1961 Velazquez El Classico

Manuel Velazquez was one of the most beloved luthiers ever to grace New York City with his presence. He worked here, making his absolutely outstanding classical guitars, from the 1940s through the 1960s. His instruments were played by many of the greats: Andres Segovia, Julian Bream, Pepe Romero, Ray del la Torre and more. There were two types of instruments that came out of Velazquez’ shop here in Manhattan, those that he made completely himself and a few more affordable ones, where it is said that he made and voiced the tops, or soundboards, and had the two or three other luthiers in his shop, notables in their own right such as Victor Manuel Piñero, do the final assembly. These guitars had dovetail neck joints rather than the traditional Spanish style to make them easier to assemble, which Manuel said made no difference in the sound. There were, within these El Clasico models, two types: the lesser ones, with mahogany backs and sides, and the top-grade ones, with Brazilian rosewood backs and sides. This Velazquez El Clasico, from 1961, is of the best variety. Its Brazilian rosewood has beautiful straight grain and is of a quality that cannot be had today at any price; the top is of Velazquez’ favored European spruce. Velazquez preferred both of these species for their clarity of tone and resilience. The neck and fingerboard are of course of genuine mahogany and the finest ebony, with traditional 650 mm scale. The tuning machines are German-made Lansdorfers, the very best. The finish is its original varnish, also preferred by Velazquez and also the very best. We have gone over this guitar thoroughly from end to end here in our own shop and taken care of two very minor top cracks that had never been addressed and one older one, the only one that’s visible. There are no cracks or repairs of any kind anywhere else in the guitar. The original saddle was long gone and we made a new one for it of genuine ivory. Action and playability are of course tops, again all taken care of by us. The hard shell case is American-made, somewhat tatty in a very cool way, and original to the guitar. And the tones of this instrument are just incredibly full and sparkling, something one could easily spend a lifetime searching for. Own this magnificent instrument and piece of history for $3295 w/ohsc