1962 Marcelo Barbero (Hijo) SP/CY

A 1962 flamenco guitar by Marcelo Barbero Hijo, with a spruce top and cypress back and sides, built in Madrid in the workshop of Arcángel Fernández – an early guitar by the son of the great Marcelo Barbero.

In the video above, Juanito Pascual plays Paco de Lucía's "Tientos del Mentidero" on this guitar.

Built in Arcángel Fernández's Workshop

The label reads "Marcelo Barbero (Hijo) para casa Arcángel Fernández". The guitar was made by the son of Marcelo Barbero in the workshop of Arcángel Fernández, who had himself been the disciple of Marcelo Barbero. It is a great example of an instrument built in one of the most famous flamenco workshops in the history of Spanish guitar making.

Sound and Condition

It has a wonderful, dark sound with bold basses, strong trebles and lightning-quick response, likely from the ultra-lightweight build – it sounds like a mid-60s Miguel Rodríguez blanca. It has the raspy, open and vibrant sound of a great mid-century flamenco, but it can also sing with great warmth and lyricism if caressed. Condition is excellent, with only one small, nearly invisible hairline crack in the lower bout and original finish throughout.

From the Russell Cleveland Collection

This guitar comes from the Russell Cleveland collection.

Marcelo Barbero Hijo: Trained by Arcángel Fernández

Marcelo Barbero Hijo (c. 1944–1946 to 2007) was the only son of the legendary Madrid flamenco guitar maker Marcelo Barbero. He was still a boy when his father died in 1956, so he never worked with him; instead he was taken in and trained by his father's only pupil and successor, Arcángel Fernández, who was both a father figure and a maestro to him and passed on everything he had learned from the elder Barbero.

Guitars "Para Casa Arcángel Fernández"

Marcelo Hijo spent his whole career at Arcángel's side in his workshop in the Lavapiés quarter of Madrid, just a couple of blocks from his father's old shop. His guitars carry a label reading "Construida por Marcelo Barbero (Hijo) para casa Arcángel Fernández" – built by Marcelo Barbero (son) for the house of Arcángel Fernández – and they follow the plans, woods and standards of the guitars Arcángel built alongside them: light, fast and powerful flamencos, along with a smaller number of classicals, in the great Barbero tradition.