1960 Hernández y Aguado SP/CSAR

This 1960 Hernández y Aguado is a spruce and CSA rosewood classical guitar from the Madrid workshop of Manuel Hernández and Victoriano Aguado, two former piano makers.

The Classic "HyA" Sound

The sound of this guitar is as expected from a great "HyA", and just as distinctive as its appearance. The initial attack of the note is crisp and "snappy", almost like a snare drum, while the body of the note which follows is airy and lightweight. These qualities allow the player to achieve a high level of clarity and precision, especially when playing quick, busy music, while at the same time it is very expressive and lyrical when performing slower music.

Condition

Condition is great for a guitar of this vintage – it recently had 3 cracks repaired in the soundboard, and a fret crowning – but otherwise it is in original condition, including the finish.

Hernández y Aguado: From Pianos to Guitars in Madrid

Manuel Hernández (1895–1975) and Victoriano Aguado (1897–1982) met and became friends while working together in a piano factory. They eventually formed a partnership and set up their own piano (and furniture) repair shop in Madrid. As legend has it, their great interest in the art of guitar making was secured sometime in the 1940s, when they leased out some space in their shop to Modesto Borreguero (one of the famed Manuel Ramírez workers) and became intrigued with his guitar making skills.

A Unique Shape and Sound

Hernández y Aguado instruments remain unique in the canon of great makers – they have an almost pear-like shape (or as we say, the plantilla is "pregnant at the hips"), the interior is typically varnished just like the exterior, and they are decorated with unusually thin rosettes and ornately carved headstocks. Very responsive and musical, these guitars have been played throughout the decades by such greats as Regino Sainz de la Maza, John Williams, Julian Bream and, in more recent years, Graham Anthony Devine.