Richard Jernigan -> RE: Which factories make guitars for famous luthiers? (Dec. 11 2013 20:39:46)
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ORIGINAL: Arash quote:
ORIGINAL: Richard Jernigan An excellent point. What I found shady about the old Gravina 7 shop was that they would sell the "Valencia tank" to the tourist for the top price, RNJ I can guaranty you that if the "tourists" wanted to buy the "valencia tank" in any of those other shops all around spain, none of the shop owners would say "no, i don't sell this to you, give me back my valencia tank" [;)] In fact, in Spain I only ever bought guitars in Madrid, so I don't know what practices were elsewhere. Still, the shop owner could have said, "Ah, if you like this guitar, I can give your a discount…". And the shop owner need not say enthusiastically but dishonestly, "this is our top model, the finest guitar you can buy." If the tourist handled the "tank" carefully, he could be shown a better guitar. In downtown Madrid, at the shops of Ramirez, Contreras, Bernabe, Manzanero, Rozas, Camacho or Manuel Rodriguez Sr while he still had his shop in Calle Hortaleza, they would hand you a first class guitar if you asked to play one. A senior member of the staff, perhaps the Maestro himself, would take you to a separate room, and watch very closely while you tuned up and played. All the shops mentioned carried flamencas, with golpeadores. I have no idea what Contreras or Manzanero would have done, but if you had even acted like you would do a golpe on a classical Ramirez 1a or a Bernabe, the staff member would have ripped the guitar out of your hands and given you a stiff lecture. A second offense would likely have gotten you kicked out of the shop. If you asked for a guitar in a certain price range, you were shown one. At Bernabe's shop in Cuchilleros 8 just off the Plaza Mayor, there were student model instruments hanging on the wall with price tags. You could walk in, take one down, sit in a chair and try it out. Someone would watch, but if you acted reasonably, they might not even speak to you, until you took the instrument to the counter and started the conversation. The practices at the Gravina 7 shop stood out in contrast to the other Madrid shops. I visited each several times over the years, except only once to Camacho. At Contreras, in the Calle Mayor near the Royal Palace, I saw a very ill-dressed man with broken shoes come in off the street with a beat up guitar in a shabby cardboard case, and ask how to tune it. Contreras's niece worked behind the counter before she went off to Juilliard to study 'cello. She spent at least fifteen minutes explaining patiently, demonstrating, and supervising while the man tried it himself. The last time I saw Contreras Sr was in 1991. He had lost an eye to the illness that finally took him, but he was back in the shop assisting customers, as friendly, courteous and helpful as ever. As I left his niece told me she would soon be off to Juilliard. I congratulated her, and wished her luck. She said she was looking forward to it, but then, with tears in her eyes she said she would miss her uncle. I said that I would, too. RNJ
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