Amalio Burguet Model 1A 1988 / Amalio Burguet Model "Maestro" guitar 2007

 

Presented another and probably the most popular

model in their range, the 1A model. Here beyond 

I will discuss the Maestro model which is discon-

tinued but would cost about a 1000 euros more.

These 1A models are really good value for money.

Scale length: 655 mm. Width topnut: 53 mm.

Price in very good condition here: 1500 Euro's.

They are equipped with either a spruce or a cedar top.

This one has a cedar soundboard. This guitar furthermore 

is provided with an ebony fingerboard. The string tie

block is surrounded by a hard material which will prevent 

any damages caused by the tension of the strings.

This guitar made his years so chances are little 

that unwanted cracks will occur due to an improper 

construction detail somewhere. Made in 1988.

Both the neck and the back are free from nicks, dings

and scratches. A good and straight neck with enough

neck relief to let the strings vibrate freely.

You can enlarge the picture but as always there

might be some strange spots due to reflections 

while photographing so no damage here on the

right side of the guitar near the waist.

Sometimes inevitable damages might occur when placing 

a guitar against a wall. Nothing to be seen here. The wider

ebony inlays in the back of the neck appear to be less wide

on more recent models. And let's not forget that the sources 

to obtain the right woods are diminishing nowadays.

No cost saving moves on the choice of the tuners though

as always with older Spanish or classical guitars, the plastic

rollers often are cracked after a period of time, often

due to the expansion of the metal parts inside when

temperature changes are involved. These cracked ones

have been replaced with newer ones.

A remark could be made here as more than often these

small damages can be seen behind the string tie block of

a bridge when the higher strings pop off. Some string

companies provide their higher strings with a small ball

to prevent the string from slipping. In other cases it is

advisable to make a knot at the end of the higher strings 

to prevent these damages. Simply filling  them with 

varnish and / or super glue will cause a dark trace 

especially on cedar topped guitars. It is better to colour 

them first with paint to match the rest of the soundboard 

and then use super glue that will mix very well with 

the lacquer surrounding the area.

The fret wear can be studied here and for that reason 

the second string has been pulled out of the topnut.

Amalio Burguet Model "Maestro" guitar 2007

Presented here is a beautiful Amalio Burguet guitar.

Some work on this one but nothing serious. I will explain

the damages later here. Model "Maestro" which isn't

in the collection offered today. It was two models above 

the model 1A and with a retail price what would be

3500 euro's nowadays, the price was much more 

agreable recently. SOLD.

In fact very little damages apart from the sometimes inevitable

dings behind the bridge caused by strings that sometimes

jump loose and that counts for the highest strings. This problem

can be avoided by making a knot at the end of the string.

This guitar has been built in the month September in the 

year 2007. Signed by the luthier himself. It is just under

their premium concert guitar (but sometimes might even 

sound better.) Comparing prices with their 2021 pricelist

the amount for the more expensive guitars went up to

about 33 %!

A nicely shaped head with good tuners and 

a newly made topnut as I'm always opting

for a bit more room from the first string to

the edge of the neck. Width topnut: 53 mm.

The rosette and the narrow grained cedar top can be 

studied here and a closer look at the rosette as well.

This is what happens when the strings jump loose.

Always the two or three highest strings because 

they are more slippery. The result is almost always

a kind of scratch behind the bridge. Not deep but

deep enough to expose the bare wood. Moisture

now has a chance to get into the soundboard but

filling the small gap with lacquer always results 

in a very dark (ugly spot) I always try to match the

color of the soundboard with oil paint and  I fill the

small gap with super glue that really hardens out well

and mixes with the lacquer surrounding these spots. 

Therefore the spot will be more resistant in the

near future for this unlucky accidents. Depending 

on how the light reflects it is more or less visible.

Another worry for guitarists are the condition of the frets

on the guitar. I will always make a picture of the frets,

especially at the beginning of the fingerboard and under

the second string as that place most of the time has been 

played a lot. With wear as a result. No wear here.

The back is in a pristine condition as is the back of the neck.

Beautifully inlayed and where these guitars shine is their sound

of course. Really Spanish and most of the time at a reasonable

price. Also the 1A models can be very surprising!

A closer look is even possible here.

And no damages on the head caused by placing the guitar

against a wall. No cracks or other vital imperfections. 

Visible here is the reinforcement of the neck that in fact

is identical to the more recent 1A models.

Daniel Roye Concert guitar 1980

Presented here is a Daniel Roye guitar, built in 1980.

Recently refretted and a neck / body angle correction.

This guitar is in a very good shape with no cracks or

whatsoever. Scale is 650 mm while the topnut is 

54 mm. Daniel Roye continued with building violins

and is quite successful with it. He learned the craft

from Nicolaas van der Waals among others. Own

frequency from the body is a G so 98 Herz.

Price: 1800 Euro's including original case.

What immediately is remarkable is the way Roye shaped 

the head. In fact the way a violin builder is supposed to

do. I can't find immediate advantages of it. The topnut

has been redressed after the fret job.

On par with the quality of a concert guitar the tuners should be

of pristine quality. And I can confirm that: They are! Clinched

with the axe holders to the base plate and very smoothly working. 

The lyre motif is there as has been made popular by the Spanish 

Barcelona based Fustero company but I think them to come

from Germany. And indeed they are: Daniel Roye confirmed

this: They are from "Sommer", a small workshop in Buben-

reuth. With this link you are able to find out more about

them:

http://www.music-strings.de/index.php?k=64&lang=eng

The body that has been built up with fine grained spruce

and beautiful figured Brasilian rosewood for back and

sides. Also the purfling has been done in rosewood.

The dull looking spots are simply reflections though 

there are some playing marks under the strings. 

Nothing serious but the guitars' top has been 

refinished with French polish but with the playing

marks still visible under it. Nothing serious but

it has to be mentioned to my opinion.

A surprisingly low bridge that hasn't been altered

by someone. The idea must have been that a lighter

bridge let's the top vibrate more freely. Moreover

the bridgebone is closer to the actual soundboard.

A newly made bridgebone adjusted for convenient

playability and stringsavers to get an even better

angle over the bridgebone though it was in fact 

not necessary.

The guitar from the back. Beautiful woods used here!

The back in all its' beauty. It almost looks as if the

back exists out of only one piece of wood. The 

seam is hardly detectable. The reflections are,

sorry for that....

A strange picture for classical guitar players I

suspect. The back of the head has been closed

with a layer of wood.

This picture is showing the recently placed new frets.

A 1980 guitar with a whole life in front of itself! And

with its' comfortable shaped neck it is an easy to play

guitar. As for sound: Not a very loud instrument but

it has a really nice low end and a good balance 

between the lower and upper registers.

In fact the Amsterdam Guitar Trio played most of their music 

on Daniel Roye's guitars so the sound can be judged there. 

Search for the Vivaldi: The four Seasons The Amsterdam 

guitar Trio. Soundwise I think the sound on this video is bit 

thin when I compare it with my guitar. But the idea in how 

a guitar should sound is changing over time. Also in the 

recording world as the digital era was just starting in 1980.

A more recent recording on YouTube has been made by

Alex Timmerman with a Manuel Maria Ponce piece.

In every detail it is becoming clear that the luthier

did his best to produce a beautiful instrument. I will

try to contact him and maybe I will get some more

information around several details.

Casimiro Lozano 1A Concert Guitar 1996 Brasilian Rosewood.

 

Presented here is a1A model by the Cuenca based luthier

Casimiro Lozano (1954). His work is highly regarded 

and his double top guitars from more recent times have

a waiting list of one year. This one is from 1996 equipped

with a spruce top and Rio rosewood sides and back.

Most likely made with the models of Ignacio Fleta in 

mind as we may conclude from the bracing this guitar 

is provided with. Scale length is 650 mm. Width at the 

nut: 53 mm. Brasilian rosewood bridge mounted. SOLD.

Luckily this guitar has been well used in the past and

the soundboard bears some marks due to that. The small

scars behind the bridge will be treated in the near future.

This picture gives the most honest view on the damages 

behind the bridge. As I recently got the comments from

a potential buyer about another guitar, I decided to leave

it as it is. Otherwise a buyer might think I'm hiding serious

damages. These imperfections often can be seen on 

classical guitars. I'm always advising to make a knot in

the highest strings on this spot. The rather slippery

higher 3 strings might pop loose.

Another picture in which you can see the strings are

making a good angle over the bridgebone but moreover

that the soundboard is still straight!

Most of the time this angle is more critical on the 

highest strings over the bridgebone. The strings could

even be lowered but that is not advisable as the

action on the 12th fret is 3 mm for the highest string

and 3,5 mm for the lowest string.

This is of course where this guitar shines as the Brazilian

rosewood in all its' beauty can be admired here. Wonderful!

The spruce soundboard can be seen and studied here

by clicking on it as well as the rosette of course.

In this guitar this label has been found and the use of

Brasilian rosewood on this one is an absolute plus.

Stunning if you are a real wood lover.

The veneer layer on the head has also been executed out

of Brasilian rosewood and the Schaller tuners are still

working nicely. A remark can be made about the topnut

as the luthier was aware of the spacing for the highest

string towards the edge of the neck: Just a bit more

room what facilitates the playing of pull offs.

I'm always adding these kind of pictures as you can 

see there is hardly any fretwear. And the fingerboard 

is real black as it should be when ebony is involved.

A close shot of the Schaller tuners. A small reparation 

was needed as the knob for the B string had too much 

play. These tuners can still be ordered under the type

announcement: Lyra GD Acrylic. Not cheap, but these

are working perfectly now.

Most likely the back has been retreated recently as it

is in a like new condition and that for an almost 30

years old one? Hmmm....

The glance makes it difficult to make a proper picture.

You need to play with extra lights on it to have a result

with hardly any reflection. Alberto Martinez of the Orfeo

magazine is a master in this field. But to be honest, he

was the photographer for BMW cars and that explains 

a lot. Nicely executed extra bindings here.

The back of the head that is free from any damage

sometimes due to placing an instrument against a wall!

John Hall 2022 Concert Guitar (Nr. 21.)

Presented here is a completely handbuilt guitar by the

English luthier John Hall. England certainly has a

tradition in guitar building. It probably has everything

to do with the earlier active luthier Louis Panormo 

who worked and lived in London. Besides that the

famous Mrs. Pratten collection was there and also

some French luthiers that moved to England already

in the late 19th century caused a growth in interest

in guitar building (and playing).  Tradition is the magic 

word there though this guitar isn't that traditionally 

built. Nr. 21 in 2022. Price 1750 Euro's. Deluxe

guitar case included

Oil finished as a whole it doesn't reflect the light 

when photographing which is a plus here of course. 

John Hall opted for a bear claw spruce top.

In fact nicely built in every detail as the surroundings

of the soundboard also attest. Quite unique is the use

of black walnut for the fingerboard, though it is not

black at all. The explanation around these choice of

woods is that the maple wood used for the neck is 

already quite heavy and together with an ebony 

fingerboard it should have resulted in an unbalanced 

instrument. Necks on guitars like these are usually 

made out of cedar.

The Bearclaw spruce from Switzerland can be admired

here together with the securely executed purfling. John

claims to be very critical when the woods for sound-

boards are involved. The way forces are working on

the bridge and soundboard are in good hands as

John Hall was a professional engineer as well.

In fact old tradition as the big name in building up rosettes:

Vicente Arias also was a user of the color green in his work.

We have to find out more about this remarkable builder

as the guitar is really loud and can open up even more by 

playing it frequently. The oil finish doesn't feel strange 

to me as also the neck has been treated that way as well.

A little bit oriental in the choice of the headform

to my opinion but gracefully done anyway! I think

the head to be covered by an ebony layer.

The reinforcement stripe all the way up into

the head of this guitar is visible here. And the

knobs of the tuners can be swapped if wanted.

Used for the tuners are the Rubner (German) Hauser

tuners that work very well. Quite modest in engraving

but that is not always a bad thing.

The "American black walnut" wood can be seen here

again as the luthier used it for the bridge as well. The 

harder bone cover of the string tie block mounted here

prevents any marks made by the strings under tension.

John doesn't make use of a bridgeplate as it adds little

to the strength of a soundboard. The lighter wood

used for the bridge is also a plus as it makes it 

possible for the top to vibrate more freely.

The also oil finished back gives this guitar in fact a quite

natural look though maybe not at first sight. Traditinally

we are accustomed to a more shiny appearance. John Hall

used Indian Rosewood for sides and back and rather 

surprisingly maple for the neck which is quite hard and

possibly may attribute to the nice sustain this guitar

has to offer.

No frills on the back, just giving the back a serene look.

I will try to get in touch with the luthier and I hope to

provide some more information around his work as

the man simply deserves it! We now have contact and 

we will possibly visit him in Staffordshire in the near

future if we are welcome of course. But already

having e-mail contact, John appears to be a nice 

and gentle person always willing to give more

information around his guitars. What I particularly

like is that he added specific building procedures

with a reason.