2014 German Vázquez Rubio "Francisco Barba" No. 62514 SP/IN

This 2014 German Vázquez Rubio “Francisco Barba” No. 62514 is a flamenco guitar with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, made in Los Angeles, California – an exact copy of a Barba negra, down to the headstock and the famous roses rosette.

A Copy of a Barba Negra

This guitar was built to be an exact copy of a negra by Francisco Barba, the great maker from Seville – down to the headstock and the famous Barba roses rosette. German is one of the few makers building flamenco guitars today who could authentically replicate his work.

Sound, Playability and Condition

It sounds much like a Barba negra, too: excellent volume and a Spanish voice, with evenness across the strings and up and down the neck. With a perfect set-up it is extremely easy to play, and it gives you a large share of the Barba character and feel. Although used, it is in excellent condition, with barely any signs of prior use. No. 62514 is written on the label, which is dated 2014 and signed by German.

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.