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Let's say one wants to fly to Spain to buy flamenco guitar. You are looking for a place where the biggest selection is available, where you can try many guitars and where you can choose from many guitars. For some reasons, there are only two destinations available Malaga and Barcelona and you can pick only one. Where would you go and why ? Let's say your budget is 1000 pounds and you want to buy guitar in this price range.
thanks kiko for reply. I have already contacted somebody in Granada so this is probably good choice. Did you exclude Barcelona due to its 'business' flavour and not 'flamenco ' flavour ?
When you said 'anywhere in Andalucia' it made me confused cause I suppose this is pretty huge area. Can you ' narrow' your recommendation to fewer places in Andalucia where good quality flamenco guitar can be bought?
There is always going to be ''somewhere else'' to look which hasn't been suggested by someone.... I guess you should decide and take a plunge...do your own research,make your mind up,dip a toe if you must, but Dive In. Otherwise its like going to a really good restaurant and asking a waiter what you should order to eat......''everything on this menu is good sir and capable of pleasing someone''....''what does sir like''......''what does sir feel like today? ''.....thus suggesting... .''i don't know you at all so how should I know what you like? '' The variables are endless and impossible for specific advise. I get you want to get as much info as you can but nothing can replace just making a decision and going.... you don't have to buy on your first trip....you've mentioned Granada....great starting point.....do it....even if you don't find a guitar it will make you smile and just thankful to be there soaking it all up!!!!
Great reply pink ...i agree wholeheartedly with everything you put in .. including all the commas and dots...... you will find guitars/ luthiers in every major city in andalucia ,, Sevilla , Granada , Cordoba etc.... I also have a friend who has a shop in Montilla, Cordoba , where i used to live .... great flamenco player / accompanist ...he has many guitars coming and going all the time ,,, he often used facebook to advertise stuff ..you would be welcome to go and see him ....no english speaking though ...and he speaks really fast .. like his tremolo ....
1000 bucks isn't really worth traveling for, why dont you save a little more and get something nice? A really nice handmade guitar will cost you between 2 and 3 thousand eur. You could check out Jeronimo Perez(Argodonales), Peña Vargas(Jeréz) or Anders Eliasson(Huelva), Maldonado(Málaga) Dont know anyone in Barcelona except the guys from flamencoguitarforsale.com wich are very good. But 1000 wont get you anything with these guys. Good luck
ORIGINAL: koenie17 A really nice handmade guitar will cost you between 2 and 3 thousand eur. You could check out Jeronimo Perez(Argodonales), Peña Vargas(Jeréz) or Anders Eliasson(Huelva), Maldonado(Málaga)
Rafapak, there could be more to this journey than just picking up a guitar. If you go where there is the most chance of witnessing real flamenco you will get so much more out of the trip.
I'll second the vote for Anders Eliasson's guitars with a passion. I bought his #123 and it's drop dead gorgeous. Each time I open the case my heart stops like when I was at school and I got a glimpse of the girl I liked. Check out his sound files - the sound is muy muy muy flamenco!! Great playability. Fantastic aesthetics. It even smells great. What more could you want? He has some guitars for sale right now including a 2A negra - here's his blog. http://news-from-the-workshop.blogspot.com.es/
Anders is based near Huelva, home of fandangos and Niño Miguel. You'll have flamenco flooding out of your ears and irreversibly infused into your blood by the time you get back to Manchester.
You've got a guitar, start practicing! Stop worrying about buying a guitar in Spain, you don't know enough to buy a guitar that will make you ultimately happy. When you get better, like after a couple years, then you'll know what you want. You buy one now and you'll likely regret it. As of now your not even sure if you want to be a rumbero or a flamenco, big difference in guitar choice....even if you decide that there's many more details that will change what kind if a guitar you want.
I agree. And you'd be better spending the money on a good teacher. Flamenco is almost impossible to learn without a teacher, at first. In Manchester there is Nick Wilkinson and Glenn Sharp and others. Your teacher will help you find a suitable guitar. There are plenty of flamenco guitars in Manchester and North of England, but not for sale in music shops, but in private hands. Your teacher would know of something suitable.
Of course, going to Spain is always inspirational and you would learn a lot. But as for buying a guitar there, I'd wait until you had a bigger budget and a clear idea of what you want.
Let's say one wants to fly to Spain to buy flamenco guitar. You are looking for a place where the biggest selection is available, where you can try many guitars and where you can choose from many guitars. For some reasons, there are only two destinations available Malaga and Barcelona and you can pick only one. Where would you go and why ? Let's say your budget is 1000 pounds and you want to buy guitar in this price range.
Flamenco guitars are not significantly cheaper in Spain, and you have to add the cost of travel and accommodation for your trip - how much of your budget is that going to eat up?
I would save the plane and hotel cost and spend it on a new or second hand guitar in the UK. Second hand ones pop up from time to time, often really good ones. check out classifieds as well.
check out shops, guitar centres and dealers etc. The money you save on planes and hotels you can spend on the actual guitar.
In that sort of lower price range you could get a Valeriano Bernal made in Algodonales imported by Ramon Ruiz. He's in London. get in touch with him and he'll tell you what he has or get you something in your price range. drive or get a train to London. Easy!
EDIT: wait a minute, isn't there a flamenco guitar maker not far from you? And you're not far off his price, you're there if you save that plane fare and hotel.... I can't personally recommend his work as I've not yet managed to get my hands on one of his guitars and try it out, but worth a thought....
ORIGINAL: mark indigo EDIT: wait a minute, isn't there a flamenco guitar maker not far from you? And you're not far off his price, you're there if you save that plane fare and hotel.... I can't personally recommend his work as I've not yet managed to get my hands on one of his guitars and try it out, but worth a thought....
Does this remind you of any of your previous threads?
quote:
ORIGINAL: krichards Well in York actually, a couple of hours by road or rail from Manchester. I have a couple of my guitars available at the moment, a blanca and a negra, both used, for sale at around £1000. I'm open to offers.
i would agree on what has been said by everyone .. ,, just go to the flamenco regions of Spain and have a good time with great people .. find out about fiestas and verbenas etc ...
have a look at the old streets and people , sample food and wine .. talk to people .. flamenco sometimes just pops up for no reason ,, and your there ..thats the best ...
i would only add that a really good place to get a guitar ..is right here on your friendly neighborhood flamenco foro .. guitars often come up ,, that are kinda verified by members here ..a one came up a few months ago .. if i had the money i would have got it ...but alas , a wife and kids put that out of my head .. pity ....
just keep looking around ... and above all ,, dont be in a hurry ..mistake .. you will know when its the guitar you want ..
if now i wanted to try a guitar and pay a bit for one , i wouldnt even go to spain .. despite the fact that i used to live a few streets away from Manuel Reyes's workshop ...
i would go to the U. S of A . and try out some of them there Glen Cannin guitars ......that would be my honest choice ....
and so that proves you have to get what suits you ....
Does this remind you of any of your previous threads?
no
I did ask kevin about his guitars a while ago, but I never got to his workshop or met him or tried his guitars. Others who have can give personal recommendations, but I can't! I did buy a cheap Bernal from Ramon about 5 years ago as a travel guitar that I don't have to worry about too much, so I can personally recommend that option. I also have a really nice high end guitar that I bought second hand in the UK for a good price, so recommend looking out for a second hand private sale as I have good experience of that option too.
Thanks guys for replies. I didn't ignore previous advice. I contacted Mr Richards via internet . As far as practicing, I do it every day since I bought my yamaha. People say that it doesn't make sense to buy good quality flamenco guitar if you are not good enough player to utilize this guitar's all ' potential' in your playing. This guy in the clip has got beautiful guitar and he plays in few of his clips simple songs using simple chords. Playing few chords on this kind of guitar can be also nice experience even if you are not good typical flamenco player. I wish I had this kind of guitar he uses in this clip.
You have a decent enough guitar, so listen to lots of flamenco, find a teacher and regular, structured practice time. That is how to approach it. I couldn't keep it up myself, it is very hard. No more advice from me. Good luck.
agree ...that is the worst clip you could find to help any one with ..flamenco .. singing .or just playing the guitar , and his guitar doesnt sound 'wow' to me ..
a big part of the sound you want comes from you , dont think a great guitar will suddenly make you a great player ...
if i picked up Paco de Lucias guitar , and played ... you know what that would sound like ??
.....it would sound like me ...
and if he (had) picked up mine ...it would still sound like him ..
Dont get me wrong .. as you progress you may want to do things that a good guitar can help you with like tone and sustain and just general timbre...but you will know if your guitar is holding you back rather than hoping the guitar will pull you forward ... Yamahas are pretty good for the price ...a great guitar to learn on ..I think i have about 60 vids on youtube and a lot of them are with my yamaha ...its ok for me .i would have to do a lot of work to really leave that level behind ...
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