2020 Pepe Romero "Dome" SP/CSAR

One of the great guitar-making stories in many years was the recent discovery of some ancient wood by German luthier Edmund Blöchinger who built a limited run of instruments he called "The Dome" in reference to the 800+ year old spruce tops having once been housed in the roof of the Munich Frauenkirche for over four and a half centuries. Blöchinger gifted one of these prized tops to his close friend Pepe Romero, who in turn built this guitar for us. Like with the Blöchinger guitars made with this material, this guitar is breathtaking in appearance and words cannot describe the richness of sound it produces, with so little effort from the player. This incredible wood with so many stories dwelling in its grains has been given a second chance at life in this instrument and again, words fail to describe just how precious an experience it is to play this guitar. This is guitar making taken to an entirely different level. As with all of Pepe's guitars, it also has huge volume and extremely quick response. Although the tone is "classical", the response and playability is much like a southern Spanish flamenco guitar - likely due to its lightweight build, for its size. For many years now, these have been compared in this regard to the great instrument of Miguel Rodriguez. Playability is very easy with a smooth neck and large, rounded frets. In addition to the incredible soundboard, this guitar also features a striking set of CSA rosewood for the back and sides with contrasting sap in the center with the darker heartwood at the extremities. Pepe's private waiting list for new instruments is several years long so as his exclusive US dealer, we are pleased to acquire and offer 1 or 2 of his new guitars per year, and in particular it is a treat to have this very special instrument with such a fascinating backstory.

Photos of this guitar being built.

Orfeo Magazine No. 10 - West Coast Luthiers