Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (Full Version)

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Erixon -> Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 17 2026 23:29:13)

Hello folks. I have not been here for at least 10 years and it seems a lot has changed since with the functionality of this forum. I can't seem to be able to upload an image, even under required specifications for size of an image. Always reports some error.

So decided to put the images of the guitar into a presentation google document. Anyone could shed a little light on possible origin, just to narrow down viable options, would be a great help. It hasn't got a label, but sounds very genuine flamenco. Actually, breathtakingly awesome and loud. All I know from the elderly gentleman I bought the guitar from he had it in his possession for around 4O years and a few pro flamenco artists used it in the past before him and one of them had studied with Paco Pena. One of them was a left-handed female player.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1i3NoFDoCHPvAzhQD6iKlDBfPqM_7GUSFV7-9Kael448/edit?usp=sharing[code][/code]



Ricardo -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 18 2026 12:16:01)

looks like a low end Valencia make like Tatay etc., from the 1960s or so.



Erixon -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 18 2026 22:26:41)

I don't think it's a low end, it had been for decades used by professional players. The person who sold it to me personally knew the previous owner and bits and pieces of provenance are available. It's a mystery why it doesn't have a label though.. Also, it is somewhat smaller and quite tight at the nut. At the least it's a concert level instrument. Very light. I'll be dealing with somwhat higher action on the 12th fret, which is cca 4.5-5mm which makes it a bit more difficult to play but other than that, it's an instrument that feels like an extension of my body. I would really like more opinions from other members of the forum. Not intending to sell it, but I would love to know what it is.



Ricardo -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 19 2026 12:02:21)

quote:

I don't think it's a low end, it had been for decades used by professional players.


Sure. Which ones? and show pictures on stage with it in hand. Well, it is clearly Valencia made. Not saying they aren't good, I have two Tatay and one R.Sanchiz Lopez that are excellent, but you are talking a few hundred dollars type guitar. The Rosewood fingerboard and wide grain cheap cypress for example is a dead give away, but the general nondescript aesthetic is clear and finish work as well. The small nut spacing is typical student guitar thing. The high action can be lowered by the bone saddle but since it is old, likely the neck shifted forward (the wear shows it was not taken good care of by the previous owners). The fact there is no label (or back brace even) means it is used as a scam to get money from people that don't know better, even low end guitars carry labels with pride.

For Concert level instruments the lack of a proper label is a huge red flag as that is more valuable than the wood in terms of true value to collectors. (think of like Rolex or Fender Strat with serial numbers to spot fakes). Good luck and glad you enjoy it.



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 20 2026 4:02:28)

I don't know who made it, but whatever you paid for it is probably about how much it is worth ;)



Arash -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 20 2026 11:18:49)

If you want to play flamenco with this, 5mm is not an option. Don't know any flamenco professional who would play with such a setup. Neck probably moved or something happened and previous owners couldn't use it anymore.
Even for classical that is high and not comfortable. You need to do something about that (if possible). Don't know how the neck relief situation is. Looks like there is no bone left at bridge as well.

Some of these guitars sound good but doesn't help if you can't play it



mecmachin -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 20 2026 15:11:33)

Hi,

check out my recent thread where I refurbished an old guitar:
http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=361092&mpage=1&p=&tmode=1&smode=1&key=tatay
Very rewarding experience.

The action at the 12th fret was as high as yours.
The bridge was coming off and I replaced it with a part from Madinter.
But before I refretted it I sanded the whole fingerboard down, which resulted in a very nice action, and a perfectly playable instrument.
I should definately upload something soon...

Mind you, I was (am and will stay probably) a beginner. But I am happy if I can give my two cents.



mecmachin -> RE: Need some help wi, th identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 20 2026 21:26:07)

Very fancy looking axe btw.
And as you like the sound you would like to play it...

If this was mine, I would give it to a good luthier who knows a bit about flamenco guitars for check if a good setup can be achieved. maybe it can be done only with a refretting job, an planing fingerboard. Maybe the brigde needs a touchup, but If possible, try to conserve the original finish, to allow aging for another 100 years...



Erixon -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 20 2026 23:10:39)

I've also done almost complete restoration *except opening the soundboard, on my Bellido blanca cca 12 years ago. I had made a brand new ebony fingerboard as the previous one was split and when I tried to insert a vedge underneath to elevate it and compensate for the higher action, it split, right under the fret. it was also split across. This part took a lot of measuring and careful thought and some calculations. I made a brand new bridge, as the previous one was a cheap Chinese one - a sacrilege, if you ask me. Needed to go. The guitar had plenty of structural problems and multitudes of cracks on the top and sides and on the back. Also had some stupid preamp installed on the side, which had to be removed and sealed withn a piece of cypress. One just can't not hear that piece of plastic and metal inserted into the body... Also, there was a hole under the previous bridge needed sealing and removing a wire as well. I gave it an ebony nut and saddle and coated with several layers of shellac. This was an interesting project and frankly, I am quite proud of that job. - and we're not talking about resale value at all, I will never consider selling this guitar, I've put my heart into this work. This forum and information from various memebs such as Tom Blackshear, Estebanana, Eliasson etc.. had shared indispensable information and wealth of knowledge I could not go without otherwise.



Erixon -> RE: Need some help wi, th identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 20 2026 23:16:33)

nah, it may not be necessary, there can be a way to remove some mms off of the bridge and drill new holes.. etc. or else, modifying the angle of the neck at the heel. Frankly, this guitar is in a remarkably good structural shape, considering its age, one would expect much more damage than it has.



Erixon -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 20 2026 23:59:43)

yes, indeed, it is not exactly comfortable to play it due to this high action, yet, it is not impossible. It's currently my third guitar and bought it simply because the person who sold it to me lives close by and I genuinely liked this guitar's esthetics and ancient looks. The man is in his eighties and doesn't play anymore due to arthritis, so, one should not be jumping to conclusions that I've been scammed (Ricardo seemed to think that was the case). No, it wasn't, I knew this guitar is most likely from Valencia school and has a generic headstock, I wasn't exactly expending it to be some bombastic name.
Yet the fact it has no label and hasn't had a label for last 40 years it was locked in the case on a shelve as it hasn't been played at all. Even the strings it has have not been changed for the entire period it'd been in his possession. The action height is possibly due to not having loosened the string tension for many decades of not playing. If I decide I need it done I will deal with it, it's really not a rocket science.



Ricardo -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (May 22 2026 14:09:45)

quote:

one should not be jumping to conclusions that I've been scammed


Likely the old man did not remove the label but someone down the chain before him. The stories about its pedigree go for the ride. I watched this happen with a guitar I personally owned and traded with Dan Zeff, that serendipitously ended up in the hands of a good friend in spain where the story he was telling about it had changed to "paco de Lucia once owned this". [:D][:D]



nethanpaul86 -> RE: Need some help with identifying this 100 year old blanca. (Jun. 17 2026 20:19:11)

When you do not have a label on the guitar it can be really hard to figure out who made it.. If you look closely at how the guitar was put together that can give you a lot of clues. Taking pictures of the headstock, the bridge, the rosette the inside braces and any stamps or markings on the guitar can really help you narrow down the possibilities.

The story you have told about the guitar is really interesting. It is great that you know much about the guitar. However it can be very tough to confirm if a story about a guitar is true, after a time.

If the guitar is very loud if it sounds good when you play it and if it has that sound that flamenco guitars are known for then it is probably a good guitar even if you do not know who made the guitar. The guitar being an instrument is what matters, not just who built the guitar.



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