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Does anyone has an experience with one of these guitars? The shop in calle Navas, Granada, sells flamenco blanca de concierto for 1600 euros! Do you think it's a full handmade for this price?
RE: Miguel Angel Lopez (Bellido) (in reply to mezzo)
I didnt try this bargain, but I used to work in Calle Navas 22 some 6 - 7 years ago. I maintain my rights not to have any comments. I havent tried the guitar. I just know that before, when Miguel Angel started, they were called Miguel Angel Bellido. Now they are called Miguel Angel Lopez Guitarras. Are the guitars signed and who signed them?
RE: Miguel Angel Lopez (Bellido) (in reply to mezzo)
There are proably no great secrets about all this. You can find all the clues on this website. http://www.laguitarra.es/index.php?main_page=page&id=12&chapter=2 You will find prices here for Manuel Bellido, Jesus Bellido and Miguel Angel. The prices for Manuel are pretty good for a 71 year old with a good reputation and now making fewer guitars - a lot of professionals you will find in the penas in Granada play his guitars. The guitars of Jesus are much cheaper - in line with someone who has not established such a reputation. The guitars of Miguel Angel (the ones that are french polished and possibly hand built) are very cheap at 1600 euros - if they were good you might expect to pay more, but I don't know. It would be difficult to exisit in Spain selling hand built guitars at this price. So we have in addition, Miguel Angel Lopez Guitarras - a line of cheap guitars finished in polyurethane. Everyone has to eat!
Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston
RE: Miguel Angel Lopez (Bellido) (in reply to mezzo)
To add another layer to this "cake"--a couple of years ago i bought a guitar, since sold, that had a label and stamp (no signature) with the name Jose Lopez Bellido. I was the second owner. The original owner reported that he bought the guitar from the Bellido shop and the guitar was a Bellido but was unsigned as Mr. Bellido told him he could sign it since it was not his best work. The guitar was a good one but not great.
Now for the kicker. The guitar had a rosette and headstock identical to an Alhambra 7FC (the cypress version). The guitar in reality was an Alhambra sold to Bellido who then slapped in his label and stamp and sold it at his shop in Granada as a second level guitar. The guitar by the time it made it to me was what an Alhambra would sell for in a used condition.
The upshot to this story--pretty standard practice from what I hear for a shop to buy guitars from the factory and then slap in the house label.
RE: Miguel Angel Lopez (Bellido) (in reply to mezzo)
that's a horrible story Keith. what do you mean by: "The guitar by the time it made it to me was what an Alhambra would sell for in a used condition." I don't understand this phrase
So do you still have/play this Alhambra? And what do you think of it?
RE: Miguel Angel Lopez (Bellido) (in reply to keith)
Las guitarras de estudio de Pedro de Miguel tambien son de Alhambra. Ellos no lo esconden. Ajustan las guitarras mejor que Alhambra y ofrecen su garantía. Eso es normal: lo que pasa es que las guitarras de Alhambra son buenas.
Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston
RE: Miguel Angel Lopez (Bellido) (in reply to mezzo)
no horror story to the guitar--it was a factory built guitar sold in a shop with a label/stamp much the same way ramirez puts in an estudio label except the label/stamp did not identify it as an estudio. the difference is with ramirez's label it is clearly known the ramirez folks did not lift a tool to make it and with the bellido label/stamp it was left open to whatever story the seller wanted to make up. i think having a label with no identification that it is an estudio is the issue that can be problematic.
there are plenty of horror stories out there about a person buying a guitar sold with lies and mistruths. as to when the guitar got to me--i purchased it used for the same ballpark price a second hand alhambra 7fc would sell for and then sold it when i became unemployed. since i bought it used i did not get into what the original owner paid for it but i suspect he purchased it at a reasonable price.
as to the guitar being a factory guitar--i have no problems with that as long as everything is up front and there are no lies/mistruths/fraudulent stories. i actually have a 1978 juan orozco flamenco built in japan that has a nice flamenco sound .sadly though the cypress used is yellow cedar--alaskan "cypress"-- and although the sound is nice, that wonderful cypress aroma is not there--however, i have some european cypress scraps that i can stick inside to get that aroma.