2016 María Conde "Blanca" SP/CY

Made in Madrid in 2016 by María Conde, this spruce and cypress flamenco blanca carries the Esteso–Conde tradition into its fourth generation.

María Conde's 2016 Flamenco Blanca

María and her brother Felipe (hijo) are the new generation of Conde builders, in a family tradition that had just celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015. This blanca has the classic Conde sound at its core, but it is noticeably lighter than the guitars of her father – very much like the Conde guitars of the 1950s and 1960s – so it is super responsive, with an explosive attack in every register.

Edge, Bite and Media Luna

Its sound is clean and raspy, with great edge and bite: a very lively guitar for solo playing or for accompanying dancers and singers. Having apprenticed for years under her father's watchful eyes, María works to the usual very high standard of this shop – clean, precise and refined, from the beautiful rosette to the instantly recognizable "media luna" headstock that has stood for the Conde name for more than half a century.

María Conde in a Jack Daniel's TV commercial

María and Felipe Jr. Conde in Vanity Fair magazine

The Conde family history (Felipe Conde)

Felipe Conde in Iberia Magazine

María Conde: Fourth Generation of the Esteso–Conde Line

María Conde is the daughter of Madrid guitar maker Felipe Conde and, together with her brother Felipe Jr., the fourth generation of the family tradition that began in 1915 with Domingo Esteso. She learned her craft as an apprentice under her father's watchful eye in his Madrid workshop on Calle Arrieta, where Felipe has worked under his own name since 2010.

A Century of Conde Flamenco Guitars

Esteso's nephews, the Conde Hermanos, made the family's guitars the standard of the flamenco world. For generations they have been the guitar of choice for the great players – from Niño Ricardo and Melchor de Marchena to Paco de Lucía, who recorded and performed on Condes for nearly his entire career, Moraíto, Gerardo Núñez, Cañizares, Rafael Riqueni and Diego del Morao (see a small sampling of these performances). Conde guitars are famous for a dry, "woody" and very firm tone that keeps its clarity and punch even at the extreme limits of speed, in picado, tremolo or rasgueado. In 2015 the family celebrated 100 years of guitar making.

María Conde in the Spanish Press

María and her brother have drawn attention well beyond the guitar world: they were profiled together in the Spanish edition of Vanity Fair, and María was featured in a Spanish television commercial for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey celebrating a new generation of young artisans.