1974 Casa Arcángel Fernández CD/IN

This 1974 "Casa" Arcángel Fernández is a cedar and Indian rosewood classical guitar, built for Arcángel's Madrid shop to his specifications and sold there to walk-in customers.

A Shop Guitar from Jesús y María 26

Built for Arcángel according to his specs, this is a high-grade student or entry-level concert guitar that was originally sold out of Arcángel's workshop to walk-in clientele. Its label reads "Guitarra de artesanía construida para Casa A. Fernández" – a handmade guitar built for the house of A. Fernández. This is a practice followed by everyone from Manuel Reyes to Miguel Rodríguez, as a means of having guitars on hand to sell despite the long waiting lists for their own handmade guitars.

Sound

This guitar is surprisingly powerful, with a deep and full sound, great balance and a warm Spanish character. A great guitar for the price, it could be used for any performance situation, live or in the studio.

Arcángel Fernández: Flamenco Guitar Maker of Madrid

Arcángel Fernández (born 1932) is one of the best and most famed Spanish luthiers of both flamenco and classical guitars of the latter half of the twentieth century. He came to the guitar from cabinet making, and in 1954 he became the assistant of Marcelo Barbero – then the finest maker in Madrid – preparing woods and finishing instruments. He was the only person ever to apprentice with Barbero. When his master died in March 1956, Arcángel completed the guitars left unfinished in the shop and for about a year went on building for Barbero's widow.

His Own Workshop in Lavapiés

He then opened his own workshop at Jesús y María 26, a couple of blocks from Barbero's old shop in Madrid's Lavapiés quarter. There he took in Barbero's young son, Marcelo Barbero Hijo, taught him everything he had learned from the father, and worked side by side with him for some forty years. Like his master, Arcángel played an integral role in defining the archetypal flamenco guitar – light, fast and powerful, with a loose, dry and woody "old world" sound – which still serves as the model for flamenco luthiers chasing that classic mid-century sound. He built only a small number of guitars each year, in his later decades almost exclusively for collectors in Japan, until demand grew so great that he stopped taking orders. In 2011 he retired to the Canary Islands.

Books on Arcángel Fernández

A 1962 Arcángel Fernández is one of the guitars reproduced in Alberto Martínez's book "34 Classical Guitars in Life Size", with photographs and full-size drawings of each instrument:

34 Classical Guitars in Life Size