1997 Alfredo Velázquez SP/IN

This 1997 Alfredo Velázquez is a spruce and Indian rosewood classical guitar by the son and pupil of Manuel Velázquez.

Alfredo Velázquez

Alfredo Velázquez, born in 1970, learned the craft from his legendary father and built his first guitar in 1991; this guitar dates from his early years. His label follows his father’s scroll design – “Alfredo Velázquez, Constructor de Guitarras, EE. UU.” – and is signed by him.

The Velázquez Style

The guitar is very typical of the classic Velázquez style: a lightweight build, sparkling trebles and firm, steady basses in the “Teutonic” tradition of Hauser. The top is very dense, tight-grained quartersawn spruce, the back and sides a handsome set of East Indian rosewood, and the sleek neck is very easy to play. Ricardo Giuffrida, the Mobius Trio and Scott Morris (in one of his video lessons) play it in the videos above.

Manuel Velázquez: An American Master in the Spanish Tradition

Manuel Velázquez (1917–2014) was born in Puerto Rico and made his name in New York, where his workshop at 420 Third Avenue became a meeting place for leading guitarists. He was perhaps the greatest American luthier to build in the European tradition, and his guitars yield nothing in craftsmanship or sound to those of his Spanish and German contemporaries. Over a career of nearly eight decades – in New York, Puerto Rico, Virginia and Florida – his instruments were played by Andrés Segovia, Julian Bream, Pepe Romero, Rey de la Torre and Sabicas, and by musicians far beyond the classical world, from Earl Klugh to Paul Simon and Keith Richards.

The Velázquez Sound

Velázquez guitars are most often compared to those of Hermann Hauser I and Hermann Hauser II – not only in appearance but in the style of sound: great clarity and separation between voices, perfect balance, sparkling trebles over steady basses and a natural, beautiful “woody” quality of tone. Most of his guitars follow this compact, Hauser-like model; in the 1970s and early 1980s he also built a larger, more rounded body with a deeper box and an even bigger sound. His son Alfredo Velázquez, who learned the craft in his father’s workshop, continues the tradition.

Books on Manuel Velázquez

A 1978 Velázquez – a guitar that later passed through our hands – is reproduced in Alberto Martínez’s book “34 Classical Guitars in Life Size”, and a 1955 Velázquez from the Russell Cleveland collection appears in “The Classical Guitar – A Complete History”:

34 Classical Guitars in Life Size

The Classical Guitar – A Complete History