1930 Santos Hernandez SP/CSAR

Santos Hernandez became a very established maker early in his career when he became known as the builder of the Manuel Ramirez guitar of 1912 that was owned and played by Andres Segovia - this very guitar currently resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, right next to Segovia's 1937 Hauser I. Many others have played his instruments, including Regino Sainz de la Maza (for whom the Concierto de Aranjuez was written), Eduardo Abreu, and the Romero family among others. This particular guitar, built in 1930, is a gorgeous and slightly more ornate example of Santos’ work, with beautiful materials and great style and charm in design and execution. Tone is warm yet clear, balanced and focused with a deep, old-world sound. The guitar has some repaired cracks on the top, two below the bridge. One is spliced and both are well repaired from the underside with cleats. There is another very small crack (also cleated) at the far extremity of the lower bout as well as one on the side of the fingerboard, which is normally found in guitars of this vintage. GV Rubio recently repaired 2 small back cracks which are both invisible both from the inside and outside and did some finish overpolishing. Setup and playability are a breeze and this guitar is ready for the concert hall or recording studio. Players for the past 100 years have valued these instruments for their charming, introverted quality of tone and this instrument is a wonderful example of Santos at his best.