2016 Felipe Conde Crespo CD/AR

One of Felipe Conde Crespo's first guitars: a 2016 concert classical with a cedar top and African rosewood back and sides, made in Madrid on his father's label, signed "Felipe Conde (hijo)" and numbered 8.

Four Players on This Guitar

This guitar was recorded in the GSI showroom by four different players – see the videos above. The Kupiński Duo played it in two duets: Dariusz Kupiński plays it in their arrangement of Astor Piazzolla's "Zita", with Ewa Jablczynska on a 1990 Brian Cohen, and Ewa plays it in Chopin's Mazurka Op. 17 No. 4, with Dariusz on a Felipe Conde CC37 by Felipe Jr.'s father. Dominic Flynn plays Eduardo Sainz de la Maza's "Campanas del Alba", and Brig Urias plays Federico Moreno Torroba's "Fandanguillo". The last two videos are interviews with the Conde family.

Esteso and Conde Hermanos Proportions

Felipe Jr. and his sister María are the new generation of Conde builders, in a family tradition that had just celebrated its 100th anniversary when this guitar was made. Its basic dimensions and proportions, like those of his father's classicals, derive from the soleras used by Esteso, with the changes Conde Hermanos introduced in the seventies and eighties. The workmanship already shows his apprenticeship under his father's watchful eyes – very clean, precise and refined, from the beautiful rosette to the classic Esteso head shape.

Sound

Its sound is big, hearty and full, while staying very balanced and clear, with the great power of the leading Madrid makers of the last 50 years. A gracefully shaped neck makes it easy to play. Overall, a beautiful and powerful Madrid guitar with a rich and full sound.

Felipe Jr. and María Conde in Vanity Fair magazine

The Conde family history (Felipe Conde)

Felipe Conde in Iberia Magazine

Orfeo Magazine No. 25 – Flamenco: Origins of the Flamenco Guitar
In its Spring 2025 flamenco issue, Orfeo visits Felipe Jr. in his own Madrid workshop and his father, Felipe Conde.

Felipe Conde Crespo: Fourth Generation of the Esteso–Conde Line

Felipe Conde Crespo – Felipe Conde Jr., or Felipe (hijo) – is a Madrid guitar maker, the son of Felipe Conde and, with his sister María Conde, the fourth generation of the family tradition that began in 1915 with Domingo Esteso. He learned the craft as his father's apprentice, starting during summer vacations from his sociology studies in the United States with jobs such as gluing tops, and today he builds classical and flamenco guitars in his own independent workshop in Madrid.

The Esteso and Conde Hermanos Legacy

After Esteso's death in 1937, his nephews Faustino and Mariano Conde – Felipe Jr.'s great-uncle and grandfather – carried on the workshop at Gravina 7, first as Viuda y Sobrinos de Esteso and later as Conde Hermanos. Their guitars became the standard of the flamenco world, played by Niño Ricardo, Sabicas, Melchor de Marchena and, for nearly his entire career, Paco de Lucía (see a few of these players on their Condes). Conde guitars are known for a dry, woody, very firm tone that stays clear and punchy even at the limits of speed, and the "Media Luna" (half-moon) headstock has been the symbol of the family's top flamencos since 1960. In 2015 the family celebrated 100 years of guitar making.

Felipe Conde Crespo's Own Label

Felipe Jr.'s first guitars, in 2016, carry his father's printed label, signed "Felipe Conde (hijo)"; from 2017 on he has used his own "Felipe Conde Crespo" label. In 2015 he and María were profiled together in the Spanish edition of Vanity Fair, where he summed up what it means to carry on the dynasty: "Having this last name is a big responsibility."