We first met Swiss guitar builder Manuel Arango at the 8th Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition in Granada, Spain in 2025, where he took first prize for his classical and second prize for his flamenco guitar. The guitar we present here is the actual winning flamenco guitar from this very event. This features Manuel's base design which consists of an asymmetric 7-fan bracing for the top. The fans themselves are arranged in a symmetrical layout, with the lower harmonic bar being tilted to shorten the treble side of the top, introducing the asymmetry in that manner. Manuel's primary influence for this approach is based on a 1930s Santos Hernandez that he was able to inspect during his university studies. He also draws a lot of influence from the Torres style of fan braces, but Manuel has been modifing his gradually over the years, making them slightly narrower and taller. He uses the same basic design for both his classical and flamenco - the only substantial difference is in the thicknessing and nuancing of the tops - the flamencos tend to be thinner than the classicals, but Manuel also makes other additional but small adjustments to favor each style of sound. For his rosette and marquetry work Manuel has studied a lot of Mudéjar art and architecture in Spain as well as Islamic art in general. His mosaic designs are inspired by this great art style and he always strives to incorporate a sense of "flow" in his rosettes. Color is also a very important factor, and finding a combination of materials and hues is always a very important part of his aesthetic decision-making. In particular, the color theory of Swiss expressionist painter Johannes Itten has been a big influence on Manuel's work. Other design elements are rooted in the Spanish and French traditions of guitar making. The plantilla as well as the headstock shape are influenced by the work of a variety of makers - most notably Antonio de Torres, Daniel Friederich, Dominique Field and Santos Hernandez.
Soundwise, the guitar has a very focused and piercing quality to every note making it a very agressive flamenco negra. It has lightning-fast responsiveness which gives the player a nice "assist" when playing rapid picado, rasguado and alzapua passages. For volume, the guitar's default position tends to be on the noticeably "powerful" side however when played delicately, its responsiveness remains consistent (attack, sustain, balance) no matter how hard or lightly the guitar is driven by the player. Playability is superb as well which should be no surprise given Manuel's background as a player and the years of feedback he's received from his brother Lucas, a professional flamenco guitarist. Overall a superb instrument in every way. We look forward to many more of this maker's guitars in the future!
Photos of this guitar (and the award winning flamenco guitar) taken just prior to shipping
