1993 Abel Garcia (supervised by José Romanillos) "1912 Manuel Ramirez ex Segovia" SP/IN

We certainly don't see instruments like this very often, this is a very rare treat! It was built in Cordoba, Spain by one of Mexico's top builders - Abel Garcia - under the direction and supervision of the late and great José Luis Romanillos during one of his famous masterclasses that inspired a generation of younger makers, many of whom have become today's leading luthiers. This instrument is modeled on the famous 1912 Manuel Ramirez (built by Santos Hernandez) guitar that Andres Segovia performed on for the first 25 years of his career, an instrument which is one of the most iconic instruments in history, the original now on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

This guitar has been played A LOT - as can seen by the (respectful) wear throughout the finish. And it sounds like it too - it is very open, played-in and loose with a rich and warm sound, very textured and velvety, with great volume and clarity. It is also in great structural and performance-ready condition – apart from the already-mentioned aesthetic wear in the finish, it has does have one repaired crack in the soundboard (spliced and reinforced internally with 2 cleats) and a glued crack in the fingerboard. This maker has been friends for many years with the Romero family who have played his instruments and promoted them to their students as an excellent value for a professionally made concert-level guitar. But this particular guitar is really a fun find - guitars built in these historic Romanillos masterclasses rarely surface like this - the label is signed by both Abel Garcia and José Romanillos making this a unique, one-of-a-kind guitar that is a snapshot from a very important part of 20th century guitar-making history.