07 Feb We release guitar maker: José Salinas, craftsman of voice and hands
During my stay in Torredelmar (Málaga) on holidays, in summer 2022, I was able to meet a great guitar lover with whom I had the pleasure of share an interesting talk about today´s luthiers.
During one of these talks, he asked me whether I knew José Salinas´s guitars, and I answered I had the chance of trying one of them, and I thought it was a good instrument.
He told me Salinas´s workshop was just a ten-minute drive from there, in El Rincón de la Victoria, and they were close friends. It encouraged me to visit him, as Jordi and me are constantly striving for the search of new craftsmen who can surprise us, in order to be able to offer our customers the best quality, and the widest variety of guitars.
With the great feedback provided by our common friend, we arranged a visit to his workshop. José´s treatment was absolutely exquisite towards both of us. He made us feel at home, and showed us his whole workshop, tools, making systems, his own adjustment system regarding comfort… all of this made us think we were before a truly privileged mind, focused on the search of excellence in every single aspect of the instrument.
In his guitars, I found a powerful personal flamenco timbre, which captivated me as soon as I tried it. It also has a powerful brightness, but with enough body, resulting in an amazing strumming. The tuning and the height and bones adjustment have been carried out with exquisite accuracy, adding this “rebound” effect on the right hand, and the softness and lightness effect on the left one.
I said goodbye to José, letting him know how grateful I was for his exquisite treatment, and how excited we were about finding him and his great guitars.
After talking to Jordi and telling him about my experience, he called José to meet him and place our first order, which we already have here: two flamenco guitars: a white one and a black one, both of which are already available on our “New Guitars” section. My surprise was incredible: As I tried them both, I did not find a single flaw, and I instantly knew I wanted to have these works of art, as well as this firm, in Solera Flamenca. We can assure you they will satisfy all your demands, and beat all your expectations by far!
José Salinas was born in Almería in 1974. His art and great work as a craftsman come from their passion for flamenco, which he has devoted his whole life to, as a singer and guitar lover. In fact, his father, a professional cabinetmaker, passed on this knowledge to his son so he could work on this noble material for more than seven years working together at his workshop. As we said, he was a top-level flamenco singer, as he has worked in some of the most popular tablaos and stages, such as Casa Patas, Las Carboneras, Corral de la Morería, etc. and has been on stage with some of the best artists, like Joaquín Ruiz, Concha Jareño, Belén López, El Amir… All of this allowed him to live surrounded by good guitars and guitarists, who fanned the flames of the passion for flamenco guitar inside of him. His guitars stand out for a particularly personal flamenco timbre, with spotless sound quality and extraordinary comfort. These virtues have managed to captivate great flamenco artists, such as El Amir, Farruquito, Curro Prieto aka “Currito”, Antonio aka “El Ñoño”, or Antonio Carrión, among others.