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to be honest with you, I am still trying to find out the answer, because its complicated! I have dual citizenships that mean nothing to me,because in both countries people look at me as a foreigner and I feel like a foreigner to them. everywhere in the world I go, im a foreigner. therefore I am a citizen of the world. why are you asking? different people think im from different places after they hear my story. i dont care where people think im from, because I really dont consider myself from anywhere.
hope you are doing fine. Sorry for not being around for a while. Was Struggling with a thyroid disease, job, etc.
Just wanted to let you know that i have tried their "top" model flamenco cypress (which is about 700 euros new i think) recently and honestly, it was the best sounding and playable cypress guitar i have EVER played in this price range. I compared it directly with a 1F Sanchis Lopez and surprisingly i liked this Paco Castillo more than the Sanchis which 3 times higher price. Clean and seperated sound. Excelent craftmanship. A little warmer than the 1F but surprisingly a little easier to play. This guitar was bought from my friend in the music fair. I don't know if the quality is consistent, but we are goind to order a few of them now.
I don't know if they are built in Valencia or China, but i think valencia. But whoever builds them, does a good job. You can also make little changes while ordering. For instance we want shellac instead of polyeruthane, a little thinner neck, etc. no problem, just a little bit more added to the price.
The Story is: Jaime Julia Abad and his sons Luis, Lucas und Juan are behind this relatively new company. These guys were all with Alhambra, i think Jaime was the Boss of Alhambra for several years. We are in contact with Luis, who is very flexible and nice guy.
So if you have the chance to play one of these 215F, try them out, you will be surprised.
This company can become the new Sanchis Lopez soon. Specially with these prices.
Hey Norman, nice to see you. They gave me Thiamazol, and shooted me down to diminished function (the exact opposite of the hyperfunction which i had. Then they realised that the dose was too much, now they said i have to stop taking medication and come again in 2 weeks, then we will start again with lower dose.
I go to take blood samples each 2 - 3 weeks.
I think most doctors don't have a clue what they are doing. They don't take enough time for you and do the same for all kind of patients.
Anyway, i feel better now, even though i am still in low thyroid function phase, which makes me slow, tired, sleepy, etc.... its better than the extreme hyperfunction i had.
The only thing that really sucks and really bothers me is that my guitar playing suffered extremely. I can't play a single picado anymore, or a little faster pulgar. Just slow and relaxed chords is all i can play at the moment. I think the low function somehow affects your muscles and tendons and the coordination or something. I also had a lot of cramps, while i was in the subfunction. They only appeared when i did slow movements like taking of my shoes, or taking of my shirt, or when i was lying in my bed, i had a lot of extremely painful cramps in m sural......but not when i was doing something exhausting, weird!
to be honest with you, I am still trying to find out the answer, because its complicated!...........
.......different people think im from different places after they hear my story. i dont care where people think im from, because I really dont consider myself from anywhere.
This is so in line with the multicultural character of flamenco (Andalusia, India, Arab, Jew, South America etc.)
The Story is: Jaime Julia Abad and his sons Luis, Lucas und Juan are behind this relatively new company. These guys were all with Alhambra, i think Jaime was the Boss of Alhambra for several years.
Jaime Julia was in charge of production for Alhambra for years. He is a fine luthier in his own right, and previously the very top Alhambra model was his own signed model, the Jaime Julia Excellence. I actually still have photos of that model on my website.
So if he started and is running this new company there's every reason to believe they will be producing fine guitars. I'm not sure, but I believe they are made in Spain.
It's sad to hear that your going through all that. Cramps can be really painful! I hope you continue on the up and up. Best wishes man
Thanks a lot! all in all i am a positive person and i am sure i can fight this autoimmune disease and get well after a while. plus i am thankful that i don't have more serious issues , like i saw some people with thyroid cancer and they were really suffering. so even though i am not a religious person, somehow i turned up looking at the sky and say "thanks god that i only have this disease and not the things i just saw in the clinic". i now try to live more healthy and also avoid too much stress, etc.... the only problem i have is smoking which i need to quit, that could also be a reason for all this.
Thanks a lot! all in all i am a positive person and i am sure i can fight this autoimmune disease and get well after a while. plus i am thankful that i don't have more serious issues , like i saw some people with thyroid cancer and they were really suffering. so even though i am not a religious person, somehow i turned up looking at the sky and say "thanks god that i only have this disease and not the things i just saw in the clinic". i now try to live more healthy and also avoid too much stress, etc.... the only problem i have is smoking which i need to quit, that could also be a reason for all this.
again, sorry for offtopic in the thread ;-)
I'm glad you have this mindset.. .this is the type of mentality to have. nothing is as important as your health and wellbeing!
After many research (luthiers inclued) my option was Paco Castillo.
Why The 214F ?
All solid quallity Woods , pickguard and case included for 540 euros aprox.
The construction is very very good.., finish is perfect , no defauls defects, no buzzs etc
The guitar have a very flamenco sound , the woods smells great , and its Lightweight The strings are very good also.... medium/hard (i think) Knobloch strings , classy flamenco strings and durable..
The action is low , but you can put it lower.
The sound is very flamenco , the sound is better day by day , after some days you will remember this. Dont have to wait long for mature sound...
Tunners are ok medium range, no cheap tunners but not luxury tunner,
Overall its a steal , i think this guitar is at least worth the double . One of the best buys i did ever. It came with a semi solid case..
You can read the whole story behind Alhambra and Paco Castillo guitars here. Luis Julia is the son of Jaime Julia Abad. Both are in the picture on this website. Unfortunately I have no experience with both guitars. I think Paco Castillo guitars are unknown and relatively new on the market. Therefore its resale value can be lower than Alhambra.
update , this Guitar 214F the sound is more balanced , polished , acrticulated , clear and yet flamenco better suitable for modern playing like Vicente Amigo Style , a lot of arpeggios but still sound flamenco.
Well , the humidity decreases and the temperature is higher , so the guitar sounds great...
Today i show it to a pro , i told him that i got a 8k Lester Devoe , and the guy made a very surprise face (i told that i cant play) , he checked and it is a Paco Castillo (lol)
So he show one of his Condes , the one that its very used that the plays for the gigs. nothing special really. He tried mine cheap factory and sounded amazing...much more than the Conde, he was very very surprise , me too.. , he also enjoyed the confort to play
he showed the other Conde that he keeps safe , and it was very different from the other for the gigs, more projection , like the other with steroids Mine only lost for the "special" Conde for projection and tone projection , the Conde was more solid