2025 Darío García SP/CY

Built by Spanish luthier Darío García, this is our 2nd blanca, and is the same model that won Second Prize at the seventh Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in July/August, 2024. For this guitar, Darío used a very old and beautiful set of cypress for the back and sides and a spruce set for the soundboard that was chosen for its stiffness and speed of sound transmission. The guitar is finished with a special gold-colored shellac that was selected to resemble the look of the old vintage flamenco guitars from the mid-century era. The mosaic design in the rosette uses a double "collapsing wave" pattern that was a favorite of several makers in the Manuel Ramirez workshop - most notably Santos Hernandez. The bindings and inlays are understated and elegant in its simplicity - again all in the spirit of paying hommage to the mid-century Spanish flamencos which many see as the historical apex in flamenco design and style. Structurally, the bracing system borrows heavily from Marcelo Barbero models with slight modifcations of Darío's. The 5 fan braces are somewhat longer and there is a small reinforcement under the bridge, which is actually a bit closer in design to the flamenco guitars of Arcángel Fernández. The resulting lightweight build gives the guitar great brilliance in the attack, a raspy voice and traditional woody and throaty quality of sound. Playability is a breeze with a very comfortable neck shape and low action. This is a true Andalucian flamenco by all measures.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction