Union Musical Espanola (Editores ANTES CASA) Labelled Guitar / Juan Estruch "Lady Guitar" (appr. 1920 / 1930)

A bit odd to start with a label as this is not a luthiers' 

label to our believe but most likely a guitar and other

musical accessoires supplier who had these instruments 

built elsewhere. Union Musicales Espanola had their

shops in different Spanish cities. Price: € 1250,-

Not a well known headstock for me but some details might

point to a Barcelona based luthier: The Juan Estruch company.

Recently I stumbled onto a 1970 guitar with the same headstock.

About the age of this guitar one can conclude that the later

ugly polyurethane finish is not present on the soundboard 

but is there on the neck, sides and back.

In the lower left there is some damage on the back and

after a good night sleep I decided to make some inserts 

for the cracks there. As it has to be levelled afterwards

the back as a whole will be refinished.

The yellow, red and green bindings are typical for Estruch

so possibly another Juan Estruch model. Contact with the

Estruch company indeed learnt that we are dealing with

a genuine Juan Estruch, one of the oldest guitar companies

in Spain though there are no "Estruch" named luthiers at

work anymore in the factory nowadays. Another luthier 

most likely bought the name and went on. On the other

hand, several luthiers learnt their craft at the Estruch

workforce among them Jose Grau, Jose Farre, Manuel

Condal and Antonio Picado. Also the later Antigua Casa

Gol is one of them. Closely related to the Estruch 

company is the Taurus Workforce. So a lot of different

luthiers could have been responsible for the building

of this guitar. Scale: 645 mm.

This headform resembles the much copied Ignacio Fleta

head but not exactly. That might give more direction towards

the luthier who constructed this guitar. But on the other hand

several details were more than often copied especially by the 

luthiers from Barcelona who worked for Estruch. The multi 

coloured bindings, Estruch is known for. Inlay in the bridge 

and even rosettes often were made by independent factories 

who supplied several luthiers in their country.

Nice clean rollers and refreshed frets. Alass this guitar 

has to be refretted as the neck is showing a serious backbow

which I have never found on a classical guitar until now!

And the only way to make a proper correction is to treat

the fingerboard by shaving it. In a most worst case the

fingerboard could have been replaced after having lined

out the neck. Most of the time not necessary.

A nice rosette and a spruce soundboard that is "crack" free.

And a matching inlay in the string tie block.

Fustero tuners that are in good condition. The axe holders

are clinched onto the base plate which is proof of superior

quality. Tuners like these alone will fetch more than 200

Euro's for one complete set.

Some spots on the outer neckblock but nothing fundamental.

In fact the case might give an idea about the age of this

guitar. Anyway a lot to be investigated still but a start

has been made by judging its' sound: Someone hightened

the bridgebone by putting some paper under the bridge

bone. A disaster for a good sound. Moreover the bridge-

bone was broken but that has been solved already.

I don't know the brand of strings but to my opinion

this guitar will sound even better with Savarez Corum.

The volume it can provide is already there now!

Here the label on the inside of the case is presented. I

recently came across exactly the same case around a 

guitar (and belonging to that one) from the early sixties

of the past age. Also cases that belong to an instrument

can give a confirmation of the age of an instrument.

Another typical move on the Concerto series of Estruch 

was the use of an ebony veneer layer on the outer heel.

And the multi coloured bindings of course. A short

E-mail contact between the Estruch company and me

confirmed my thoughts about the origin: Juan Estruch.

Here the facade of the UME shop in Girona is presented.

We were curious to learn what they could tell about a part of 

the history of this company. The guy in charge wasn't very 

helpful. "All those UME labelled guitars of the past are

crap" was all he stated. I showed him some pictures of the

this high end Estruch guitar but he wasn't convinced at all.

That made me think that you always have to understand

who is the person in front of you. He acted completely

wrong and what is more, quite unfriendly. A few days 

before visiting Girona we visited the workshop of Antonio

Picado and that meeting was quite the opposite!

Juan Estruch: Lady guitar (appr. 1920 / 1930)

With a scale of only 615 mm we can call it a "ladies guitar".

These smaller guitars were built by several companies and

can be found with different labels. More about that later.

Having worked on this guitar I presume it to be quite a bit

older, most likely around 1920 / 1930 when this Estruch 

label was used for the first time. A lot of workers from the

Salvador Ibanez company started for themselves but kept

building a bit in the Ibanez tradition. Therefore it remains

difficult where exactly these guitars were produced. I can

mention several names here though mostly from Valencia:

Jose Parres, Juan Ponce, Andres Marin and others, not

always workers for the Salvador Ibanez company. I have

3 guitars that in fact are a bit look-a-likes, very simple

in building structure but they all sound surprisingly well.

In fact these guitars are simply built in all aspects as you 

can see on the rosette around the soundhole here. No fan

bracing present in these ones, only the so called ladder 

bracing. Aș this soundboard needed to be sanded and thus

was "ending" thinner, I figured it the best to give it a 3

piece fan bracing. To bring down the string height together

with shaving off the fingerboard towards the head. I made

a twelve hole bridge as can be seen here. Price: 350,-

Some other changes have been added, sometimes for

constructional reasons. For example, the center inlay

wasn't there but when you remove a back, the plantilla

of a guitar changes and besides that it is an opportunity 

to built in a neck reset. The upper and lower bout then

are widening a bit so you are in need of some extra

back material or a new back but the wood of this back 

is so specially figured I've kept that of course.

Besides sanding the whole guitar and do some regluing

of the several parts, I've tried to make the neck as clean

as possible but several paint traces simply were too deep.

Then it is better to repaint the neck as a whole. The rest

of this guitar has been French polished.

The front of the head has been sanded as well a bit but

polishing it further did the job. Cleaning the tuners was

a next step as was making a new knob. A bit strange on

this guitar are the individual machine heads that are 

marked as well. In fact they were a bit sloppy mounted

as you ca see on the uneven holes for the metal rollers

left and right. They still work very smoothly.

Of course new frets and a new topnut as well. The 

fingerboard has been stained to a dark brown colour.

I always use Clou powder to make these stains on

a water base and I add a bit of grey to get that

old look these guitars need to be equipped with.

Resoldering the axe holder for the G string was needed

and I was simply surprised by the material of the other 

knobs that still are like new though the holes in the

head of this guitar are proving that these tuners were

there from the beginning.

Slightly bowed here and there but being that old

it is better not to try to remodel that as the axe

holders were already vulnerable.

Alastair McNeill "Hauser" model guitar nr. 204 from 1997 EN

 

 

This special "Hauser / Torres" model Alastair McNeill 

made multiple times as he was already in an early stage 

interested in what the Spanish luthiers did regarding

guitar building. Provided with the genuine Torres 

head, a timeless design in itself, this guitar has been 

provided with a fan bracing of course. Moreover

however it is well known that Hauser stayed close

to the original Torres designs. Segovia played Hauser

guitars for a long time after he proposed Hermann 

Hauser to follow the Spanish way of building guitars. 

Those guitars remain iconic, also the Hauser II ones.

Prices can be compared  e.g. with the one posted on 

the Reverb site: Another second hand Hauser copy 

(Nr. 203 ) there.

Nice attention to details like the rosette pictured here. This 

guitar has been French polished which is a sign of utmost

care on an instrument like this. Do not expect hughe

volumes coming out of this guitar but a perfect balance 

and beautiful rounded higher notes supported by a great

bass response as well. Funnily enough number 203 in

the Alastair McNeill serie is offered for sale on Reverb.

That is also a Hauser model. Same as this guitar equipped

with a 7 fan soundboard bracing but that is not different

from what Antonio de Torres did. Remarkable however

are the extra braces on the back in the lower bout that are

forming a cross and that way of constructing is pointing 

towards the Hauser method of building.

Also the inlay work is there on both back and front. The wood

used for sides and back are looking a bit like Madagascar 

rosewood to me.

Quite typical are the braces that make a cross in the 

lower bout. That made me think this guitar to be a 

Hauser copy. The brace that runs through this cross 

is scallopped in this guitar and more tiny executed 

than the other transverse bars on the back. This picture

of course is taken from a genuine replica built one,

found on the internet.

The knobs are clinched to their axes and though 

not executed in "gold" these tuners work very well.

But being apparently Lansdorfer / Reischl tuners it 

is another confirmation of the guitar being ment as

a Hauser model as that dynasty of builders almost 

exclusively used these Lansdorfer tuners.

The genuine Lansdorfer / Reischl tuners are among the worlds 

best and they were also used by Jose Romanillos, Robert Ruck 

and the Edmund Blochinger concert guitars among others. They 

can be had in all kinds of varieties, plastic or pearloid buttons 

but it all  starts at about 350 Euro a pair! 

The back has been provided with a straight grained piece 

of indian rosewood which isn't a bad thing so to say. 

Moreover, these straight figured pieces of wood are less 

prone to cracks in the future. Same thing counts for the 

sides as well.

The guitar makes a somewhat smaller impression and 

regarding dimensions that is indeed the case. Moreover

this guitar has been provided with a 640 mm scale.

The purfling around the edges can be studied here

by clicking on this picture. All those details are a

confirmation of McNeills' exquisite workmanship.

The Torres shaped head. Simplicity at its' utmost.

The topnut measures 50 mm in width. As for the 

playing action on this guitar. For the high E string

it is just below 3 mm and for the lowest E string

you can expect a playing action between 4 and 4,5

mm. Together with the slightly smaller scale this

guitar is provided with it really plays comfortable.

There still is enough bridgebone to lower the 

playing if desired. I can do that for you at no

extra costs. Moreover, after buying a guitar here

you can count on a good service in case that

would be necessary.

w

The signed label by mr. McNeill living in Wiltshire.

When you google on "Alastair McNeill REVERB"

you will find another guitar from this luthier, also a

Hauser model and only one number away from this 

example although fairly high priced.

The outer heel has been decorated with taste as well.

This picture has been added to be able to study the sides.

As can be seen: No fretwear what guarantees years

of playing pleasure as this guitar has a beautiful

voice apart from a perfect balance and good volume. 

And another plus is its' playability.

Even the rosette on the Alastair McNeill guitar is close 

to the original where in the inner and outer ring inlays 

seem to "move" in the opposite way, Take a look here 

beyond where an original 1960 Hauser is presented.

Amalio Burguet Model AB (2006) / Amalio Burguet model 1A (2005) EN

 

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: € 900,- case incl.

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) much 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 it 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 as well but I know, not original

anymore. Moreover, Martin did this later in time so it is

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. I must say:

its' sound wasn't that remarkable as it sounded

too modest to my ears. However, when placing

a new set of high end strings hat promised more

volume and high frequencies it gives a beautiful

balanced sound though still "old school".