2017 German Vázquez Rubio "Custom Elite" No. 21417 SP/AB

This 2017 German Vázquez Rubio “Custom Elite” No. 21417 is a classical guitar with a spruce top and African blackwood back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – German spruce and African blackwood, from his finest materials.

The Best of G.V. Rubio

In every way, the “Custom Elite” is the top of German’s range. Only his finest and most precious materials go into it, it has his unique, sophisticated bracing pattern, and the carving, inlay and finish show his most delicate, refined craftsmanship.

African Blackwood

This one has a premium German spruce top from his reserve stock and striking African blackwood for the back and sides. The mahogany neck has a V-joint, and the African ebony fingerboard – raised, for easier playing in the upper registers – has a hidden cocobolo reinforcement and a 20th fret for a high C natural.

Sound, Label and Videos

Its sound is superb, with a rich, velvety texture to each note, and it is extremely responsive and loose, with plenty of volume for any concert setting – German at his absolute finest. Its “Desde 1968” label carries German’s signature, the year 2017 and No. 21417; “Elite, Blackwood” is written beside the number. In the videos above, the Belgrade Guitar Duo plays Bogdanović’s “Sonata Fantasia” on G.V. Rubio guitars, and an “Elite Guitarist” performance features Tárrega’s “Recuerdos de la Alhambra”.

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.