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Flamenco guitar Marcelo Barbero 1955

This flamenco guitar was made by the legendary guitar maker Marcelo Barbero in Madrid, 1955. This maker is regarded as one of the most important flamenco guitar craftsmen ever. After Santos Hernández’s death, his widow, Matilde Ruiz, ordered Marcelo Barbero the making of Santos’ unfinished guitars before his premature death in 1943, thus employing the workshop and tools located in 23 Aduana Street, Madrid. Thanks to that, Marcelo learned and
discovered some little tricks secrets Santos had when making his guitars, becoming his only disciple and apprentice, even if just indirectly. This is why Barbero’s guitars after this time are the most valued by instrument collectors all around the world. This guitars stand out for their light weight and outstanding acoustic response, quick and accurate, but also full of flamenco character.

The different woods in this flamenco guitar are of the top existing quality. 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.

This guitar is a true gem. For us, it is a true privilege to purchase and expose it on our web, as, odd as it may sound, it is so much more difficult to find a guitar made by Marcelo Barbero than by Don Antonio de Torres or Santos Hernández.

This instrument was made in 1955, when this luthier was peaking. In fact, by 1948 Marcelo Barbero had already learned everything from his mentor, Santos Hernández, and he had developed his own making system. This system allowed him to create a supreme instrument which, in our opinion, represents the true leap from the old Spanish guitar to the modern one.

The guitar belonged to Michael Fisher, an important American physicist, deeply in love with flamenco. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT HIS LIFE BY CLICKING HERE.

Michael Fisher travelled to Madrid himself in order to commission this instrument. Along with the guitar, we offer a priceless document: an unpublished photograph of Michael Fisher, next to Marcelo Barbero, during the making process of a guitar. Also, Marcelo´s business card, which the craftsman used as an order sheet, where the cost of the instrument is detailed, as well as the down payment.

Under the top, we can find a dedication written to Michael Fisher, which makes us think they were friends, rather than having a mere supplier-customer relationship.

The sound coming out of this instrument is pure magic, with this unique and personal timbre we only find in Marcelo Barbero´s guitars, filling them with this special, magical aura. All of it results in cult objects, pursued by the best collectors and performers all over the world.

The strings height and adjustment which this guitar allows is simply perfect, this permits an extremely comfortable touch in both hands and an increase in fluidity when playing the instrument.

The condition is absolutely incredible for a guitar of that period. All of its original parts are preserved (varnish, pegbox, bones…). It only has a small crack on the top, perfectly repaired and backed up with documentary evidence through the images attached. If we look at the label we can see the remains of what was a sticker that Michael Fisher placed on it on one of his trips to avoid problems with customs as it is such a valuable guitar.

Price Inquire - SOLD

Additional Information
Year

1955

Top

German spruce

Back and sides

Cypress

Scale length

660 mm

Finish

French polish

Tuners

Traditional wooden pegs

String height 12th fret

2.8 mm

Saddle height

8.5 mm

Nut width

51 mm

Dist. between 1st-6th string at the nut

43 mm

Dist. between 1st-6th string at the saddle

57 mm

Condition

Excellent – original

Weight

1140 gr

Included case

Original

Optional case (plus 250€)

Hiscox PRO-II-GCL-L

Optional case ( plus 650 € )

BAM Panther 8002XLB Hightech

Video recorded with strings

Solera Flamenca «Alma» by Vicente Amigo (Nylon)

Availability

SOLD

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