2012 Pepe Romero SP/CSAR

Made by the son of the great guitarist of the same name - this is one of the "0" guitars (#210) that until now has been a part of the Romero family collection - indeed the label bears a dedication to Pepe Sr. It has huge volume and extremely quick response - although the tone is "classical", the response and playability is much like a southern Spanish flamenco guitar. Although a slightly larger size, the instrument is very lightly built, reminiscent of the legendary guitars that were built in the Miguel Rodriguez workshop. Indeed Pepe Jr. admits that elements of both Rodriguez and Santos Hernandez are strongly present in his work, fused with his own particular style and concept of sound.

Since his 170th instrument, Pepe has adopted a reverse fan system (fans radiating from the bridge area, rather than from the soundhole) for his standard model after studying an early 1970's Rodriguez with this very system. Pepe feels this opens the instrument up, and gives it a unique distinctive quality of sound that appeals greatly to his sense of style. This guitar also features the use of a brass nut (which Pepe has used on every guitar starting with #200), which also adds an extra helping of clarity and brightness to the sound. Playability is very easy with a smooth neck and large, rounded frets. Built with exotic CSA rosewood with contrasting sapwood for the back and sides, this instruments sounds as great as it looks. In excellent condition with only minor wear in the finish.

Orfeo Magazine No. 10 - West Coast Luthiers