2009 German Vázquez Rubio No. 31809 SP/IN

This 2009 German Vázquez Rubio No. 31809 is a flamenco guitar with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – a flamenco negra; it is one of the four guitars in the “Four Sevillanas on Four Guitars” video above.

Flamenco Negra

A concert flamenco negra, it pairs a spruce top with Indian rosewood back and sides. Very high-quality woods were used throughout, with a perfectly quarter-sawn spruce top and gorgeous Indian rosewood back and sides. The shellac finish is applied with a level of attention to detail and perfection found in very few makers.

Sound, Condition and Label

The basses are steady and full and the trebles very clear and easy to work with, and the whole guitar is extremely responsive and open, with plenty of volume. With its very low flamenco action, it is a dream to play. It is in excellent condition, with no damage, repairs or significant wear. The label is signed by German, dated 2009 and numbered 31809.

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.