22 Oct On Solera Flamenca we have acquired a new historic gem… DISCOVER IT!
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. (SEE GUITAR)
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 Along with the guitar, we offer a priceless document: an unpublished photograph of Michael Fisher, next to Marcelo Barbero, during the making process of a guitar.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 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.
To say goodbye, we leave you with this article that Michael Fisher wrote about flamenco and in which he attaches a photograph of Marcelo Barbero with his guitar during the construction process.