2010 Sergio Tezanos SP/MP

This 2010 Sergio Tezanos is a classical guitar of spruce and maple handmade in Madrid, Spain, by the grandson of a 1950s Madrid guitar maker of the same family.

Maple Back and Sides, Madrid Build

Made with the typical Madrid-style construction and feel, it features striking materials – maple for the back and sides – along with some understated, elegant inlay work.

Sound and Playability

Sound is big, hearty and full while staying balanced and clear, recalling in particular the great Bernabé guitars from the '80s and '90s. The guitar plays and sounds fantastic, with a smooth, slender neck that is easy on the left hand. Although a used guitar, it is in like-new condition with virtually no wear in the finish.

Three Generations of Tezanos Guitars in Madrid

The Tezanos name in Spanish guitar making goes back to the first Mariano Tezanos, a respected maker of the Madrid school in the 1950s who built guitars for well-known concert players in a small workshop in his home. His son, Mariano Tezanos Castro, was born in Madrid in 1949. After finishing his studies in 1963 he began working with José Ramírez III, first as an apprentice, and in 1984 he started building his own instruments inside the Ramírez workshop, signed "MTC No. 10".

Tezanos-Pérez and the "Maestro" Model

In 1991 Mariano joined forces with another Ramírez veteran, Teodoro Pérez, and the two built guitars together under the name "Tezanos-Pérez". In April 2005 they parted ways on friendly terms and each set up an independent shop. Working under his own name at Calle Vicente Camarón 19 in Madrid, Mariano built his "Maestro" model in the big, powerful Madrid tradition he learned at Ramírez.

Sergio Tezanos: The Third Generation

Sergio Tezanos, Mariano's nephew and the grandson of the first Mariano, has worked alongside his uncle since 1995. He went on to build guitars under his own label at the same Vicente Camarón address, developing his own models, which have been exported to countries including Japan and the United States.