1980's Jose Oribe "Classic Professional A" CD/IN

Jose Oribe began making guitars in 1962, who along with Manuel Velazquez, makes him one of North America's veteran builders of the past half-century. His style is often compared to the finest Madrid-style instruments (Ramirez, Contreras, Bernabe, etc.) in its tonal and structural characteristics.

This model, the "Classic Professional A" was developed in the mid-1980s in response to the overwheming demand for Oribe instruments that simply could not be met with their in-house production. Constructed between the Oribe shop in California and an outsourced shop in Japan, it has the undenialble Oribe look, feel and sound - a big, deep and rich tone with great volume, making this a particularly strong instrument for live performance. This example we have here for sale is in excellent condition for its age (it only has some minor wear in the finish) and could be used in any professional setting. For the official backstory on the model, this is taken directly from the Oribe website:

"Throughout our first thirty-six years, rashes of orders for Oribe instruments lead to long waits. Our production was limited through the capacity of only two people. In addition, for some guitar enthusiasts, cost was an element to be considered. To fulfill the demand for our instruments and be able to offer quality at a more affordable price, in 1985 we entered into collaboration with one of the finest of Japanese guitar companies. The object was to build an instrument with distinctive Oribe sound characteristics, combined with the cost saving of fine Japanese craftsmanship. Considerable time and attention were given to this matter and after nine months, the Classic Professional “A” Models were born. They were an immediate success. To achieve the object of producing an instrument to be as close to an Oribe as possible it was important that several important features be controlled at the Oribe shop. First, the soundboards, a most important component, would be personally braced and processed at the Oribe shop. Other materials such as well aged fingerboards, and rosewoods were selected from personal stock and shipped with the soundboards to Japan where they are assembled and partially finished to Oribe specifications by the best craftsmen. The instruments are then shipped back to our shop. The soundboards, which were left untouched, were then voiced and a French polish finish was applied. With the placing of the bridge, machine heads and final detailing, the instruments were complete."