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Museum

1988 Manuel Contreras "Double Top" CD/CSAR

Year 1988
Top Cedar
Back & Sides CSA Rosewood
Scale Length 650 mm
Nut width 52 mm
Finish Lacquer
Country Spain
Luthier Manuel Contreras

This guitar is no longer available in our inventory. If it interests you, click the ”notify me when available” button to be notified in the event that we re-acquire this guitar for re-sale.

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Description

The Contreras Double-Top is perhaps his best-known and most sought-after design. Several players have performed on this model since the 1980s, including the Romeros. The name "double-top" is actually a slight misnomer: in Spanish "tapa" means "cover" and actually refers to an additional piece of wood that is "covering" the inside of the back. So in reality, the back (not the top) is doubled-up, with a rosewood exterior and cedar interior (the two pieces of wood being glued together). This is in line with the Madrid school of using double sets of wood - Ramirez lines the sides of their 1a models with cypress and Bernabe & Teodoro Perez of course use double sides on several of their top models.

This is a fantastic example from 1988 in concert-ready condition with no damage or repairs. Being very loud and lively, this guitar is great fun to play, and the sound is characteristic of the Madrid style. It is focused, rich and quite expressive. The action and setup are comfortable, and the quality of materials is first-class. This is a tremendous value for anyone on a budget looking for a classic Madrid concert guitar from this great era of lutherie.

Videos

1988 Manuel Contreras "Double Top" CD/CSAR

Dušan Bogdanović's "Suite Brève: IV. Chaconne" performed by Doris Ćosić on a 1988 Manuel Contreras

Guitars by Manuel Contreras