2022 German Vázquez Rubio "Concert Blanca 640" No. 31822 SP/CY

This 2022 German Vázquez Rubio “Concert Blanca 640” No. 31822 is a flamenco guitar with a spruce top and cypress back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – a powerful, explosive blanca; Luis Gallo plays Paco de Lucía on it in the video above.

A 640mm Concert Blanca

The materials are of very high quality and a pleasure to look at, including a perfectly quarter-sawn spruce top and elegant cypress back and sides. The shellac finish is applied with a level of attention to detail and perfection found in very few makers. The shorter 640mm string length makes it easier to play without losing any sound – in fact, this is a very powerful and explosive blanca that could be used in any professional setting.

Sound, Playability and Label

It responds immediately and sounds open, with lots of volume and character – clear, easy trebles and full, steady basses. The action is very low, flamenco style, and it plays like a dream. It also has a 20th fret for players who need a high C natural. German’s label – “Constructor, Desde 1968” – is signed, dated 2022 and numbered 31822, with “-640-” written beside it.

In the Video Above

Luis Gallo plays Paco de Lucía’s “Guajiras de Lucía” on this guitar.

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.