2017 German Vázquez Rubio "7 String" No. 102283 SP/AB

This 2017 German Vázquez Rubio “7 String” No. 102283 is a 7-string classical guitar with a spruce top and African blackwood back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – an extended-range concert guitar; Fabiano do Nascimento plays it in the videos above.

A Seven-String Concert Guitar

German has carefully crafted this seven-string guitar with unique specifications to achieve maximum comfort and quality of sound. It is built with his finest materials: reserve-stock German spruce for the soundboard, a four-piece back and sides of African blackwood, a Spanish cedar neck, an ebony headplate, abalone inlay on the bridge and Gilbert tuning machines, all finished in a hand-thinned French polish of shellac. These materials were selected to achieve the utmost clarity and balance that any extended-range guitarist needs.

Sound and Label

The sound is bold and powerful, with a rich, velvety texture to each note, and the guitar is extremely responsive and loose, with plenty of volume for any concert setting. Truly powerful yet focused basses and singing trebles make it a sonic gem for the most discerning musician. It also has a 20th fret for a high C natural. German’s label – “Constructor, Desde 1968” – is signed, dated 2017 and numbered 102283.

Two Videos

Fabiano do Nascimento plays Jobim’s “Luiza” and his own “Flor da Vida” on a G.V. Rubio 7-string in the videos above.

German Vázquez Rubio: Early Years in Paracho, Mexico

German Vázquez Rubio (also known as G.V. Rubio) has been making guitars since 1968 – over fifty years – and has developed his own signature sound that guitarists have come to love. He was born in 1952 in Paracho, Mexico, where there is an abundance of fine luthiers (with few exceptions, all of the finest guitars in Mexico come from Paracho). German’s first formal training began at eleven years old, when he left school to help support his seven siblings and went to work in the workshop of his uncle, Manuel Rubio. There, even at his young age, he made a conscious effort to make guitar building his life’s work.

“Desde 1968”

In 1968, at the age of sixteen, he made his first concert-level guitar (hence his label reads “Desde 1968”). German has since been able to learn from many different master builders such as Félix Manzanero, José Romanillos and Thomas Humphrey. He now resides in Los Angeles, California, where he builds a variety of both classical and flamenco models. He is also the maker of the real-life guitar from the Disney/Pixar film Coco – you can read more in our article on German Vázquez Rubio and the real Coco guitar.

First Prize in Mexico

In 2000, German won First Place at the Concurso Nacional de Constructores y Ejecutantes de Guitarras, Mexico’s national guitar-making competition.