Flamenco guitar Marcelino López Nieto 1958 nº178

This flamenco guitar was made by Marcelino López Nieto in 1958. Marcelino López Nieto is one of the most representative and widely respected luthiers in Spain. Actually, his name is on the Summerfield list, where the names of best guitar makers are present since 1800. Just like so many luthiers in Spain, Marcelino worked as a cabinetmaker before he devoted himself to the instrument making. Practically self-taught, Marcelino López is one of the few makers in Madrid with no influence from Ramirez school, and his guitars are admired and praised by guitar players and lovers all over the world.

It is simply surprising to see the high quality of the woods employed, and as well as the utter perfection of the making found in this guitar, especially if we bear in mind we are before one of the instruments belonging to the first decade of this genius´s career. The top are made of german spruce has a totally straight and even grain, which is quite accentuated. The back and sides are made of cypress wood, whose beauty and quality are simply magnificent.

In this guitar we find a beautiful dry and lyrical sound, which reminds us to some of the best guitars by maestro Arcángel Fernández, which we had the chance to play for years.

The tension of this flamenco guitar is very soft, and the height of strings in saddle and fingerboard very balanced, achieving a high degree of comfort for both hands.

The condition of this instrument is perfect, carefully preserved and with very few marks from use. It has been acquired directly from its first owner: a lady from Madrid who received it as a present from her father in her childhood. The central joint in the top is slightly dilated. This is fairly common in guitars which have spent most of their life in the particularly dry climate of Madrid. Nevertheless, it requires no repair, as it has a harmonic vareta just under this dilation, practically all along its length, thus preventing this minor issue from getting worse.