As I hinted a while ago, I bought a guitar last year. I have played guitar since I was in primary school and until I went to Spain in 2001 I was most interested in blues and jazz on the electric guitar. However in Spain I took a few months of flamenco guitar lessons and since then I have mostly played flamenco-ish stuff on classical guitar.
Despite having guitars at home I didn't bring one with me to Berlin. It's a bit of a hassle/risk to take a guitar on the flight from Australia, so I decided it'd be best to buy one here. This was possibly not the best plan since it took me ages to get around to doing it, but all the while I was slightly frustrated by not being able to play. Even though I don't play many hours per week it's an important thing to help me relax and let out some emotional energy.
So being somewhat closer to Spain than normal I eventually formulated a plan to get a nice flamenco guitar. Though they look similar there are important differences between flamenco and classical guitars. Flamenco guitars are built to be especially loud and bright sounding, with fast attack and not so much sustain, and strong mid and treble response, without so much bass as a classical. This is acheived through the use of different woods, a thinner body and lighter construction.
My new guitar is a Soleá model from the workshop of Hermanos Sanchis López of Valencia, and it really is a fantastic instrument. The best praise I can give is to say that when I chose it I compared it to other guitars that cost up to three times more and I instantly felt that the Soleá sounded far better. I bought it from an online shop www.guitars.com.es, which despite seeming a bit risky, turned out to be an excellent idea. The guy from the shop actually recommended the model (which I then tested in a Berlin music shop) and gave me a good deal with a free case and other things chucked in.
5 comments:
Hey buddy, what's up? i'm Tom from the foro and i'm getting this model delivered 2moro. thanks for your positive feetback i'm getting it. Will it be rude if i ask you how much did you spend basically?
thanks in advance
Hi Tom,
It's no problem asking the price, it was 1150 euro with case inc delivery. In the post linked below I describe the process of buying it. Some people on the foro were wondering if the shop I used was legit.
Did you find a second hand one? Because they don't seem to be selling this model any more. At least it's not on the Sanchis Lopez page.
cheers
Michael
http://michaels-bms-days.blogspot.com/2010/11/buying-spanish-guitars-online.html
Hey Mike.. Thanks again for your reply. Actually yes, i found a second hand in a perfect condition in a town near mine. I live in Milan and the guy i bought the guitar from is a lefty so he was using it with the strings converted. they guy actually came to my town for to finish a quick word and to try a Cordoba cutaway for a lefty, I met him, tried the guitar and liked it, paid 800 Euros that he paid directly for the Cordoba, then he offered me lunch in an expensive restaurant and gave me the soft case of the cordoba to go back home with since the guitar was naked '' He kept the hard case he came with for his Cordoba. I guess the price was ok as the model is out of production for the similarity with the 2F they sell. i saw that the price as new is 1399.00 Euro& i f i had to order a new one, say the Buleria model of the Sanchiz or even a Bernal , i was gonna pay the double price. Here are some photos of the guitar in my hard case not included in the price. Tell me what do you think:http://www.flickr.com/photos/alandalusy/sets/72157626175860990/show/
It's weird when you ask people for a feedback. i Show the guitar to a local Luthier cuz i wanted to modify the bridge so as to make the strings more approaching to the soundboard, he said it could not be done and i have to keep it this way, then my teacher tried it and told me it's really a very good one. I was getting headache, i like it so much, but frankly speaking, i'd have preferred a Bernal if i was having a choice, they sound so much better.
Cheers Mike and many thanks again:)
Tom
Hi Tom,
nice buy! I saw your photos, and it looks great. I'd say the back of yours is better matched than mine. I should try to post some detailed photos like yours when I have time. I think I can read yours is a 2008 just like mine.
I'm not familiar with Bernal guitars... are they similar in price? Because I was pushing my budget to get the Solea :) Also, I don't think I ever saw them in Berlin. When I chose the Solea I only compared it to Alhambras, Burguets and an Aria because that's all I could find.
Hope you enjoy your guitar!!
cheers
Michael
Hey fellow, Actually, the Valerio Bernal guitars are so preferred by the flamenco guitar students in Jerez for their nice price (( Actually similar or even less in pricethan the Hnos Sanchez)) depends on the model and the wood that was used. I like the Bernal cuz it's so comfortable and easy to play, the stings are quite touching the soundboard that you have no problem moving from a big chord to another. My teacher used to use one of these before receiving his Andres' D Marvi Negra last week! '' He went picking it up by himself after waiting for a year!! costs like 7000 Euros and sound totally awesome.
I agree we have no chance to try many since we don't live in Spain and since Flamenco is not that popular in the north of Italy in my case '' Huge music stores and no flamenco guitars to find! only Alhambra 3F if you r lucky which piss me off:)
Have a great week my friend
Ciao
Wael
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