2015 José Marín Plazuelo "Negra" w/pegs SP/IN

This 2015 José Marín Plazuelo "Negra" is a flamenco guitar with pegs, a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, made in Granada, Spain.

A Flamenco Negra in the Marín Tradition

We regard José as one of the world’s most consistent builders – and one of the finest at anywhere near this price. Expertly made, carefully detailed and blessed with outstanding tone, his guitars are just plain fun to play. In the Santos and Barbero tradition, they are built very light, with a fairly small body. This flamenco "negra" is nearly identical to the guitars made by his well-known uncle, Antonio Marín Montero (at the time they shared the family workshop in Granada), and has the featherweight, punchy raspiness of the southern Spanish school.

Pegs, Playability and Sound

The tuners look old-school, but they’re "machined", so they hold in place just like a set of regular tuning machines. Playability is a dream, and the craftsmanship and materials are superb. Although the guitar is still fairly new, it already has a nice, loose and very open quality to the sound. And it’s also quite loud – this has a lot of volume, which is impressive for a new-ish guitar like this.

Read more: Orfeo Magazine No. 8 – The Granada School

José Marín Plazuelo: Nephew of Antonio Marín Montero

José Marín Plazuelo was born in Granada on June 13, 1960. He is the nephew of Antonio Marín Montero. In 1974, when he was just 14 years old, he started working alongside his uncle, where he and José González López learned how to build instruments. From the very beginning, José’s uncle praised his nephew’s work.

Traditional Spanish Guitars from Granada

José follows Antonio Marín’s technique and makes his guitars in the traditional Spanish way. For fifty years he made his own guitars in the Marín family workshop, beside his uncle, one of the most prestigious luthiers in the world. When Antonio retired in 2024 and closed the workshop, José and José González López moved to the center of Granada, where they now work out of Callejón Molino de San Martín 14.

José’s classical guitars are mainly inspired by the experience acquired from his uncle, while his flamenco guitars are similar to those of Francisco Simplicio (1874–1932), the legendary guitar maker from Catalonia. In 2017 José sat on the jury of the first Antonio Marín Montero Guitar Building Competition in Granada, the contest that carries his uncle’s name.