2023 Felipe Conde Crespo "Negra" SP/KO

Felipe Conde Crespo (Felipe Conde Jr.) built this 2023 flamenco negra in Madrid with a spruce top and koa back and sides – No. 66 of 2023 – and it reached us second-hand in like-new condition.

Felipe Conde Jr.'s Take on the Paco de Lucía Conde

Felipe Jr. is the newest builder in a family line that marked 100 years of guitar making in 2015, and this concert negra follows his father's: its dimensions and proportions are those of the Conde that Paco de Lucía made famous. The result is a driving, aggressive guitar, ideal as a solo instrument on stage or in the studio.

Marbled Koa and the Media Luna Headstock

The soundboard is aged spruce full of bearclaw, paired with a gorgeous set of marbled koa for the back and sides, with 3D "lava-lamp"-like patterning in the grain. Years at his father's bench show in the workmanship – clean, precise and refined, from the beautiful rosette to the classic "media luna" headstock.

Sound and Playability

The sound is big, raspy and piercing, while staying balanced and clear. Like his father's guitars it has the great power of the leading Madrid makers of the past half-century, and the gracefully shaped neck makes it very easy to play. In mint, like-new condition when it came to us – a great modern Madrid negra with a rich, full voice.

Felipe Jr. and María Conde in Vanity Fair magazine

The Conde family history (Felipe Conde)

Felipe Conde in Iberia Magazine

Orfeo Magazine #25 – Flamenco: Origins of the Flamenco Guitar

Felipe Conde Crespo: Fourth Generation of the Esteso–Conde Line

Felipe Conde Crespo – Felipe Conde Jr., or Felipe (hijo) – is a Madrid guitar maker, the son of Felipe Conde and, with his sister María Conde, the fourth generation of the family tradition that began in 1915 with Domingo Esteso. He learned the craft as his father's apprentice, starting during summer vacations from his sociology studies in the United States with jobs such as gluing tops, and today he builds classical and flamenco guitars in his own independent workshop in Madrid.

The Esteso and Conde Hermanos Legacy

After Esteso's death in 1937, his nephews Faustino and Mariano Conde – Felipe Jr.'s great-uncle and grandfather – carried on the workshop at Gravina 7, first as Viuda y Sobrinos de Esteso and later as Conde Hermanos. Their guitars became the standard of the flamenco world, played by Niño Ricardo, Sabicas, Melchor de Marchena and, for nearly his entire career, Paco de Lucía (see a few of these players on their Condes). Conde guitars are known for a dry, woody, very firm tone that stays clear and punchy even at the limits of speed, and the "Media Luna" (half-moon) headstock has been the symbol of the family's top flamencos since 1960. In 2015 the family celebrated 100 years of guitar making.

Felipe Conde Crespo's Own Label

Felipe Jr.'s first guitars, in 2016, carry his father's printed label, signed "Felipe Conde (hijo)"; from 2017 on he has used his own "Felipe Conde Crespo" label. In 2015 he and María were profiled together in the Spanish edition of Vanity Fair, where he summed up what it means to carry on the dynasty: "Having this last name is a big responsibility."