1981 Ignacio Fleta CD/IN

This 1981 Ignacio Fleta is a classical guitar with a cedar top and Indian rosewood back and sides, built in Barcelona by Francisco and Gabriel Fleta under the "Ignacio Fleta e hijos" label.

A 1981 Fleta by Francisco and Gabriel

This is a fantastic Fleta from 1981. Four years after Ignacio's death, his sons Francisco and Gabriel were carrying on the workshop exactly as before, and this guitar has a combination of tremendous power, balance, warmth and clarity – all qualities associated with a great instrument from this period.

The Fleta Sound

The Fleta design is known for its unique approach to guitar making, bringing Ignacio's techniques and processes from his earlier violin and cello making to the construction of guitars. The resulting sound is very haunting, dark and mysterious, making it wonderfully suited to contemporary, Spanish or South American repertoire, and the sustain is superb in virtually every register. Playability is easy, with a very comfortable neck and response to the right hand. Among the many fine players of Fletas from these years is Marcelo Kayath, who also played a 1981 Fleta.

Condition and Tuners

Condition is excellent, with only some minor playing wear and one hairline crack in the soundboard, recently repaired expertly by German Vázquez Rubio. Since these photos were taken, the tuning machines have been upgraded to a set of Rodgers tuners, made to capture the look of the star-tipped Fusteros that would originally have been on the guitar.

A powerful, bold Fleta from a great period, very desirable to both the collector and the performer.

Ignacio Fleta: Master Guitar Maker of Barcelona

For performers and collectors alike, the name Ignacio Fleta (1897–1977) ranks among the elite handful of 20th-century luthiers. Trained in Barcelona as a maker of violins and cellos, he built mainly bowed instruments from the late 1920s until 1955, when he decided to devote himself to the guitar. Countless scores of the finest players in the world have played his instruments – among them Andrés Segovia, John Williams, Angel Romero, Turibio Santos, Alirio Díaz and Marcelo Kayath.

Ignacio Fleta e Hijos: Three Generations

By the mid-1960s Fleta's sons, Francisco (1925–2003) and Gabriel (1929–2013), had become his partners in the workshop – which is why the labels from then on read "Ignacio Fleta e hijos" (Ignacio Fleta and sons). After Ignacio's death in 1977 the brothers carried on, and today Gabriel's son, Gabriel Fleta Jr., continues the family workshop in its third generation. Many dozens of Fletas have passed through our doors over the years.