Picked up a 1962 Conde (Full Version)

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Andy Culpepper -> Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 5 2026 20:40:36)

Unisgned Sobrinos de Esteso with a couple of back cracks but should be pretty sweet!
Still needs one crack repaired and a new golpeador (old one peeled off almost instantly). Can't wait to hear it.

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/XvcWHpC2/IMG-4651.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/qRJT94sw/IMG-4652.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/wvqpSgXP/IMG-4653.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/NMscWB6W/IMG-8473.jpg[/img]



Fawkes -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 5 2026 23:50:16)

Congratulations! Very cool!



rombsix -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 6 2026 0:53:25)

Wow, man - acquiring a number of instruments, huh? [:D]



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 6 2026 3:36:13)

Thanks guys! Ramzi, I suppose so, though this one may end up getting sold. It also cost exactly 1/20th of what the other one cost :D



rombsix -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 6 2026 4:28:34)

quote:

It also cost exactly 1/20th of what the other one cost :D


Aguaaaaaaaaaa! [:D]



silddx -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 6 2026 9:25:36)

What a great find! Looking forward to seeing and hearing it after you've tidied it up.



Ricardo -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 6 2026 15:09:39)

I am into that Viuda de esteso case more than the guitar. [:D]



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 6 2026 21:38:38)

quote:

I am into that Viuda de esteso case more than the guitar.


The case is super cool! Not even too beat up. My friend who sold it to me said it was his Dad's (recently passed) and he never heard or saw him play it. So it definitely has some waking up to do after 40+ years.




Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 7 2026 3:11:56)

It took me a minute but I'm starting to really like this guitar. It felt kind of stiff at first, but I realized it's one of those guitars that really demands and rewards a strong right hand. When I push it hard it totally outclasses my guitar. It feels like a professional's guitar but I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge!



Echi -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 7 2026 17:17:15)

Exactly.
These guitars have that and also that macho tone on the fundamentals which makes them very loud in a noisy environment if pushed.
Somehow the thing about “pulsación” (which is now meant as a joke here in the forum) makes perfectly sense when you associate that with these kind of guitars.
Your guitar is made substantially the same as a first class Esteso of those years: The Conde made in later years are 200 grams heavier and mellower but still keep that quality.



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 7 2026 17:40:35)

Yep this is 100% a "masculine" guitar. If pulsación is a myth then I guess I believe in bigfoot. You can tell from the first notes that it has a stiffer right hand feel.

For those who are curious:
It has a slightly asymmetric bracing where the braces on the treble side are angled slightly more than the ones on the bass side. Similar to certain Santos Hernandez ideas from the mid-'30s

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/QVZxCL6M/IMG-4671.jpg[/img]

The top is relatively thick, mostly about 2.4-2.5 mm measured with a Hacklinger gauge, with some thinner areas on the bass side. But the fan braces are very low, 3 mm tall at most with a pyramid shape. Body resonance F#. Total weight 1333 grams. 650/52. After playing for a while I believe it is a serious instrument! It sounds much more open today than it did yesterday.



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 7 2026 18:15:18)

Setup is 7.5 mm at the bridge and 3 mm action all the way across. A little high but it helps the notes ring out and it seems intentional as the neck is dead flat and the soundboard doesn't show any deformation.



rombsix -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 7 2026 21:42:55)

What sort of light bulb is that inside the guitar? Does it not risk burning the wood?



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 8 2026 0:12:33)

It's an old CFL. Gets warm but not too hot, I don't leave it in long.



silddx -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 8 2026 18:25:37)

I watched your video and immediately thought it was a very masculine sound. It's really lovely.



zendalex -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 9 2026 15:28:50)

Really nice sounding guitar! Wondering how is the intonation and comfort?



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 10 2026 0:54:06)

Intonation is...honestly...spot on. Perfect saddle compensation. The action right now is right at 3mm so it's higher than I'm used to. But, I'm getting used to it and it's actually really nice to be able to play clean.

I'll make a better video at some point because I was trying to play in the traditional position for some reason and struggling. It's a guitar unlike anything I've ever played which is the main reason I decided to keep it (also I really like the rosette).

This is the least "pretty" sounding guitar I have ever played. You do not want to play classical on this thing. But the sound somehow transports you perfectly to another time and place, and is so bold and assertive. It's awesome.



Ricardo -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 10 2026 13:43:53)

Nice. In terms of "compensation", well, my 1973 sobrinos is 670 mm scale and the 12th is smack in the middle, 0.0 compensation. Local luthier (impressed this was measuring in inches not mm) was like "doesn't this thing play sharp up high??", and I explained how my dad's Hauser 2, the bridge is like 3.x mm pulled back and I must pull back toward the nut when playing up high to compensate for the compensation. [8|]

Pulsation bias= "3mm yet it is a bit high for me". But I will let people keep their beliefs because they shape the subjective reality experience. My main point all along is the definition of the word in English is "action". Lower it and achieve "soft pulsation" rather than "stiff pulsation".



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 10 2026 17:51:43)

Oh, I found a new definition of pulsation [:D]
2:55



silddx -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 10 2026 18:56:51)

Oof.



ernandez R -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 10 2026 20:53:44)

im intrieged by the offset treble bracing but moreso by the amount of unsuported top plate aft of the bridge or rather aft of where the sound bars end combined with the thicker top. Wonder how much this had to do with the guitars particular charictor?

i have two WRC tops mid rosette and giving me food for thought in how i plan to brace them… both will be long scale flamencas.

So…, how many of you reached out to Andy right away interested in aquiring this Conde even before he started gushing over her? Raises hand.

HR



Andy Culpepper -> RE: Picked up a 1962 Conde (Sep. 11 2026 3:16:09)

It's not uncommon on older Spanish guitars to leave some unbraced territory back there. Santos did it to a sometimes terrifying degree [:)]

You were not the only one to inquire HR...



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