2001 German Vázquez Rubio "Torres" No. 020401 SP/IN

This 2001 German Vázquez Rubio “Torres” No. 020401 is a classical guitar with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California, in excellent condition with only minor playing wear.

A Tribute to Antonio de Torres

The materials are of very high quality and a pleasure to look at, including a perfectly quarter-sawn spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. As German’s “Torres” model, its body is slightly more compact, but the sound is full and big-bodied. German applies the shellac finish with a care and perfection found in very few makers.

Sound, Condition and Label

Plenty of volume and character, an extremely open and responsive sound, very clear trebles and steady, full basses – it has it all. It is a dream to play, with a very low action. The condition is excellent, with only minor playing wear. The label is dated 2001 and numbered 020401.

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.