1969 Hernández y Aguado SP/CSAR

This 1969 Hernández y Aguado is a spruce and CSA rosewood classical guitar made in Madrid, No. 370, with only two owners and a set of original letters from Manuel Hernández.

Two Owners and Letters from Manuel Hernández

The guitar has had only two owners to date, and we have several original letters from Manuel Hernández to the first owner. It is a particularly beautiful example in amazing condition – no cracks, no repairs, absolutely stunning. Apart from some mild wear in the finish, the guitar is incredibly preserved.

Sound

The sound is as expected from a great "HyA": a crisp, "snappy" attack, almost like a snare drum, followed by an airy, lightweight body to the note. It is precise and clear in quick, busy music, yet very expressive and lyrical in slower music.

Hernández y Aguado: From Pianos to Guitars in Madrid

Manuel Hernández (1895–1975) and Victoriano Aguado (1897–1982) met and became friends while working together in a piano factory. They eventually formed a partnership and set up their own piano (and furniture) repair shop in Madrid. As legend has it, their great interest in the art of guitar making was secured sometime in the 1940s, when they leased out some space in their shop to Modesto Borreguero (one of the famed Manuel Ramírez workers) and became intrigued with his guitar making skills.

A Unique Shape and Sound

Hernández y Aguado instruments remain unique in the canon of great makers – they have an almost pear-like shape (or as we say, the plantilla is "pregnant at the hips"), the interior is typically varnished just like the exterior, and they are decorated with unusually thin rosettes and ornately carved headstocks. Very responsive and musical, these guitars have been played throughout the decades by such greats as Regino Sainz de la Maza, John Williams, Julian Bream and, in more recent years, Graham Anthony Devine.