2021 German Vázquez Rubio "Concert 635" No. 011921 SP/ZR

This 2021 German Vázquez Rubio “Concert 635” No. 011921 is a classical guitar with a spruce top and ziricote back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – with a dramatic set of ziricote for the back and sides.

Unique and Striking Design Elements

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

Woods, Binding and Headstock

A perfectly quarter-sawn spruce top sits over a dramatic set of ziricote for the back and sides, with snakewood in the binding and back center strip, framing the guitar with its dark-brownish hue. The headstock – three pieces of maple and three of rosewood, with rosewood front and back veneers – “opens” elegantly into the neck when viewed from behind; German gave it his “Elite”-shaped headstock with “vanishing” inlay on the front veneer, and a subtle use of blue in the rosette, tie block, top purfling and head veneer inlay. It has gold EVO frets and Schaller GrandTune frictionless machines with snakewood buttons. The shellac finish is applied with a level of attention to detail and perfection found in very few makers.

Playability, Sound and Condition

The trebles are very clear and full, and the basses are deep with a nice bouncy response. With a very low action and a 635mm string length, it is a dream to play. It is fitted with a 20th fret for repertoire requiring a high C natural. All in all, a beautiful-sounding concert guitar, intricately made. Although used, the guitar is in great shape, with only very modest wear in the finish. The label is signed by German, dated 2021 and numbered 011921, with “635” written beside it.

In the Video Above

Jaxon Williams plays Pedro Caldeira Cabral’s “Balada da Oliveira” on 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.