frets. Most of the

time an indication in what sort of condition the rest of the

fretwork is. He also used the typical Fustero tuners from 

that time. Fretwork has been levelled and polished.

                                            

Probably I will French polish the neck as it doesn't feel

that comfortable at the moment. Or leave it the way it is?

No, on the right it looks (and feels) better. 

Nice inlay work all around this instrument proving that

it is far from an entry level guitar. But that has already

been confirmed by the rosette itself.

And the Fustero tuners with the typical knob form

from the early sixties. The D tuner probably had a knock 

as it is slightly bowed. I left that way as it still works

to full satisfaction.

The Cypress back with only one small crack that already 

has been stabilized. Take a look at the lower right. Do not 

expect such imperfections to have a lot of influence 

on the sound.

And the front ands back of the head, reasonably free from 

damages. A new topnut was necessary. On later models

the small center point that sticks out, has disappeared.

That was prone to damages of course and as for me, I

would have that disappear but I know, not original any-

more than. Moreover, Martin did this later in time so

it is a confirmation for this guitar coming out of a

certain period.

This picture has been added as I used the string 

savers to get an even better angle over the bridge-

bone but they were in fact not necessary. A crack

running from the left wing of the bridge has been

repaired and is stable now. No need to worry about

that as it still was closing. No tensions there!

Another example of Andres Martins' work can

be found on YouTube: a 1975 model.

Mercian gelabelde gitaar

Ter presentatie hier een "Mercian" gelabelde gitaar waar

wel het e.e.a. over te vertellen is. Doorgaans worden alleen

studiegitaartjes van dit "merk" aangeboden en daarbij dient

vermeld te worden dat het zeer waarschijnlijk een verzonnen

merknaam is van een van de grotere muziekketens. Logisch

dat de studiegitaartjes het eerst te vinden zijn want daar

worden er de meesten van verkocht. SOLD.

Meteen al gealarmeerd door de verfijnde afwerking van 

dit instrument ben ik verder gaan kijken. Geklonken 

stemknoppen en een ingelegde ebben strip aan de achter-

kant van de hals die bovendien nog ter protectie van de 

fretuiteinden van een palissander lining is voorzien!

Scale van deze gitaar is 650 mm en de snaarhoogte 

staat nu afgesteld op 2,7 mm (hoge E- snaar) en 4 mm 

voor de laagste E- snaar. Het een en ander zorgt voor 

een meer dan prettige bespeelbaarheid met gewoon 

nieuwe frets als een bonus natuurlijk.

Wat daarnaast bij nadere inspectie opvalt is dat de hals ook 

nog eens is voorzien van een verstelbare truss rod of halspin 

zoals we het vaak in Nederland aanduiden. Een rechte hals 

is dan gegarandeerd al moet je wel altijd voor wat neck 

relief zorgen.

Misschien niet interessant voor de klank maar wel mooi

meegenomen: Een erg smaakvolle rozet. De extra fret is

op een gracieus gevormd stukje toets toegevoegd.

Geklonken stemknoppen maar daarnaast is er ook geen 

enkele beschadiging te zien op de achterkant van de kop.

Een nette brug waarin door mij een nieuw kambeentje is 

gezet. Op hoogte gebracht en perfect passend gemaakt.

Hier ziet U dat de uiteinden van de frets niet te zien zijn.

's Winters willen de frets bij de temperatuurschommelingen

nog wel eens uit gaan steken. Allemaal te verhelpen maar 

een binding aanleggen is wel zo'n charmante oplossing.

Een fraaie palissander achterkant en in tegenstelling tot 

achterbladen met een nogal wilde tekening een gelijkmatig

lopend nerfpatroon. Wilder gefigureerde bladen kunnen 

echter vaak eerder tot scheuren leiden. Massief uitgevoerd. 

De "eigen frequentie" ligt op een A (110 Hz) 

Strakke "Bouchet" kop, een van de meest vooraanstaande

Franse bouwers van de vorige eeuw. Ook de bebalking 

wijkt nogal af van de traditionele waaier (Torres) bebalking. 

Keurig geschaafd en gelijmd allemaal en het resulteert in 

elk geval in een mooi geluid! De topkam is net wat 

smaller dus als iemand daarvoor opteert: 50 mm.

Een shot van de mechanieken die ashouders rondom hebben

wat mij verbaast want ze zijn volgens mij toch uit de plaat

gebogen. Hoe krijg je dan het wormwieltje erdoor?

Deze foto genomen om de afwerking van de hak aan de 

binnenkant te kunnen bestuderen. Keurig afgewerkt zoals 

je dat meestal alleen tegenkomt bij de duurdere gitaren.

Natuurlijk nog even uw aandacht voor de mooi vormgegeven 

extra uitloper van de ebben toets waarop een 19e fret geplaatst 

is. Alleen al daarom natuurlijk geen beginnersgitaar...

A "Marcos Escano" labelled guitar - 1999 (Flamenco?)

The repaired Marcos Escano guitar from 1999. Though

an unknown luthier to this day, details are convincing

it to be a good instrument and very lightly built. What

could have been expected the guitar gives lots' of 

volume. Scale length 645 mm Width topnut: 50 mm.

And the few cracks in the soundboard have been 

treated to my satisfaction. Price 450 Euro's.

Hardly visible are the cracks here, Even after a 

close inspection. On the left just above the bridge 

you can see some traces of damage when I needed

to remove the bridge. As it was repaired by someone 

else in an earlier stage but done with the wrong glue 

the bridge came loose again. All stable now but the

amateur who did this should be ashamed....

A nicely sculpted head what betrays work of a real

woodworker. Everything is showing a high degree

of workmanship. Ebony fingerboard and newly 

made topnut and bridgebone. Scale is 645 mm.

Width topnut is 50 mm.

The back of the head with the reinforcement 

all the way up to the top of the head.

A nice cypress back with no frills but strange thing is 

that nice inlays are made on the sides, a bit unusual...

Almost undamaged after 25 years of service.

Frets have been redressed and can deliver service

for years to come.

I think the tuners to be from Alhambra as the prefix "A"

can be detected here on the left. You need to know that 

there actually is a prefix there! Clinched Axe holders

which certainly is a sign of good quality.

And the tuners on the right side of this guitar.

The simple label and maybe this luthier didn't built 

that many guitars. We hope to find out in the future.

Recently we heard about a Marcos Escano who is a 

a quite successful musician in Spain. Most likely 

he gave it a try: Building guitars,

The blocks on the right from the label are a 

reinforcement of the two halves of the back. A lot

of extra work as a strip of wood would have done 

the job as well. This must have been done by someone

who is accustomed to wood working.

Taurus Guitars: More info / Casa Sors guitar - Raimundo connection?

  

Presented here is a high end Taurus guitar. This is more for

information as this guitar is not part of my collection. It was

offered to me for reparation. The Taurus company was situated

in Barcelona and indeed had a workforce. And some workers

learned their craft at the Juan Estruch company also established

in Barcelona and one of the oldest guitar companies of Spain.

Among the workers in the Taurus workshop we can mention

the later Antigua Casa Gol, Manuel Condal, Jose Farre

Rodriguez and Jose Grau among others. Also Antonio Picado 

was one of them. He now has a workforce of 20 workers just 

outside Barcelona and is responsible for the second line of

guitars for Otto Vowinkel (situated in Amsterdam)

A post at guitarsite suggests that Antonio Picado Berga, a 
guitar maker in Barcelona, worked in the Taurus workshop 
from 1968 to 1982 and that many Ramirez student guitars 
were made by the Taurus workshop during that time.

This guitars has been built a bit in the Ramirez tradition and

though this is a high end model, Taurus also built intermediate 

and possibly even beginner guitars. Refinement and use of

premium materials can prove to which class a guitar belongs.

As with several older Spanish classical guitars, this guitar also 

suffered from a too high action and lowering the saddle was not 

an option as the angle over the bridgebone was already hardly 

there. However, I was lucky as the bridge itself was executed 

quite high so lowering especially the first part of the bridge (not 

the string tie block) together with a twelve hole bridge did the

job. When you are making repairs on older guitars like this, a 

check up on the first frets often shows too much wear. Changing

the first 3 frets did the job and it wasn't necessary to do a whole 

fret job or level all the frets. The inlay of the string tie block

is also pointing towards Manuel Condal as well as the rosette.

Simply a nice shot of this part of the guitar but in fact to show

you the influences Juan Estruch had on the way of guitar building

in Barcelona and surroundings: The multi coloured edge inlay.

Manuel Condal still followed the old master Juan Estruch.

Sometimes almost giving an idea of high quality mahogany,

this guitar has been equipped with an endangered species:

Madagascar rosewood. I could securely compare this with

a high and Amalio Burguet guitar that is claimed to be

executed out of the same material back and sides. It is

now a quite pricey wood though not yet under the CITES

protection. Beautifully straight what makes it even more

stable in the near future.

A lot of luthiers that worked in Barcelona often are 

making a choice for the Ignacio Fleta head. This is

the case as well here and by the way the head is 

veneered (among other details) we might conclude

this guitar to be built by Manuel Condal.

The newly installed frets matching the older fourth fret.

Possibly Fustero tuners which is another mark of a higher

class guitar. Fustero as a company is out of business, They

were widely used, beautiful engraved but mechanically 

spoken not the top.

I've added the "Antigua Casa Gol " label together with

the engraved golden Taurus marking on the transverse

bar on the back of this guitar.

After a rather long search we finally discovered the doors 

of the Antonio Picado workshop which we visited in Berga,

a place near Barcelona. The front didn't look that inviting

but we were welcome and they took the time for us and 

our questions.

The workplace looks very neat and ready for all kinds

of guitar models the "Antonio Picado" Workforce is still

providing "Picado" guitars though Antonio Picado himself 

has already retired. From the 6 workers that are active 

there, 4 of them have worked in the "Taurus" workforce 

and though they've kept the name, Antonio Picado, their

more recent name is "Genis & Prat Luthiers, s.l.

J. Angel Genis and Carlos Prat. You're even able 

to order a guitar directly from them.

The oldest one of them already started working at the Estruch

plant when he was only 14 years old. With others they went

on to start the Taurus working force. The more recent Picado

products can be bought in The Netherlands in Zwolle at the 

music shop "La Roseta". 

In Spain the well known shop "Guitarras de Luthier" sells their

different models. The workers themselves were quite enthousiastic 

about their "Doble Tapa"model 60, priced at 1750 Euro's.

You can see their several models on the site from this company:

www.guitarrasdeluthier.com   Search for Picado. Alas, they

had no "ready to play" guitar in stock...

Casa Sors labelled guitar

  

This guitar from the venerable "Casa Sors" in Barcelona

immediately drew my attention as they are involved in

the classical guitar, have an interesting site, are organizing

concerts and workshops, have a museum and are giving 

guitar lessons. I didn't knew until quite recently that they 

sold guitars with their own label. As they do not built 

guitars themselves, they have to import them from abroad

and that remained a mystery until quite recently.

The figure on the left of this label explains their 

choosen name: "Sors" as that is Fernando Sor of 

course. Two adresses have been mentioned here.

I knew I had a guitar in the past that was equipped with 

about the same tongue as you can see here, but in which one?

As for materials this guitar belongs in the upper range as all

woods are solid: A cedar top combined with rosewood back 

and sides. An ebony fingerboard can be described as a sign

of some superiority as is the sound of course! Lots' of

volume and a good balance between the lower and higher

strings but a typical "cedar like" tone.

I think these tuners to be the factory produced Fustero's.

The more elaborate and hand engraved tuners to be found

on the concert guitars of several luthiers are more superior.

A first sign often are the axe holders bowed out of the plate.

The headform is betraying a bit the origin of this guitar,

although Amalio Burguet produced some "Basic"named

models back in 2010 with the same headstock.

As the guitar seems to be quite a bit older to me than

only 16 years old, I exchanged my research and with a 

little bit help from AI, I was set into the direction of 

the Manuel Raimundo company situated in Valencia.

That made me think this guitar to have been built in the

eighties of the past age somewhere. But there have to

be more "red flags" to my opinion and comparing the

way the inner woodwork has been done, that made 

my conclusion even more reliable.

The slanted transverse brace just under the sound hole is present

in the Casa Sors guitar as well. Raimundo has a lot of pictures,

also from models out of former times which makes it more easy 

for owners to do their investigations. They are using different

bracings as you might notice in the pictures here beyond.

Here the inner heel (or tongue) can be seen as well as

the kerfed lining ment for gluing the sides to the back.

Again the lining on this picture but also the way they are

glueing the ebony strip in the neck and its' depth.

Left and right from the sound hole two rather wide

braces but now just executed as a strip here. What is 

remarkable further is the strip glued under the lowest

transverse bar to prevent the neck to come forward

under the tension of the strings. That process often

starts with two cracks alongside the fingerboard

and the soundboard.

And even the form of an endblock might tell us something

about a luthier. Antonio Marin Montero used three pieces

of wood for the endblock glued in a 90 degrees grain

direction back in the sixties of the past age.

Though this model isn't their highest model strangely enough 

it is superior to some higher numbered models of this maker.

I've included this label as the quality seems to be comparable

to the Casa Sors labelled guitar.

Though Manuel Raimundo (Valencia) was an already longer

existing company it remains strange that they equipped their 

guitars with a bit of a clumsy label like this.

People often rely on a model number from guitar companies

but beware as often companies changed the materials and way 

of building in order to speed up production sometimes or

reduce costs. It is rather difficult to determine wether if you

really have the same guitar although the model number

is exactly the same.

Another method is to stick to the same procedure when a guitar

is succesful but present it as a new, superior model with a higher

price tag of course.