2023 German Vázquez Rubio "Classic Estudio 48" No. 41423 CD/PE

This 2023 German Vázquez Rubio “Classic Estudio 48” No. 41423 is a classical guitar with a cedar top and palo escrito back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – with a slender 48mm neck for crossover players.

Built in the Los Angeles Workshop

It comes straight from German’s Los Angeles workshop, a genuine G.V. Rubio guitar. For the student and the player starting out on the concert stage, it is a top-of-the-line instrument in every way.

Materials, Sound and Playability

This particular model, the “Classic Estudio 48”, has a very slender neck – 48mm at the nut – for crossover players who are more used to the size and shape of steel-string or electric guitars. Its back and sides are of palo escrito, one of the finest rosewoods of Mexico. Great-sounding and easy to play, it does everything a student guitar should and more. It is finished in a hand-thinned lacquer.

The Label and Condition

Although used, it is in excellent condition, with only very minor wear in the finish. The 2023 label is numbered 41423 and signed by German, with “650-48” written beside it.

In the Video Above

Patrick Schettler plays Agustín Barrios Mangoré’s “Prelude in A minor” on a 2023 G.V. Rubio.

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.