2018 Luis Fernandez de Cordoba "Blanca" SP/CY

For this guitar, Luis based the structural details almost entirely by a 1972 Sobrinos de Esteso, ex Parrilla de Jerez, that he was able to inspect, and was profoundly impressed with this guitar, particularly its sound. The only significant alterations he made were to shorten the string length from 670mm to 655mm and to use a traditional Esteso headstock in place of the media luna on the original. Although a very close structural copy (Luis even admits copying the bridge measurements right down to the asymmetry, and keeping the original thicknesses, bracing pattern, etc), he considers his guitar more of an interpretation than a literal copy. The result is a lightly built, traditional flamenco blanca that captures the energy and responsiveness of the mid-century style - a bouncy, almost 'springy' quality in each note, with immediate attack and precise focus. It's simply a delight to play with easy setup and low flamenco action - just enough to also catch a bit of that "flamenco buzz" to help add some sizzle to the tone. A great flamenco from this excellent maker.

Luis Fernandez de Cordoba is a Panamanian born luthier, who started building guitars in 2000. Although he began constructing and repairing acoustic guitars of all styles, it wasn’t until 2009 that he dedicated himself exclusively to the world of classical and flamenco. Whole-heartedly inspired by the traditional Spanish method of construction, Luis has spent a great deal of time admiring the great masters of the past like Antonio de Torres, Santos Hernandez, Hermann Hauser I, Manuel Velazquez, José Romanillos, and Robert Bouchet. He also spent time apprenticing in Granada, Spain. On the US side of his studies, he has visited the workshops of Richard and Marshall Brune as well as Jeff Elliott, another of his inspirations.