2017 German Vázquez Rubio "Concert 635" No. 21617 SP/MP

This 2017 German Vázquez Rubio “Concert 635” No. 21617 is a classical guitar with a spruce top and maple back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – with a mosaic inlaid in the back, in excellent structural condition.

German’s 635mm Concert Model

Several unique and striking design elements make this a beautiful concert guitar to look at as well as to hear.

Materials and Details

Its perfectly quarter-sawn spruce top and flamed maple back and sides are framed by rosewood in the binding, back center strip and tie block, with its contrasting dark-brownish hue. The headstock is meticulously layered in four pieces of maple and three of walnut, with a rosewood front veneer, and it “opens” elegantly into the neck when seen from behind. The top and head veneer have a layer of half-herringbone purfling to match the rosette, and the back has a mosaic inlaid in the center seam, based on – but not identical to – the central mosaic of the rosette. The shellac finish is applied with a level of attention to detail and perfection found in very few makers.

Sound, Playability 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. It also has a 20th fret for a high C natural. Beautiful in sound and intricately made, it is a lovely concert guitar. Although a second-hand guitar, it is in excellent structural condition, with only minor wear in the finish on the soundboard and back. German’s label – “Constructor, Desde 1968” – is signed, dated 2017 and numbered 21617, with “635” written beside it.

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.