1999 German Vázquez Rubio "Torres" No. 72499 SP/CSAR

This 1999 German Vázquez Rubio “Torres” No. 72499 is a classical guitar with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California, donated to the GSI Foundation – a lovely guitar for sound and timeless design.

German’s “Torres” Model

The materials are of very high quality and a pleasure to look at, including a perfectly quarter-sawn spruce top and a lovely set of CSA rosewood for the back and sides. Being his “Torres” model, it has a slightly more compact body, yet it retains a full, big-bodied sound. The shellac finish is applied with a level of attention to detail and perfection found in very few makers.

Sound and Condition

It responds immediately and sounds open, with lots of volume and character – clear, easy trebles and full, steady basses. Playability is a dream, with a very low action. Two repairs were made to the back, to reinforce the areas where there are knots in the wood; otherwise the condition is excellent, with only minor playing wear. The label is dated 1999 and numbered 72499.

GSI Foundation

This guitar was donated to our non-profit charitable organization, the GSI Foundation. Guitar sales through the GSI Foundation raise money to directly benefit music education in public schools.

German Vázquez Rubio: Early Years in Paracho, Mexico

German Vázquez Rubio (also known as G.V. Rubio) has been making guitars since 1968 – over fifty years – and has developed his own signature sound that guitarists have come to love. He was born in 1952 in Paracho, Mexico, where there is an abundance of fine luthiers (with few exceptions, all of the finest guitars in Mexico come from Paracho). German’s first formal training began at eleven years old, when he left school to help support his seven siblings and went to work in the workshop of his uncle, Manuel Rubio. There, even at his young age, he made a conscious effort to make guitar building his life’s work.

“Desde 1968”

In 1968, at the age of sixteen, he made his first concert-level guitar (hence his label reads “Desde 1968”). German has since been able to learn from many different master builders such as Félix Manzanero, José Romanillos and Thomas Humphrey. He now resides in Los Angeles, California, where he builds a variety of both classical and flamenco models. He is also the maker of the real-life guitar from the Disney/Pixar film Coco – you can read more in our article on German Vázquez Rubio and the real Coco guitar.

First Prize in Mexico

In 2000, German won First Place at the Concurso Nacional de Constructores y Ejecutantes de Guitarras, Mexico’s national guitar-making competition.