2007 Juan Miguel Carmona SP/CY

This flamenco is as vibrant as it looks. Built in the Granada style, it's of a slightly more lightweight build and therefore very fast responding and explosive even in the hands of a player with a lighter touch. Its playability and responsiveness are incredibly "flamenco" in feel, but it does have a great lyrical quality despite its snappy personality. The fit and finish of the guitar are extremely clean, and it features some very handsome materials including some exquisite CSA rosewood - not just used for the central wedge on the back but also for the head veneer and bridge. There is one minor repair to top on the side of the fingerboard, repaired internally with 1 cleat, but otherwise the guitar is in amazing condition for its age, with only some normal wear in the finish. This is a true concert blanca from one of the Granada's veteran builders.

This guitar was made by Granada luthier Juan Miguel Carmona, who is part of the Carmona family of professional flamenco players that includes Pepe Habichuela, Juan Habichuela, Josemi Carmona and the pop flamenco group "Ketama". Additionally, his father, Agustin Carmona is famously known as the best guitar varnisher in Granada during the entire second half of the twentieth century. Juan Miguel has been making both classical and flamenco guitars in Granada for nearly half a century and is the protege of the great builder Rafael Moreno Rodriguez, who has been his primary mentor and friend since the mid-1970's when he built his first guitar under Moreno's supervision. He has in recent years become influenced by Miguel Rodriguez of Cordoba and in partilular the system used by Pepe Romero Jr. in his construction.