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I went up to Ricardo Sanchis/Lopez taller in Valencia yesterday to try out padre & hermanos cipres.
One thing that surprised me was that the two guitars had dates of 2008 and 2009 on them, even though they are 'new'.
David explained (I hope I got this right.. my spanish isn't perfect..) that the date doesn't signify the date the guitar was finished - just the date when the label was put on that portion of the guitar and signed.
But he said that both guitars were definitely 'finished' this year.
Is this a common thing to do ?
Does it sometimes take more than a year to build a complete guitar - are the woods such that you might need to wait to find matching woods ?
If it came to me reselling the guitar, could I say that "it says 2008, but I bought it new in 2010 - it was new, honest.", and expect to be believed ?
I know this is academic for choosing the guitar ... all that matters is the sound, intonation, etc.
Also the woods used to make the guitar have been lying around for years, so the actual 'date on the label' of the guitar is a bit meaningless anyway ?
But then again, might an accurate date help an expert know that, just like wines.. luthier's have vintages, when their experimentations hit the nail on the head, and so guitars between dates x and y tended to be good/bad ones etc?
RE: Guitar labels. When is a date no... (in reply to gerundino63)
Yep-- that's what I thought.
If some other dodgy luthier had handed me a guitar with 2008 on it, the first thing that I would have thought is that he ran out of stock, and was trying to sell me a second hand guitar that a previous owner returned to him, but passing it off as new.
But that kind of jumping to conclusion is showing my lack of knowledge of luthery.
I can't believe that these guys would do that, so I'm looking for a plausible explanation that would make sense to any future buyer / a luthier who is asked about the date difference between the label / the purchase receipt, and could easily explain it away.
Perhaps it's only these guys that do this, but it's a known thing, and so no cause for concern. etc. etc.
RE: Guitar labels. When is a date no... (in reply to flybynight)
Don't worry too much - these are robust semi-factory guitars. I don't think you should suffer too much in resale value. A couple of notable makers in Granada (José Marin Plazuelo and Antonio Marin Montero) have stopped dating their guitars altogether. Rob
RE: Guitar labels. When is a date no... (in reply to flybynight)
Thanks RobJe.
I can see the appeal of forgetting about dates on labels.., or other things like where they were made. At the end of the day it's either a good or bad guitar, I guess, and experienced players will inform the less experienced what the difference is.
And I guess subtle changes in design and decoration over time would allow collectors and experts to age them reasonably accurately.
RE: Guitar labels. When is a date no... (in reply to flybynight)
Well I know that Bruné dates his guitars in the 90's because of the CITES restrictions. If he declares them as later than the date of the CITES agreement he has to file paperwork. Since he has a huge stock of old brazillian, it's really not an issue, more of a convenience.
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