2023 German Vázquez Rubio "Classic Estudio" No. 91923 SP/PE

This 2023 German Vázquez Rubio “Classic Estudio” No. 91923 is a classical guitar with a spruce top and palo escrito back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California, with a 51mm nut and sapwood-streaked palo escrito.

German’s Student Concert Model

Like all of German’s guitars, this one was built in his own Los Angeles workshop – a genuine G.V. Rubio. In every way, it is a top-of-the-line instrument for the advanced student and the entry-level concert player.

Materials, Sound and Playability

The palo escrito of the back and sides has generous amounts of contrasting sapwood, which makes for striking looks. Palo escrito, a very fine rosewood from Mexico, is German’s choice for the back and sides. It sounds great and plays easily. It is finished in a hand-thinned lacquer.

Label and Condition

Its “Desde 1968” label carries German’s signature, the year 2023 and No. 91923.

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.