Classical guitar schools of Spain

[19821979]

Greetings

I was wondering what the differance is between the various Spanish classical guitar schools. Such as: who were the founders, what are the design differences and design philosophies etc...
Some of the schools I'm aware of are: Granada, Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and Cordoba.

Regards,
John
:)

[MWA]

I am not sure there is one reference for this information. Some that can give help are:

1. A Collection of Fine Spanish Guitars by Urlik
2. The Classical Guitar Book, A Complete History by Tony Bacon, et al
3. Things About the Guitar by Jose Ramirez III
4. The Art and Craft of Making Classical Guitars by Manuel Roriguez.

The first 2 present guitars by different makers and give dimensions etc.
The last 2 present the builders perspective. The Ramirez book centers on the Madrid school especially as it relates to the Ramirez line. The Rodriguez book give a good history of the different schools and also how they relate. Another good source is www.zavaletas-guitarras.com (they have a history of various classical makers).

There are several contributors to this forum that probably know more than I and can give more information. Look for their responses.

It has been my experience that none of these schools were formed in a vacuum. Furthermore there likely are differences between makers in the same school as well as overlap between schools. Some examples of this, one of the makers in Barcelona was Enrique Garcia who started out at the Manuel Ramiez shop in Madrid whereas Fleta of Barcelona learned from a French Luthier (which possibly explains why his construction varies from typical Spanish methods to some extent ie. the neck to body joint).

In Granada most of the makers can be traced to Benito Ferrer and an examination of this school is much like researching geneology. In fact one of the things that make the Spanish Guitar and its makers so interesting to me is the strong family traditions that are shown and how one person learns from an established maker and then passes it on to still another (often times relatives).

I hope this gives you some information on where to start looking. I am sorry if I made it seem complicated but guitar makers are individuals and they take their inspiration from different sources. Their styles change and evolve over time (as do the tastes of buyers) so I am afraid there will be no black and white answer to your question. In other words, what was true about the design of Madrid guitars in 1980 is different from the Madrid guitar of 1960 as well as the Madrid guitar of today.