Zavaleta's Collection of Fine and Rare Historic Guitars
| Our collection of
vintage and antique guitars samples the history of guitar making from the
baroque period to the present. Although I am not anxious to part with these
guitars, everything is for sale if the right offer is made.
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La Guerrera de Cadiz, 1761.
One ancient practice in Spain is for makers
to give a name to a guitar that is particularly outstanding. The most famous
example of this is La Liona (the lioness) of Antonio Torres.
This baroque guitar was named "La Guerrera de Cadiz" (The Warrioress of Cadiz)
and was made by a luthier whose name has been lost to history in Cadiz in 1761. Like the Sevilla maker Francisco Sanguino's guitars,
this instrument has a very deep body, 127mm at the neck and 140mm at the bottom.
Sanguino seems to have originated fan bracing only a couple years earlier.
Whereas Sanguino's guitars had three fan braces, this one has seven. Its name is appropriate: it has been
through the wars, and though scarred, it is a survivor. Its story is one that is
typical of many five-course baroque guitars that were converted into 6-stringed
instruments in the 19th century. It was made into six stringed instrument
probably in England about 1840 judging from the Panormo style headstock with
Baker machine heads that has been grafted on to the
neck. During this conversion, the original tie bridge was replaced by a
pin-bridge, the original scale which was probably 665-670mm was shortened to
645mm, and a modern fretted fingerboard was added. The luthier who built it
obviously understood the relationship between the Helmholtz resonance, sound
hole
size, and the volume of the chamber. Its deep body (130-140mm) gives this guitar a resonance
chamber whose volume approaches that of a modern guitar, resulting in a
surprisingly modern sound, reminiscent of classical guitars of the Madrid school guitars.
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Joseph R. Bertet, Paris, 1762.
This baroque guitar which forms
part of our guitar collection was made by Joseph R. Bertet, a luthier active in
Paris from about 1730 to 1770. Bertet later moved to Nantes where continued
working, and probably died. Bertet was the pupil of Louis Guersan,
(b.1713-d.1770) who eventually became Guild Master of the luthier's Guild of
Paris. Guersan, in turn, had learned his craft from Claude Pierray (1698-1740),
one of the great Parisian masters. Bertet's workshop at the time this instrument
was built was on Rue Dauphiné, near the Comédie Française, where Guersan and
Pierray also had their workshops. Built only some fifteen years or so before the
first six string guitars were built in France, this guitar is built in
17th century style. Although the guitar is still playable, it has not come down
to us unaltered. As was the fate of most 5 course guitars, it was
converted to a six string guitar probably very early in its history, judging by
the simple brass bar frets that replaced the original gut ones. It was also
fitted with a pin bridge, the scale was shorten from 645mm to 625mm, and
its parchment rose was discarded. Fortunately, the headstock was not altered,
and sometime also early in its history, it was converted back to its baroque,
five course configuration, and a new tie bridge (although not in 18th century
style) was fashioned. The present parchment rose was made by Elena Dal Cortivo,
and is an exact replica of the rose in another surviving Bertet.
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Jacobus Jany, Vienna, 1800.
The six string guitar appeared in the mid-1780s in Naples, Paris, and Vienna.
This guitar made in 1800 by Jacobus Jany, a luthier in Vienna, came into our
guitar collection in nearly perfect condition, and required no restoration. As
may be seen it closely resembles those being made by Giovanni Battist
Fabricatore (active c. 1780-1811) in Naples at about the same time. Its ebony
fingerboard is set flush with the top. It has maple back and sides, German
spruce top, figure eight headstock with pegs. It has tie gut and ivory frets,
however, its original tie bridge was replaced by a pin bridge early in the
19th century. The scale is 625 mm. This instrument has surprisingly good
volume for a small bodied instrument, very lovely tone, with focused trebles,
well rounded mid-range, and nice basses although not as full or deep as in a
modern guitar, but all together the combination works wonderfully well,
especially when playing period music such as Sor or Giuliani.
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Husson et Duchêne, Paris, c. 1845.
The firm Husson et Duchêne was established in Paris in 1839 by two luthiers
Claude Charles Husson (1811-1893) and Jean-Baptiste Colin Duchêne (b.
c.1800-d.1889) This guitar was made between 1841-1845 when their shop was
at Rue Grenéta, no 13 (see photo).
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Manuel Gutierrez, Sevilla, 1837.
Manuel Gutierrez Martinez was born in Sevilla around 1773, and
died there in 1857. Manuel Gutierrez chief claim to fame is that he was a close
friend of Antonio Torres (b. 1817- d. 1892). According to Prat (1934:374) when
Torres was first becoming established in Sevilla, Gutierrez shared his workshop
at calle Cerrageria 36 with him. Torres arrived in Sevilla in 1845 so he
probably shared Manuel's workshop sometime between 1849 when Gutierrez moved to
Cerrageria 36, and 1854, when Torres opened his own workshop at Ballestilia 11,
moving then to Cerrageria 32, a few doors down the street (Romanillos and
Winspear 2001:176). According to Romanillos, (FE 2) shows that Torres was
still learning his art in 1854. Romanillos notes that it is hard to assess just
how much Torres learned from contact with other makers in Sevilla, "in
particular with Manuel Gutierrez, it is probable that he was able to learn
certain techniques to help him in his career" (Ramanillos 1995:20-21). Frank
Wallace, a concert guitarist who has recorded with a 1854 Gutiérrez (Gyremusic
CD), and has compared it with the 1857 Torres (FE 07) in the Yale collection
believes the elderly Gutiérrez must have shared his knowledge with Torres.
Romanillos notes , Torres used an old neck on FE 07 that was originally made for
a double course guitar. Since this guitar has a bull's horn headstock like
Gutierrez used, it is possible that he got this neck from him. Wallace notes
"here are other indisputable similarities between these instruments. They are
alike in size, shape and lightness of construction, with the exception that
Gutiérrez' has a deeper body (over 100 mm!). Both instruments have three-piece
backs, five radial struts, a v-shaped shaft splice, and an almost identical
headstock, in a shape reminiscent of bull's horns." Wallace also observes,
"similar techniques were clearly used by Gutiérrez to refine the top of our
guitar, whose thickness varies widely from 1.4-2.2 mm. Their sound is remarkably
similar, in spite of the different woods for the back and sides (Gutiérrez,
Brazilian rosewood; Torres, cypress. Both are rich, dark, full and complex in
sound." This 1837 Gutierrez is similarly built, although the bridge is a later
replacement. This guitar also has a deep body measuring 100 mm at the neck, and
108 mm at the end. Acoustically, its tall sides are heard in its depth of
tone. It is very responsive, and has excellent volume and power. The basses are
woody, dark, rich, defined, and complex. The mid-range is well-developed
producing lush notes. The trebles sing. They are sweet, rounded, polished,
clear, incisive.
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Brugere, Mirecourt, c. 1850. This guitar was made by Brugere in Mirecourt around 1850. His claim to fame is that he was a luthier who
built for Rene Lacote (1785-1868) as well as for Coffe-Goguette (1799-1881),
another well established maker in Mirecourt (Westbrook 2007:57). This guitar
appears to be based on a guitar that Lacote made for Dionisio Aguado
(1784-1849) towards the end of this Spanish guitarist and composer's life. There
were actually two Brugere brothers who appear to have built for Lacote: Francois
Brugere (1822-1875) and Charles Joseph Brugere. They were the sons Elie Brugere,
a guitar maker in Mirecourt. Given their difference in age, Francois was
probably trained by his father, and appears to have begun building guitars for
Lacote around 1850. That some of these are signed "fait a Brugere" while others
are inscribed "Brugere juenes" (Brugere, the youngers) suggests, given the
difference in their ages, that Charles Joseph began working with his brother
after finishing his apprenticeship, probably around 1860. A 1868 Lacote
described by Sinier de Ridder (2007:46-47) bears the inscription "fait par
Brugere, eleve de Marcard, Mirecourt, Vosges." It suggests that Charles Joseph
Brugere, who became known for making fine guitars, apprenticed with LeMaitre
Marcard, a master luthier in Mirecourt who trained many disciples. This guitar,
however, is simply signed under the top, Brugere a Mirecourt. Westbrook believes
it was made around 1850 (personal communication), if so it was made by Francois
Brugere.
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Francisco Casasnovas, Palma
de Mallorca, 1853.
Francisco
Casasnovas (the surname is also written Casanovas) was born in 1816 in Palma de
Mallocora. He began building guitars and bandurrias in 1845, opening his
workshop at Plaza de la Merced 1, Palma de Mallorca. He trained his sons, Bartolome Casasnovas i Fiol, and
Miguel Casasnovas de Fiol. When he died in 1876, his sons took over the
workshop, building under the label Hijos de Casasnovas until 1927. This guitar
is historically important in that it shows that the seven brace kite system with
closing chevrons was already in use before Torres. The guitar is made with fine
German spruce, and Brazilian rosewood. The scale length is 650mm, with a 50mm
nut. The guitar is made with fine German spruce, and Brazilian rosewood. The
scale length is 650mm, with a 50mm nut. The guitars of Casasnovas, like
those made by Agustin Caro (who was active in Granada from about 1800 to 1830)
have deeper sides than a modern classical, ranging from 98mm at the neck to
108mm at the bottom. This helps compensate for the guitars smaller body, by
giving the box a greater air mass, to produce a deeper tonality. Among the other interesting
features of this guitar are reinforcing bracing on either side of the
fingerboard, locked into the traverse brace, a system which has successfully
prevented a common problem of cracks forming along either side of the
fingerboard as the ebony shrinks since 1853. The neck and headstock are made of
a single piece. The top, back, and sides are very thin, and the guitar is very
light. While this guitar has had its share of repairs over the years, it remains
a wonderful, responsive, concert quality instrument that puts a lie to the myth
of guitars having short life spans.
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Antonio Carlos Garcia, Madrid,
c. 1870.
This maker of guitars and bandurrias was active in Madrid circa 1870. This
Spanish guitar was made for the English market where according to its label
Alban Voigt & Co. was Garcia's exclusive distributor in Great Britain and the
colonies. This guitar has a three piece top, back and sides of Brazilian
rosewood.
What looks like mother-of-pearl inlayed into ebony of the rosette is actually a
white metal. The construction of this small instrument (590mm scale), is
unusual in that it makes no use of fan bracing. Despite this, its tone and
volume are surprisingly big.
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Josef Hauser,
Munich, c. 1890. Best known as the father of Hermann Hauser I, Josef
Hauser (1854-1939) was a renowned luthier in his own right, although perhaps
better remembered as a maker of zithers, and as a composer of zither music than
as a guitar maker. He was born in Burghausen, and apprenticed as a carpenter.
During his apprenticeship, he meet Jospf Wimmer, a famous zither player and
teacher, and began studying zither. He soon became a virtuoso zither player and
composer. In Erding, near Munich, he rented an old barn, and started building
zithers. Finishing his first instrument, he took it to show to Duke Maximilian
of Bavaira, himself an avid zither player. The two men played the instrument all
night long. The next day, the duke gave Josef a letter of recommendation. Thus
encouraged, Josef established his workshop in 1875, and began to make zithers
and a variety of instruments, guitars, lutes, mandolins, and violins. In 1898,
Josef won a Gold metal at an exposition in Berlin. Unfortunately,
he lost an arm in a street car accident in 1900, and was forced to sell his
workshop. This guitar shows he was a talented maker, and passed on a
considerable body of knowledge to his son. This guitar is essentially the
same instrument design as Hermann Hauser's Munich model shown below. Surviving
guitars by Josef are rare, Hermann Hauser III claims to have only seen three
others in twenty five years.
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José
López Beltrán,
Almeria 1894.
This guitar is probably the
rarest guitar in our guitar collection, only two others are known. José
López Beltrán was born in the parish of San Sebastian, Almeria in 1846 and died
sometime after 1906. He seems to have assisted the great Spanish luthier Antonio
de Torres (1817-1892) during the last few years of his life. This guitar's
label reads "José López Beltrán/Unico Discipulo/de/Don Antonio Torres/Teatro
Apolo/Almeria Anno 18[94]" (penned in). We know that by 1887 Torres' heath was
deteriorating, and his hands shook so badly that he had difficulties signing his
name, and needed help to do assembly work. He was widowed, and had two
young daughters Matilde (b. 1872-73) and Ana (b.1876) to support, and so
was building full-time. While Juan Martinez Sirvent, a local priest, assisted
Torres form time to time, Torres probably needed more help than the priest could
provide. We also know Torres struggled in his last years, and died so deep in
debt that even the sale of all his properties wasn't enough to pay off his
creditors completely. Reading between the lines, here is where I suspect José
López Beltrán entered the picture. More worried about finding help than training
a competitor, Torres stuck a deal with José López Beltrán that he would teach
him to make guitars in return for his help. We know that in 1894 Torres' family
asked José López Beltrán to make a fitted case to send Torres' famous 1856
"La Leona" to its buyer in Argentina. The fact that José López Beltrán was
advertising himself as Torres' disciple on his label at the time suggests that
the family had no difficulty with his claim. However, perhaps the strongest
argument that José López Beltrán had some instruction from Torres is this
instrument's characteristically Torres sound.
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Manuel Ramirez, Madrid, C.
1900.
Manuel Ramirez (1864-1916) in his time
was far more famous guitar maker than was his brother, José Ramirez I
(1858-1923), the founder of the Ramirez dynasty.
Manuel trained a generation of
great luthiers: Enrique Garcia, Santos Hernandez, Modesto Borreguero, and
Domingo Esteso, and is also remembered for his gift of a fabulous guitar to a
young Andrés Segovia in 1912. Manuel learned his craft from his brother José,
who had been taught by Francisco González (c1818-c1880). In 1882, José
and Manuel opened their workshop in the Rastro of Madrid, on Cava Baja-- a
street that runs along what was the moot around the old city. Around 1890,
Manuel decided to go out on his own. Initially, he said he was going to move to
Paris as had José's pupil, Julian Gomez Ramirez (no relation). His brother,
José, helped him make preparations, but instead of going to Paris, he opened a
workshop on the Plaza de Santa Ana. José felt betrayed, and the rift this caused
was so deep that they never spoke again. In 1893, Manuel won a medal at the
Chicago Fair for his work. In 1897, Ramirez moved his shop to Arlabán 10; and,
in 1911 to Arlabán 11, where it remained until the death of his widow in 1920.
This little guitar was probably made some between 1897 and 1903, for by 1904
Manuel had been appointed as the luthier for the Royal Conservatory of Music in
Madrid, a fact that afterwards he advertised on his labels. This flamenco
guitar with cypress back and sides has several unusual features. Not only
does have machine heads that Ramirez used on his classical guitars, but it has a
very shallow body, and short scale of 620mm. It weights almost nothing. The
bridge seems to be a replacement. The sound is amazing, very reminiscent of a
Torres-- vibrant, full bodied, alive, with great volume. The action is a
flamenco player's dream. It is easy to see why flamenco players loved this sort
of guitar, it balances easily on ones knee, and fits comfortably against one's
chest when playing
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Hermann Hauser, Munich, c.1903. Hermann Hauser (1882-1952) was the son of Josef Hauser (1854-1939), a luthier and zither maker. About 1900, according to Hermann Hauser III, shortly after Hermann graduated from the State School for Violin Making in Mittenwal, Josef lost an arm in a streetcar accident, and was forced to sell his workshop to a Mr. Steigenberger. Josef sold Hermann with the shop. The sales contract specified that Hermann was to work for the new workshop for 5 or 6 years. Mr. Steigenberger also had purchased a workshop from Mr. Braun, and so the new workshop was called Braun und Hauser. Hermann was central to the business, and became the foreman of the Braun and Hauser shop. Once Hermann left, the shop seems to have gone out of business. This guitar is from the Braun and Hauser workshop. I suspect that Hermann had a hand in its construction as its tone is typical of his non-Spanish guitars -- balanced, rich, complex, great clarity and separation, with concentrated trebles and resonant basses. It has good volume. The back, sides, and neck are of European flamed maple. The top is of German spruce. It has a rosewood fingerboard. Its string length is 635mm. The original bridge was missing, so a new one was made using photographs supplied by Hermann Hauser III of a Braun und Hauser guitar from his own guitar collection.
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Hermann Hauser, Munich, c. 1905 This guitar is from the Braun and Hauser workshop. It is what latter Hermann Hauser would call his Munich model. He also later made a Vienna model, see the 1924 Hauser in this collection. Its tone is typical of Hauser's non-Spanish guitars -- balanced, rich, complex, great clarity and separation, with concentrated trebles and resonant basses. It has great volume. The back, sides, and neck are of basswood with a reddish cherry stain. The top is of German spruce. It has a ebony stained fingerboard. Its string length is 610 mm.
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1910 Max Amberger Classical Guitar. This very well-made guitar is from the Max Amberger workshop. Max Amberger, (1838-1889) was a luthier in Munich who founded a company that built zithers, violins, and guitars around 1860. When he died, his son, Henry Amberger (1863-1910) took over company and continued building under his father’s name (R.Vannes 1951:8). After his death, Henry's widow took over the company. The Amberger’s were close friends of the Hauser’s and some writer’s claim that Hermann Hauser worked for Max Amberger before opening his own shop. Hermann Hauser III denies this. “My grandfather never worked in the shop of Max Amberger, rather Hermann bought the company from Amberger’s widow in 1921, and moved his workshop from Bayerstr. 33 to the Amberger workshop on Müllerstr. 8” (personal communication). Under Hauser the Max Amberger company continued to build zithers. Hauser Sr. simply added “Inh Herm. Hauser” to the label as its proprietor. In fact, the Max Amberger company now under Hauser III continues to manufacture zithers even today. This guitar was probably built between 1895 and 1921, and is a Munich style guitar which is nearly identical those that Hermann Hauser built into the 1920s. Hermann Hauser III has a Max Amberber guitar much like this one in his own collection that he has photographed next to his grandfather’s Munich model for comparison.
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Hermann Hauser, Munich, 1911. This rare instrument of Hermann Hauser's is built in the style of a Guadagnini classical guitar, of the sort that Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) would have played. According to Hermann Hauser III, this guitar was one of several instruments that his grandfather built for Prof. Heinrich Scherrer, "a famous lute and guitar player (the king of the lute and guitar in Munich in the period from 1900 to 1920)." The back, sides, and neck are of European flamed maple. The top is of German spruce. Like all the instruments, Hauser Sr. made for Prof. Scherrer the top was not varnished, but left nearly natural. The fingerboard is scalloped and has metal frets to 9th fret, with ivory used for the upper frets. Its string length is 645mm, 48mm. nut. Everything is original. In this instrument Hauser achieved a tone that is typical of Guadagnini's classical guitars: balanced, refined, dry yet clear, with concentrated lively trebles and resonant basses. The separation is excellent, but the strings blend perfectly in chords.
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Hermann Hauser, Munich,
1914.
Because this guitar is not typical of those I had seen made by Hermann Hauser
prior to 1925, I wrote to Hermann Hauser III and asked him about it. He
responded that he has two like this one in his collection from 1917 and 1918.
This guitar, according to Hermann Hauser III, was one of several inspired by
17th and 18th century French guitars that his grandfather built for Prof.
Heinrich Scherrer,
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Hermann Hauser, Munich, 1914. Although Hauser is primarily remembered for his guitars, he also made a variety of related instruments, such as lutes and archlutes. The guitar-lute was a very popular instrument from the 1880s to 1930s especially in Germany, and so Hauser also built guitar-lutes. With six strings, they are strung and tuned like a guitar, but have the body of a lute. The instruments has pegs rather than machines. The body is made of maple, the top of German spruce. The ebony fingerboard is scalloped and has metal frets to 6th fret on the neck, with ebony used for the upper six frets on the body. True to lute tradition, the tie-bridge is made without a saddle. The carved rose is the same pattern he used on all his lutes. Its string length is 650mm, 50mm nut, the body is 600mm, and the overall length is 1020mm. The label reads "Herm. Hauser Lautenmacher in Munichen Bayerstr. 33, A.D. 1914. The instrument has very good volume, and the sound is much closer to a guitar than to a lute, and is very recognizably and typically Hauser. His genius is clearly present in this humble instrument, and reconfirms my assessment that his early work has not received the attention and recognition it deserves.
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Santos Hernandez, 1923.
Widely considered the greatest Spanish luthier of the first half of the 20th
century, Santos Hernandez was born in Madrid in 1873. He apprenticed first with
Valentin Viudes II, then went to work for José
Ortega in Granada, but soon returned to Madrid to work for the Hijo de Francisco
Gonzalez. In 1893, he was called up for military service, and fought in
Spanish-American war. Upon leaving the army, he found work in the shop of Manuel
Ramirez. It is accepted that it was Santos who made the guitar that Manuel gave
Segovia in 1912. When Manuel died in 1916, Santos continued to work for his
widow until at least 1918 when he opened his own shop of Aduana 27, though he
perhaps continued to make guitars for her until her death in 1921. The guitars
that he made for the Vda de Manuel Ramirez carry his initials S.H. on the label.
From 1916 to his death in 1943, Santos is thought to have made perhaps 300
guitars under his own name. Virtually all the major flamenco players his day
played Santos Hernandez guitars: Ramon Montoya, Niño Ricardo, Sabicas, Esteban
de Sanlúcar, Manolo de Huelva, Manolo de Badajoz, etc. His classicals are
likewise highly prized. We are proud to have this a fine flamenco guitar
in our collection.
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Juan Galan, Buenos Aires, 1927. Juan Galán
Rodriguez was born in Malaga in 1876. He was the son of the distinguished
luthier, Juan Galán Caro, also a native of Malaga, who had in turn learned his
art from Antonio Lorca, the father. Working with his father, Juan became a
master guitar maker. In 1906, he decided to move to Buenos Aires, and beginning
in 1908 he began building guitars in Argentina. In Argentina, he became a grand
figure in the guitar world, and all the great artists of his day were drawn to
his workshop. His guitars were specially prized not only for their excellent
sound, and workmanship, but because they were especially playable, and
required little effort of the left hand. This guitar represents his best work,
the back and sides, are adored by marquetry matching the tiles in the rosette.
While not a loud
instrument, it possess more adequate volume for most concert halls. It possess
wonderful clarity, great presence, amazing separation such that even in chords,
every note is heard, every note is balanced. The basses have a cello like
quality. The trebles are full and sweet.
1927 Juan Galan played by Cale
Hoeflicker
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Domingo Esteso, Madrid, 1929.
Domingo Esteso Lopez was born in San Clemente in the province of Cuenca in 1882.
He was one the great guitar makers of the early 20th century based in Madrid. In
the 1890s, he began as an apprentice in the shop of Manuel Ramirez, working
along side such greats as Santos Hernandez and Modesto Borreguero. When Manuel
Ramirez died in 1916, he continued to work for Manuel's widow for about a year.
In 1917 he opened his own shop on the calle Gravina, where he was joined by his
nephew, Faustino Conde in 1926. After his death in 1937, Faustino and his two
brothers, Mariano and Julio, took over the shop, building under Vda y Sobrinos
de Domingo Esteso (Widow and nephews of Domingo Esteso. Following the widow's
death in the 1960s, they became Hermanos Conde, sobrinos (nephews) of Domingo
Esteso. This classical guitar was made in his shop on Gravina and has a German
spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. The scale is 650mm with a 52mm
nut. It came into our collection in poor condition, and was beautifully restored
by Pedro Maldonado in 2000.
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Santos Hernandez, 1934, Madrid.
This is Santos Hernandez concert classical guitar has a lush earthy tone. The
basses are firm, the mid-range is fat, the trebles are sweet, lyrical and clear.
The guitar sings even in the highest registers. The label has been signed and
dated by Santos Hernandez, the Spanish foot bears his stamp, and the underside
of the top also appear to be signed. This guitar has a top of German
spruce, and Brazilian rosewood back and sides. The guitar has five fan braces--
open at the bottom, but Santos did not slatted the harmonic bar.
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Santos Hernandez, 1936, Madrid.
This guitar is an example
of why Santos Hernandez flamencos were the choice of professional player in his
epoch, and remain the prize of collectors. It is not simply an excellent
flamenco, with the explosive power, snap, rasp, and responsiveness professional
flamenco players seek, but it also has an abundance of tone, rarely heard in
flamenco guitars-- duende, soulfulness. Santos Hernandez seems to have lavished
a bit more attention to detail on this guitar, perhaps making it for a special
client. While the guitar has had some repairs over the years, it has survived in
remarkable shape, and is a wonderfully playable and rewarding instrument.
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Hermann
Hauser, Munich 1937. Jokingly
one might call this Vienna model, the 1937 Hauser Segovia didn't choose. This
guitar is fascinating not simply because it shows that Hauser continued to make
Vienna style guitars even as he built Segovia's 1937 Spanish style concert
guitar, but because its sound has decidedly Spanish character. When its
construction is compared to the 1924 model in this collection it reveals also
something of what he had learned from the Spanish tradition. While the bracing
pattern remains essentially like that of the 1924 model, the treatment of the
braces is very different. The 1924 model has very tall thin, hence very sturdy
braces, making for a stiff top and back. The 1937's bracing are almost identical
treatment to the braces in the 1934 Santos Hernandez is this collection, being
half the height of the 1924's, making for a much more flexible top and back, and
much different tone. Santos Hernandez, of course, is generally as the craftsman
who worked for Manuel Ramirez that built Segovia 1912 guitar, a guitar that
Segovia had let Hauser study. Hauser's Spanish guitars were also influenced by
Miguel Llobet's Torres, which Hauser also had
opportunity to study closely.
That Hauser continued to build his Vienna model even as he built Segovia's guitars is in itself interesting. Perhaps he felt with a few modifications, a German design could rival Spanish ones, or it may have simply been someone wanted one, and he obliged. Whatever his motivations the result was a German guitar with a decidedly Spanish flavor.
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Marcelino Lopez Nieto,
Madrid, 1965.
Born in 1931, Marcelino was
a cabinet maker before becoming a guitar maker. He was drawn into making
guitars, because he was studying with Daniel Fortea, and wanted a fine guitar,
but could not afford one. Although, he confesses that as a luthier he is largely
self-taught, he worked for a time carving head stocks for Hernandez y
Aguado, and he informally learned much the theory of his craft from the widow of
Santos Hernandez, and from his nephew Santos Bayon in whose workshop he hung out
regularly as did many of the leading musicians of the time. He established
his own workshop in Madrid in 1949. Marcelino is a complete luthier, and makes
not only fine classical and flamenco guitars, but historic guitars and ancient
instruments. He is also one of only five living Spanish makers included on
Summerfield's list of the finest guitar makers since 1800. This flamenco guitar
which was made in 1965 has back and sides of cypress, German spruce top, machine
heads, and like old flamenco guitars a tap plate made of maple. The scale is
650mm, with a 52mm nut.
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1964 Piedro Gallinotti Hauser Model Concert Guitar.
Pietro Gallinotti (1885-1979) was born in Solero, Italy, a small town in the
province of Alessenadria. At age 10, Pietro apprenticed as cabinet maker
in Genova, where he worked for nearly twenty years. Just before World War I,
Pietro went to Savigliano to work in a factory building railway coaches, but was
soon drafted. During the War he was captured and imprisoned in Czechoslovakia.
There, when the camp commandant learned he was a skilled cabinet maker, he gave
him a violin, and ordered him to make a copy of it. After the war, Pietro
returned to Solero and opened a workshop, and began instruments in the violin
family. He built the classic models of Stradivarius, Guarnerious, Rocca, Oddone.
His fame grew. He won important prizes in Ginevra, in 1927, in Rome in 1933, in
Balognia in 1936, in Torino e Modena in 1953. Besides violins, violas, and
cellos, Gallinotti made mandolins, and copies of guitars by Gaetano Guadagnini e
Gatt. After seeing a Simplicio, he was inspired to build guitars in the Spanish
manner. Pietro began to study the Spanish school by repairing guitars of Santos
Hernandez, Simplicio, and Julian Gomez Ramirez. In 1933, he built a copy of a
Julian Gomez Ramirez. In 1949, Andres Segovia came to Alessandria to give a
concert, and Pietro had a chance to hear the great maestro play his 1937 Hauser
guitar. After the concert, Gallinotti and his son Carlo, accompanied the maestro
to dinner. Segovia asked Gallinotti to do a small repair on his Hauser. Allowing
Gallinotti to have it for a short time, gave him the opportunity to study it.
Using Segovia's Hauser as a model, Gallinotti's attainments as a luthier reached
new heights. Many great guitarists began to use his instruments. First among
these was Aliro Diaz, who became a fervent admirer, and used his guitars in
recordings. In the 1960s, Pietro had the opportunity to show one of his guitars
to the great Segovia, who after playing it, was so impressed that a he wanted to
write a note of appreciation on it. Although Pietro died in 1979, his stature as
a guitar maker has continued to grow. In 2006, and Guitar exhibition and
concert series at the Museum of Savigliano was held in his honor, and an
important book on this luthier's art was published by Mario da Ara and Mario
Grimaldi Pietro Gallinotti Liutaio di Solero, with diagrams, prints, and
testimonies by students, musicians and artists.
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2004 Felix Manzanero Concert Classical Guitar. Felix Manzanero was born in Madrid in 1937. He had learned a little about guitar making from Modesto Borreguero (1893-1969)-- who been trained by Manuel Ramirez (1864-1916)-- and was a friend of the family. So, at the age of 14, when he learned that the Ramirez shop was looking for someone, he applied. Felix Manzanero began his apprenticeship under José Ramirez II (1885-1957) doing varnishing and building bandurrias, and working along side Alfonso Benito and Jose Ramirez III, the only others in the shop. He recounts how he secretly made his first guitar out of scraps of wood he saved. When Ramirez III saw it, he was impressed, and then allowed Felix to build guitars, eventually promoting him to a master craftsman. After 12 years there, Felix started his own business and workshop. Felix occasionally makes guitars for himself. This is one such instrument, with a rosette done in the style of the early 20th century makers such as Manuel Ramirez, Domingo Esteso, and Santos Hernandez. All the woods employed in building this guitar have been aged at least 25 years. The 33 year old German spruce top is outstanding, and Indian rosewood is superb. This handmade concert classical guitar not only has the power one expects in a concert instrument, but a noble rich, complex, refined, and balanced tone. It is an absolute gems of the luthier's art.
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This firm eventually gave birth to Thibouville-Lamy, the largest purveyor of
musical instruments in France. When Duchêne left the partnership in 1848, Husson
took on a new partner, Charles Buthod (1810-1889). In 1861, they were joined by
Jerome Thibouville. The firm of Husson, Buthod, and Thibouville brought together
regional factories which made woodwinds at la Couture, brass instruments at
Paris-Grenville, and string instruments (including guitars) at Mirecourt. By
1867, the partnership had become simply the firm Thibouville-Lamy. By 1900,
Thibouville-Lamy had branches in London and New York. This firm, in fact, still
exists. This little finely made French guitar has birds-eye maple back and
sides, a very close grain spruce top, probably from some long extinct European
forest, and a very lovely engraved rosette made of mother-of-pearl. Machine
heads with ivory rollers. The scale is 625mm, with a 47mm nut. The tone is
romantic, with intensely concentrated trebles, firm basses, and excellent
volume.
"a famous lute and guitar player (the king of the lute and guitar in Munich in
the period from 1900 to 1920)." The back, sides, and neck are of European
flamed maple. The top is of German spruce. Like all the instruments, Hauser Sr.
made for Prof. Scherrer the top was not varnished, but left nearly
natural. The fingerboard is scalloped and has a zero fret, and metal frets to
9th fret, with ivory used for the upper frets. Its string length is 640mm, 47mm
nut, the body is 478mm, and the overall length is 965mm. The label reads "Herm.
Hauser Lautenmacher in Munichen Bayerstr. 33, A.D. 1914. The maker's stamp are
visible on the back, neck block, and top, and the underside of the top is signed
by Hauser and dated 10/VII/1914. The bridge does not seem to be original. The
tone is typically Hauser: balanced, refined, clear yet slightly dark,
concentrated lively trebles. The basses are resonant. Although this classical
guitar has good volume, it is not as loud or as resonant as his Spanish guitars.
