2022 Vicente Carrillo "Pasión Flamenco Blanca" w/pegs SP/CY (ex Sergio Vallín)

This 2022 Vicente Carrillo “Pasión Flamenco Blanca” is a flamenco guitar with a spruce top and cypress back and sides, made in Casasimarro, Spain, and fitted with Wittner geared pegs – a pre-owned blanca that once belonged to Sergio Vallín of Maná.

Vicente Carrillo of Casasimarro

Vicente Carrillo is one of Spain’s most respected contemporary guitar makers, carrying on a family tradition of instrument making that dates back to 1836. Working from his workshop in Casasimarro, in the province of Cuenca, Carrillo has built an international reputation for his fine classical and flamenco guitars, combining generations of traditional Spanish craftsmanship with his own innovations and refinements. His instruments are played by a wide range of distinguished artists, and his flamenco guitars in particular have earned considerable recognition for their authentic character, responsiveness and expressive capabilities.

Ex Sergio Vallín of Maná

The original owner of this beautiful 2022 “Pasión Flamenco Blanca”, who traded it in with us, is none other than rock legend Sergio Vallín of the stadium rock band Maná – behind the scenes, Sergio is a very accomplished classical and flamenco guitarist.

Spruce and Cypress: A Classic Flamenco Blanca

This guitar has a modern build – its top is lattice braced – but a traditional flamenco sound, just with added power. Constructed with a spruce soundboard and cypress back and sides, it features the classic combination of materials that has defined the flamenco blanca for generations. The guitar has a lovely, understated appearance, with the pale golden cypress contrasting beautifully against the darker rosewood appointments and the intricate, traditional rosette. Particularly attractive is the matching cypress back and sides, whose subtle grain patterns and warm coloration give the instrument a wonderfully elegant appearance. The tasteful binding and purfling, along with the beautifully shaped headstock, complete the overall aesthetic.

Wittner Geared Pegs

One of the most appealing features of this instrument is its traditional appearance, enhanced by the use of Wittner geared tuning pegs. These cleverly designed tuners have the look of old-fashioned wooden pegs but incorporate an internal gearing mechanism, providing the precision, stability and ease of tuning associated with modern machines. They also eliminate the slipping and sticking sometimes encountered with conventional friction pegs, while preserving the lightweight feel and elegant simplicity of the traditional flamenco headstock. It’s a particularly nice combination of historical aesthetics and modern practicality.

The “Pasión”: Sound and Character

The “Pasión” model is conceived as a serious flamenco instrument, with the quick response, immediacy and rhythmic clarity that are essential to the style. The traditional spruce and cypress construction is particularly well suited to producing the dry, percussive attack and rapid decay that flamenco players value, allowing rasgueados, picados and intricate rhythmic passages to speak with clarity and definition. At the same time, a fine flamenco guitar must also possess sufficient warmth and lyrical expression for the more intimate passages of a soleá, seguiriya or taranta. This balance between percussive energy and musical refinement is central to the appeal of the traditional flamenco blanca – and the lattice bracing adds extra power and projection without changing that classic character.

Label and Condition

What makes Carrillo’s instruments especially attractive is his ability to preserve the character of the traditional Spanish guitar while offering the consistency, craftsmanship and playability expected by today’s professional musicians. The label – “Antiguo y Acreditado Atelier de Guitarras, Vicente Carrillo, desde 1836” – is signed by Vicente, names the model “Pasión Flamenco Blanca” and is dated 2022. The guitar has been previously owned but remains in excellent condition, having been very well cared for – apart from some very minor checking in the finish, it is in otherwise “unplayed” condition.

With its timeless aesthetic, fine craftsmanship and traditional flamenco character, it represents a wonderful opportunity to acquire a beautiful Spanish blanca from an established maker with a long and distinguished family heritage.

Casasimarro, “El Pueblo de las Guitarras”

Guitar making has been a constant tradition in the small Spanish town of Casasimarro, in the province of Cuenca, since the 18th century. The first known guitar maker in the town was Alfonso Anselmo Alarcón (born around 1744), the great-great-great-great-grandfather of Vicente Carrillo Casas (b. 1963). For many years now, the Carrillo workshop has earned Casasimarro the loving name “El Pueblo de las Guitarras” (the Town of the Guitars).

Seven Generations of Guitar Makers

The craft passed from Alfonso Anselmo to his son, Juan de Mata Alarcón, and through Juan’s daughter, Agustina Alarcón Escudero, into the Carrillo family when she married Felipe Manuel Carrillo. Their son, Blas Carrillo Alarcón (1834–1919, a.k.a. “Abuelo Moreno” – the “dark-haired grandfather”), carried on the family art – the label reads “desde 1836” – followed by Vicente Carrillo López (1881–1962) and Vicente Carrillo Cantos (1926–1971), with his wife, Gabriela Casas Fornier. Their son, Vicente Carrillo Casas, has been running the shop since 1980, the seventh generation of guitar makers in the family.

Madrid Power with Southern Lyricism

The distinctive elements of the Carrillo style have been influenced in recent years primarily by the Madrid luthiers Ángel Benito Aguado and José Romero (of the José Ramírez workshop). The guitars therefore have a big, deep and powerful quality much like the best guitars from the top Madrid shops, yet they still retain a lyrical charm found in southern Spanish instruments. In cooperation with GSI, Vicente has also made several further modifications to his guitars, and we believe these are among his finest instruments to date.