Question about Alhambra Guitars!

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Elie

Posts: 1837
Joined: Apr. 10 2010

Question about Alhambra Guitars!

Hello my friends,
well my question is what do you think about Alhambra guitars?
I already have Alhambra-Classic-6C & Alhambra-Flamenco-3F and Im happy with them they are good with wonderful sound ( at least this is what i think )
and now I want to buy a better flamenco guitar so I was thinking about Alhambra-Flamenco-7Fc
but I need your help guys .. is it good or do I have to change the whole brand or company .
well what made me ask this is that I didn't see any member of the foro talkin about alhambra so I wasn't sure if they are good or not .

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 10 2010 10:08:23

Arash

Posts: 4495
Joined: Aug. 9 2006
From: Iran (living in Germany)

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

i just used the search function with "Alhambra 7fc" and got dozen of threads.

here is one for example:

http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=125487&appid=&p=&mpage=1&key=alhambra%2C7fc&tmode=&smode=&s=#125487

---

anyway, best advice i can give is: first of all, simply try out all guitars which are around where you live. no matter which brand, model, etc. just play and see how they are. easy as that.

if there are no guitars around (or if you have really no idea what could be good for you), then next step is to look what others say, but generally no one can tell you what is good for you. a good guitar for someone can be a bad guitar for you and vice versa. i experienced this myself few times. so many factors which must be considered.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 10 2010 10:48:28

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

DarkElieDraven--I have an Alhambra 7 series flamenco--of sorts. The guitar I have has a Jose Bellido label and stamp but the headstock and rosette says the guitar is an Alhambra 7--most likely Alhambra made it for Bellido much as Ramirez Estudios are made by outside sources. It is solid cypress. The sound is very good for a flamenco in that price range. It is reasonably light and has a good voice. I had a new bridge installed--more of a flamenco bridge than a classical bridge that came with it.

By the way, due to my recent status of becoming one of the millions of unemployed I will most likely put it up for sale--in part for the money and in part because I am sending resumes around the country and moving may be in order.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 10 2010 15:42:44

Elie

Posts: 1837
Joined: Apr. 10 2010

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

@Arash:
I searched the phrase Alhambra 7fc and I just got 5 records

lol
but thank you so much for your advice I think that what I should do I should try some guitars till I like one and .. yeah there are a plenty of guitars where i live such as admira , alhambra , yamaha , Paulino Bernabe .... etc
but I like Alhambra because I used it for a long time classical / flamenca and I'm happy with it and as you said I checked the link you mentioned and there were some members that didn't like the 3F while I like it ... anyway I will check for some good guitars.. thank you so much

@keith:
thank you for the offer much appreciated but I really don't like to play on a used guitar.

Elie

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 11 2010 8:51:41

Arash

Posts: 4495
Joined: Aug. 9 2006
From: Iran (living in Germany)

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

Sometimes used guitars are much better than new ones (so long as it was "appropiately" used by a player and not kept in a wet basement or in a home museum vitrine, etc).

Personally, i am looking for used maximum opened up guitars with dings and dongs, which were regurarly and badly played by some good player, who is just selling it because he needs money or something

(yeah, i know everyone says he is just selling because he needs money, but i mean those who really don't want to sell their good guitar, but must! ;-), or because they have other good guitars, etc..,.....because of 2 reasons:

- Good price for same quality new instrument
- Guitar normally sounds better than a new one

Of course you have to look for important things like: Straight Neck, Intonation, Setup, Workmanship, No Cracks (and if, then really well repaired, and again lower price), and sometimes you have to do things like replacing fret rods, etc.

But anyway, if you have some kind of aversion against something used by someone else, then thats different story. Just wanted to say that a Guitar is not like a Car, whose lifespan is shortened after using it, or something like that.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 11 2010 9:47:59

GuitarVlog

Posts: 441
Joined: Mar. 19 2009
From: San Francisco Bay Area

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

I think they're good guitars but I'm wondering if the improvement in tone from the 7F will be substantial versus the 3F and worth the extra money. As good as they are, they're still factory guitars.

It's likely that you'll upgrade from the 7F too, isn't it? If I were in your shoes, I would just be patient, save up more, and spring for a hand-made guitar. That's my plan.

Some people on the foro are progressing well with guitars that are cheaper than my Yamaha.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 11 2010 18:33:40

Elie

Posts: 1837
Joined: Apr. 10 2010

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

-My friend Arash :
well can I ask you why do you think that used guitars are much better than new ones , are the used guitars like the old wine

more delicious hahaha

I can't understand why ... mmm maybe because they have a guitarist soul inside them
thank you so much for you opinion.

-GuitarVlog : actually you're right .. both of them are factory guitars . mmmm maybe I should be patient and keep my 3F for a while and keep my money for a more expensive guitar

well I have a question guys ... as I told you I have these two alhambras also I have
a Yamaha CM-40 and I usually do all my solo practicing, rehearsals and warming up on the Yamaha one I barely use the alhambra ones at home I just use them for the concerts or group practicing like band stuff => due , trio , Quarto or with other instruments, is this wrong ? will this affect me in a wrong way ? I know it might be a silly question but I was wondering .

thank you :)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 12 2010 7:25:36

GuitarVlog

Posts: 441
Joined: Mar. 19 2009
From: San Francisco Bay Area

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DarkElieDraven
well I have a question guys ... as I told you I have these two alhambras also I have a Yamaha CM-40 and I usually do all my solo practicing, rehearsals and warming up on the Yamaha one ... will this affect me in a wrong way ?

rombsix seems completely unaffected doing his YouTube performances on a converted, all-laminate, Hohner classical guitar. You can visit his channel to see more.

But personally, I would prefer to practice as much as possible with the guitar that I would play in a performance. The reason is that every guitar will have some unique qualities that I can exploit for greater effect ("This sweet note will make them cry!"), or have some tonal flaws that I would have to work around ("I better reduce the volume on this wolf note on the 3rd fret."). To give the best performance, it helps to intimately know how the guitar will perform.

Of course, if you're just doing generic warm-ups and not "performance practice", then the previous paragraph does not apply.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 12 2010 9:25:40

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

GuitarVlog--there are 2 versions of the Alhambra 7--the 7 with solid sycamore and the 7c with solid cypress. I have the solid cypress version with a Jose Bellido label/stamp--a situation similar to ramirez estudios, etc. . A few years ago I had a Alhambra 3 that I kept at my girlfriend's house which has the laminated sycamore. There is a big difference in tone--probably in large part due to a higher grad of spruce top.

As to new versus used guitars--I think a good condition used guitar, especially with a spruce top, is by far the best way to go....not only is it less expensive, all things considered equal, but there is the issue of the opened top. but, for every one who wants to go the used route there is probably someone who wants to go the new route.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 14 2010 7:57:52

ElDuende

Posts: 5
Joined: May 25 2010

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

DarkelieDraven- I have had an Alhambra 7fc for about 2 years now and can say that mine is an excellent guitar, and comes highly recommended. By all reports from top luthiers and players though, it depends more on the quality of the individual instrument than on the make of the guitar. My advice would be to get your flamenco teacher/ a good luthier you know to come along with you if you are going to buy a new expensive flamenco guitar (a $2500 guitar is expensive by my standards!) and get them to help you out. Things that I know of to check for are neck straightness, break angle (very important), grain evenness on the soundboard, evenness of string separation. Then of course there is the sound! Good luck shopping!

Cheers,

Jack

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 25 2010 20:37:15

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Question about Alhambra Guitars! (in reply to Elie)

i have my bellido/alhambra for sale. the guitar has a bellido label and stamp but it appears to be an alhambra 7fc--the one with cypress. it has new tuners, low action, great flamenco tone, etc. it is posted in the classified section.

i am selling it as i became unemployed and my lease runs out at the end of june and it strongly appears i will have to relocate--and maybe couch-surf for a while.

the guitar is all solid woods--cypress sides and back, thin lacquer, almost in new condition (no cracks, neck is straight, etc.). the guitar appears to have been built by alhambra for bellido. the scale is 656 which is atypical for alhambra.

let me know if anyone is interested....it is a good deal.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 1 2010 7:15:40