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The one I played was outstanding ... In the same room were a few Condes from the 70's and 80's, a Manuel Caceres and a guitar which we dare not speak its name ... The Pena Vargas more than held it's own with guitars double or triple the market price Based on that, along with the vitals of a great guitar, I also would highly recommend Foro member David Hies has one (maybe 2? ) so hopefully he'll spot this thread Otherwise... Awaiting the review from above
apparently the Moraos (Diego and Pepe), Antonio Rey, Manuel Valencia, Santi Lara, Periquín, El Bolita, Parrilla, basically most Jerez pros own one...Antonio Rey is recording his new album using his Pena Vargas negra - what won me over before making the purchase was that the guy himself plays at a very high level, so I guess he knows his sh!t...and his prices are unbeatable for sure...you pay half of what you'd pay for a guitar of a similar quality by some other makers...I hope my first hand experience will verify my instincts...
RE: Peña Vargas Guitars..? (in reply to turnermoran)
A few other comments:
Just like the video of my actual guitar (link in the previous post), and as well with Galvez's guitar, Vargas has achieved, IMO, and impressive relationship between the sound and the action/neck angle. What I hear in all the samples, is that there is a certain buzz-iness that sounds muy flamenco. That crispy dirty sound, but the neck angle on my guitar is perfect, the action is perfect, and the saddle has plenty of room to lower, and there's plenty of break angle. So in other words, it's like it sounds like it has very low action, and the buzz is a result of that, but in reality, the action isn't especially low, (though it certainly doesn't feel high, nor does it feel anything other than optimal), and it has a desirable sound that is hard to explain when you look at the set up.
My only less-than-glowing commentary is that in pictures, my guitar looks like it has a mellow orange finish that I personally love. Not crazy parking cone orange , but rather mellow. But when it arrived, it looked a bit different. It almost has a shade of pink somehow mixed in. Almost coral in color. But in certain light, looks nothing but straight up orange. I've never seen a guitar quite like it.
I'll try and upload pics..
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Here's David accompanying por seguiriya, there's another video somewhere por bulerías. You have the choice regarding finish, I asked for mine without any coloring as I prefer the clean natural look, but it was of course possible to ask for a different color. His guitars can cost anything between 1800-3000+ euros, he actually doesn't advertise his Brazilian rosewood guitars as he has little material. But the Madagascar negra currently costs 2100 plus postage which is 150 euros within Europe. Indian 1900. His prices have gone up recently but I'm pretty sure they'll go up further. These guitars seem like a good long term investment as well.
The picture attached is of my guitar before being assembled. I will attach another pic in a next post after it's put together, with no bridge yet.
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the thing with uploads - is the mic set up / players ability/ and so many variables its hard to tell-- i was listening to a a C10 cordoba cedar guitar demo sounded fine but to be honest i couldn't really tell much of a difference between many other guitars.
i best practice get my ears together-- are they fully hand made ? look forward to hearing great things - uploads etc
any one listened to the difference in pena vargas from his taranto model ? to other guitars ?
i.e a descripton on the sound its like a conde ? sanchis 1 f extra or other ?(sorry for silly question) can't even use youtube here these days but i did listen to his blancas but didn't hear a taranto
I'm in asia and i haven't see one flamenco guitar here at all ! i have an old antonio lorca guitar -- its not sounding great --upgrade time
the tuners vargas uses are ? generally how much and what type ? if anyone has the taranto medelo has anyone beefed it up a bit any extras any suggestions ? and what string would people use
again sorry for the questions its so hard to buy and not play
wife said she will buy me a guitar for about 2000euro
Posts: 1943
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton
RE: Peña Vargas Guitars..? (in reply to minorthang)
He uses Gotoh tuners, when I receive my guitar later this week, I will write more about it. I'll ask him what strings they initially came with, then I will try it with my hard Luthier set and let you know the difference. It's unfortunate most of the videos online are done with phones, so it's quite difficult to hear the real tone of the guitar...
RE: Peña Vargas Guitars..? (in reply to turnermoran)
quote:
but the neck angle on my guitar is perfect, the action is perfect
What does this mean excactly? How much mm is the action at bridge? I don´t like the string buzzing as to be seen in some videos. Imo that´s too extreme.
I look for a guitar neck that has a small amount of relief, no "ski jump", clean fret work where there are no frets and also that the sides are cleanly done. I like to see the side (tang) of the fret too - but that's my pref.
if the neck is back bowed, or bowed excessively it's not going to play well.. at least for me. So the guitar in this case has a neck that has the small amount of relief I like, and the relief takes place gradually, and transitions smoothly from the body outward down the length of the neck. I'm not an expert on this and I'm sure there are many here on the Foro that would either correct, clarify, etc these points.
As to buzz, to each their own. It's personal taste. But yes, it's a bit buzzy. But I like that
Posts: 1943
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton
RE: Peña Vargas Guitars..? (in reply to xirdneH_imiJ)
I received my guitar yesterday. It's every bit as I had expected. It's of course heavier than my blanca and the basses are darker. To my surprise, it's a very loud instrument, it has that "bite" to it that I was looking for, without it sounding too dry. The playability is almost perfect, so is the intonation. I will try to make a video in the coming days, but so far, with very little playing, I'll say it's very much worth the money I spent on it!
Posts: 1943
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton
RE: Peña Vargas Guitars..? (in reply to minorthang)
Minorthang: I played the guitar after opening the box, it had Savarez New Cristal strings on it. The trebles sounded a bit weak and the G string was useless. He recommended I change to Savarez Alliance when I change strings, but instead I immediately changed to my trusted Luthier Silver 45s and the guitar came alive! Strong clear trebles (including the G string), well balanced guitar, but the basses are absolutely brutal. There is no buzzing at all on this one unless I really dig into the strings, and while it's set up very well, I will consider slightly lowering the action, there is room for that.
Posts: 1943
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton
RE: Peña Vargas Guitars..? (in reply to xirdneH_imiJ)
We made the measurements:
Pena Vargas - Nut 53 mm, Bridge 7,5 mm, 12th fret 3,5 mm
for comparison we also measured our other guitars - his Castillo Blanca has 53,5mm nut, bridge 8mm, 12th 2,4mm my Ramirez Blanca 52,4 nut, bridge 9,3mm, 12th 2,7mm
His guitar is super playable, extremely comfortable to play; both blancas are loud, but my negra is much louder and has superior clarity in its tone...I am a bit biased, so maybe he will tell his opinion (also he's played more "good" guitars than i have)... It's not necessary at all, because the guitar is very comfortable for both hands, but I do think that there is room to lower the action on the negra - I won't touch the nut, but I will have a slightly lower one made so I can experiment with it.
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