2026 German Vázquez Rubio "Concert 635" No. 41826 SP/MP

This 2026 German Vázquez Rubio “Concert 635” No. 41826 is a classical guitar with a spruce top and maple back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – with bird’s-eye maple back and sides and a 48mm nut.

The “Concert 635”

A beautiful concert instrument, it is full of unique and striking design elements.

The Details

German changes small details each time he builds one of these for us, so each is unique. This one has CSA rosewood in the binding, heel cap and back center strip, framing a perfectly quarter-sawn spruce top, lush bird’s-eye maple back and sides and a flamed maple neck. The headstock is layered – a CSA rosewood front veneer, three layers of walnut and Brazilian lacewood for the back headplate – and “opens” elegantly into the neck seen from the sides or behind. Colorful accents appear in the rosette and tie block, very fine half-herringbone purflings on the top and front head inlays, and the frets are upgraded gold EVO wire. The shellac finish has been applied with the kind of perfection very few makers attain.

Sound and Label

Deep, bouncy basses and very clear, full trebles give it a balanced voice. A very low action and the 635mm scale make playing it effortless. There is also a 20th fret, for repertoire that needs a high C natural. All in all, a beautiful-sounding concert guitar, intricately made. Its “Desde 1968” label carries German’s signature, the year 2026 and No. 41826; “635” is written beside the number.

In the Video Above

Our own demo of this guitar.

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.