Flamenco guitar Santos Hernández 1936

This flamenco guitar was built by the legendary master luthier Santos Hernández in 1936. He was Manuel Ramírez´s best disciple, working for him for 23 years. In 1918 he opened his own workshop in 23 Aduana Street. Santos Hernández built around 300 guitars since 1916 until his very death. These guitars were used by many of the greatest guitarists of that time: Ramón Montoya, Andrés Segovia, Sabicas, Niño Ricardo, Regino Sainz de la Maza, etc.

The different kinds of wood used in its construction have an excellent quality. German spruce can be seen in the top, with a very marked, straight and even grain. On the other hand, Spanish Royal Cypress is the kind of wood employed for the back and sides.

This guitar’s sound is truly wonderful; you just have to listen to a single chord to realize you are in front of an instrument with a quality far beyond the rest. A specially flamenco timbre which is full of personality and character. Bright and harsh bass stops, with deep bass and crystal-clear, sweet treble, where a wide variety of harmonics flow easily.

The tension of this flamenco guitar is medium-low, and the height of strings in saddle and fingerboard is reduced. The height on the fret 12 is 2,2 mm, one of the lowest ones possible in a guitar, which allows our left hand to do its job very easily and fluently. Besides, we can feel the extra comfort of having such a light guitar (hardly heavier than a kg).

The condition of conservation is very good, it keeps the originality on all its parts including shellac… It has some fissures, all perfectly repaired and documented on the attached images. We must highlight the construction firmness this instrument shows, which make it appropriate to play it and use it in any situation, getting away from the rumors that say vintage guitars are fragile and delicate.