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Richard Jernigan -> RE: Conde Questions (Mar. 16 2018 17:18:47)
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Then there were the "tourist" model media lunas. When I first went to the Gravina 7 shop Faustino was there, though not behind the counter. He lounged near the three disused workbenches at one side, which commemorated the day when the Sobrinos actually made guitars on a regular basis.
I asked the young man behind the counter for one of their best instruments. He went into the back room, returned and handed me an object shaped more or less like a guitar, with the media luna headstock. He quoted a price twice as high as their best guitars were going for. The neck was not only bowed, but also twisted. The frets were rough, and only in approximately the right places. Though the trend varied, it went very sharp as you went up the fretboard. Chords were out of tune. It had the sonority and tone of a freshly cut yellow pine two-by-four inch board. I had met more than one gringo who bought one of those disasters.
I played a couple of solea falsetas and handed the object back to the young man without comment. He glanced at Faustino, who nodded almost imperceptibly. The young man went to the back room again, and returned with a quite decent guitar, though not outstanding. I sat on a stool and played for ten or fifteen minutes. Not virtuosically, but competently. In those days it was rare to hear a gringo play in compas.
Faustino and the rest listened attentively. A boy was dispatched. He returned with the Professor from down the street, whom I had visited earlier. He muttered to Faustino, presumably identifying what I was playing mainly as stuff copped from Mario Escudero.
I handed the guitar back to the young man, commenting that it was pretty good, but expensive. No discount was offered. I bought some strings and departed, without indicating that I knew who Faustino was.
Whenever I went back I was treated honestly and politely, but I never bought a guitar from them.
One of my friends had a '73 media luna which he bought new. His daughter was studying in Madrid. She went with a pro classical player to pick out a guitar. It was well made, but at first it was dead as a doornail. I felt sorry for my friend, but said nothing. However over a year or two it developed into a great guitar. Then I tried to buy it from him--more than once--but he wouldn't sell.
RNJ
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