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Showing 1 to 30 of 160 (6 Pages)

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1973 Hernandez y Aguado CD/CSAR

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Manuel Hernandez (1895-1975) and Victoriano Aguado (1897-1972) met and became friends while working ..

2021 Claudio Meneghelli "Hommage to Jose Romanillos" SP/IN

$10,000.00

This particular guitar is a beautifully made tribute to the late Jose Romanillos, a very strong infl..

1999 Kevin Aram "Marina" SP/IN

$8,500.00

Considered to be one of the best makers in northern Europe, Aram has made guitars for some of the mo..

1999 German Vazquez Rubio "640" CD/PE

$3,500.00

This is a beautiful instrument made by G.V. Rubio, here in California. It's a concert guitar made wi..

1965 Jose Ramirez "1a AM" SP/CSAR

$14,000.00 - Sold

This guitar was built in the famous Jose Ramirez III workshop, which for over half a century has pro..

2023 Paula Lazzarini CD/ZR

$8,000.00 - On Hold

Originally from Argentina, Paula Lazzarini had been working out of her workshop in Cremona, Italy fo..

2015 Otto Vowinkel SP/CSAR

$9,000.00

This is a fantastic concert instrument by Otto Vowinkel, made in 2015. His instruments have always b..

2020 Sebastian Stenzel "Enhanced Wood" CD/CSAR

$16,000.00 - Sold

This instrument was built by German maker Sebastian Stenzel. This is his newly unveiled "Enhanced Wo..

2002 Simon Ambridge SP/CSAR

$8,000.00

British luthier Simon Ambridge cites Antonio de Torres, the early 20th century Spanish makers and He..

2021 Yulong Guo "Chamber Concert" SP/IN

$3,500.00

The Chamber Concert model is a professional model concert guitar, with double-top soundboard constru..

2003 Andrea Tacchi "Omaggio a Francisco Simplicio" SP/SW

Inquire - Sold

Tacchi builds a variety of models - several of his own (including his well-known Coclea and Thucea) ..

2004 Simon Marty SP/CSAR

$12,000.00 - Sold

Simon Marty is one of the most sought-after guitar makers to have emerged from the Australian school..

Cordoba Luthier Select Series "Santos Hernandez" SP/MP

$3,500.00

An alliance of craft and tradition, decades in the making: The Cordoba Luthier Select Series. These ..

2019 Youri Soroka "Torres" SP/MP

$6,500.00 - Sold

Youri has recently fallen under the spell of Torres - which is almost unavoidable after having just ..

2000 Sebastian Stenzel CD/IN

$10,000.00

This instrument, built by German maker Sebastian Stenzel, is very well-made in the traditional Spani..

2012 Geza Burghardt "1943 Hauser" SP/MP

$12,000.00

Geza Burghardt is undoubtedly Hungary's top builder of traditional classical guitars. Although his c..

1929 Francisco Simplicio SP/MH

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Francisco Simplicio, the sole pupil and successor of Enrique Garcia, was known not only for the beau..

2023 Jake Fuller "Purnell" SP/MP

$7,500.00 - Sold

Another outstanding instrument from this excellent British builder. As with all of Jake's guitars, w..

1998 Antonio Marin Montero SP/CSAR

$8,000.00 - Sold

Antonio Marin is considered to be the foundational builder of the Granada school – many builders fro..

1991 Gioachino Giussani SP/MP

$5,000.00

A powerhouse of a guitar by one of Italy's most interesting guitar makers. The guitar is heavier tha..

1968 Ignacio Fleta CD/IN

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For performers and collectors alike, the name Ignacio Fleta (1897-1977) ranks among the elite handfu..

1929 Domingo Esteso SP/CY (ex Gianvito Pulzone)

$15,000.00 - Sold

This guitar was made by Domingo Esteso, who along with fellow worker Santos Hernandez (from the Manu..

1973 Jose Ramirez "1a" CD/CSAR

$6,500.00

This guitar was built in the famous Jose Ramirez III workshop, which for over half a century has pro..

2023 German Vazquez Rubio "Classic Estudio" CD/PE

$4,250.00

This modestly priced model is a genuine GV Rubio guitar built in his Los Angeles based workshop. It'..

2012 Tobias Braun SP/SW

$6,500.00 - Sold

This is a fantastic instrument from Tobias Braun, and as he is known for, he has used some of his mo..

2023 Masaki Sakurai "Concert-R" SP/IN

$5,500.00 - Sold

Mr. Masaki Sakurai is the nephew of the greatest luthier from Japan, Masaru Kohno, with whom he work..

2023 Wolfgang Jellinghaus “Torres 43 - clear” SP/MP

$3,500.00

Wolfgang Jellinghaus' exploration of the work of Antonio de Torres has led him to build a selection ..

2023 Wolfgang Jellinghaus "Signature CD/CD" CD/ZR

$5,000.00 - Sold

This is Wolfgang Jellinghaus' "Signature" model which has a variety of modern features, even though ..

2007 Paulino Bernabe "Leonardo" SP/AR

$5,000.00

This is a classic-sounding and playing Bernabe concert guitar. As is typical from this period, it fe..

1990 Jose Ramirez "1a" CD/IN (ex Gianvito Pulzone)

$8,000.00

Possibly one of the most played and known of any Spanish made guitar in history, the Ramirez 1a mode..

Showing 1 to 30 of 160 (6 Pages)

FAQs

How to choose a classical guitar?

Choosing a classical guitar might seem daunting at first, however, at GSI it’s our pleasure and duty to ensure that the selection process is a very satisfying experience thanks to the advice of our guitar experts. Our classical guitar store features guitars made by carefully chosen luthiers from around the world and our staff knows each instrument very well. Our experts are able to help you narrow your top picks to just a few guitars which you might want to try by yourself with no commitment to purchase.

What defines a classical guitar?

Classical guitar, in the form as we know it today, was largely developed by Spanish guitar maker, Antonio de Torres Jurando (1817-1892). Torres introduced many new innovations to his guitars. Most notably, he increased the size of the body of the guitar, and introduced a fan-strut bracing system, and in his later guitars he started using machine heads. His guitars also had separated saddles which allowed minute adjustments of string heights.

What should I look for when buying a classical guitar?

We should look for:

Establish a budget
Identify what type of sound you like the most. You can also ask our experts for advice.
Decide whether you want a used or new instrument.
Check for ‘wolf’ notes and buzzes. Playability is also very important.
We recommend testing the sound from the perspective of a player and a listener.

What are the differences between classical and flamenco guitars?

The differences between classical and flamenco guitars lie in their materials, construction and sound.

Materials: Classical guitars are generally made with spruce or cedar tops, and on rare occasions, other woods like redwood or pine. Back and sides are mostly made of various rosewoods, maple and mahogany to enhance sustain. In recent years many younger luthiers searching for more sustainable and easy-to-source woods have begun to use some really fantastic materials including granadillo, exotic ebony, wenge, koa, walnut and a variety of other hardwoods. Flamenco guitars are generally made with spruce tops and cypress for the backs and sides to enhance volume and emphasize the attack of the note. However over the past many decades, rosewood flamencos known as “Flamenco negras” have risen in popularity, largely due to Paco de Lucia who first used a rosewood guitar beginning in 1969.

Construction: The body of a classical guitar is generally deeper and the woods are slightly thicker. Flamenco guitars have a flat or negative (before string tension) neck relief, making the action very fast at the cost of some buzzing. The strings are also closer to the body on flamenco guitars to facilitate tapping. Flamenco guitars often bear a "golpeador", which is a sheet of plastic mounted to the face of the guitar to protect its finish from percussive techniques, like tapping the soundboard with the players fingers.

Sound: The classical guitar is designed to give the soloist the tools to perform poly-timbral music: "An orchestra in a box". The attack is soft with a longer and gradual decay. The flamenco guitar is designed to cut through the sound of dancers stomping their feet. The sound is a bit more percussive, a loud and immediate sonic burst followed by a swift decay is characteristic of traditional flamencos.

It is also important to mention that many of these "differences" are finessed to different degrees by different luthiers, depending on their personal taste. Miguel Rodriguez classical guitars for example have always famously had a fast, flamenco-like attack. There are also numerous hybrid-type guitars where the luthier intends for the same instrument to be playable convincingly by both flamenco and classical performers.