2016 Felipe Conde Crespo "Negra" SP/AR

One of Felipe Conde Crespo's earliest guitars: a 2016 flamenco negra with a spruce top and African rosewood back and sides, made in Madrid on his father's label, signed "Felipe Conde (hijo)" and numbered 10.

Felipe Conde Jr.'s Early Negra

Felipe Jr. and his sister María represent the new generation of a family of builders who marked 100 years of guitar making in 2015. Felipe's negras follow his father's: they take their dimensions and proportions from the Conde that Paco de Lucía made famous, which gives this guitar its driving, aggressive character – just right for solo performance on stage or in the studio.

Workmanship and Woods

His years at his father's side show in the clean, precise and refined workmanship, from the beautiful rosette to the "media luna" headstock, the emblem of the Conde name. The soundboard is dark, aged spruce, and the back and sides are a gorgeous set of African rosewood with dramatic grain, the back joined without a center seam inlay.

Sound and Playability

The sound is big, raspy and piercing while remaining balanced and clear, with the great power of the leading Madrid makers of the past half-century. A gracefully shaped neck makes it very comfortable to play. A great modern Madrid negra with a rich, full voice.

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
The Spring 2025 issue features Felipe Jr. and his father, Felipe Conde, and the story of the Conde guitars.

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."