Need advice! - Please help me decide 2

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itoprover

Posts: 343
Joined: Jan. 3 2006

Need advice! - Please help me decide 2

Sorry for stealing the post name, but I have the same problem but different specs and budget.
I am starting to look for a concert flamenco blanca guitar for myself. The budget is USD $5000. Could you guys please give me your suggestions? I was thinking about placing an order for Aaron Green or Anders Eliasson guitar but I've never had a chance to play Anders or Aaron guitar and I doubt that I will at least not in forseeable future. I only tried few flamenco concert level guitars in my whole life (couple of Condes, couple Ramirezes and I own pretty good student level Sigurdson) so I will need to rely on other people's opinion.

Specs:
German Spruce/Spanish Cypress
Scale: 650mm; Nut: 53mm
Nicely built/finished
Tuning machines (not pegs)
Flat, thin old Ramirez style neck
CONCERT LEVEL GUITAR VOLUME
Bright and clear trebles

Thanks in advance!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 14 2006 2:08:16

hassurbanipal

Posts: 191
Joined: Jul. 14 2006
From: belgium

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

I'm still a great fan of vicente carrillo. I think for 5000 USD you can get one of his topmodels........but ofcourse, I don't really know what sound you're looking for....

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 16 2006 7:00:40

Patrick

Posts: 1189
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Portland, Oregon

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

Ilia

I know I sound like a broken record, but you can't go wrong with a Green blanca. I have bought and sold my share of guitars. I own a 2004 Green blanca and trust me I have no plans to ever sell it. Aaron is in a class all his own. His workmanship is superb.

He will be building a negra for me next year.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 16 2006 19:26:02

Guest

[Deleted] (in reply to itoprover)

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 16 2006 20:55:50

itoprover

Posts: 343
Joined: Jan. 3 2006

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to Guest)

Thanks for replies guys!

nealf:
What I am looking for is traditional blanca sound with powerful clear and rich trebles and not too much sustain but balanced in basses. Kind of Reyes sound but not too dry. And lots of volume (without loss of tone of course) so there is no problem when playing for a dance class or in small tablao without amplification.

I created this topic also for people who have a guitar for sale so they can email me or post here.

Patrick:
I've heard many good things about Aaron guitars and that is true nobody has plans to sell them - I've never seen any on used market... But.. waiting for 18 months for a guitar considering that I've never tried his guitars.. I would need to think a little bit before I take this step..
How would you rate the volume of your Green blanca (using 1 to 10 marks)?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 17 2006 5:56:23

Patrick

Posts: 1189
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Portland, Oregon

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

quote:

How would you rate the volume of your Green blanca (using 1 to 10 marks)?

"11"

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 17 2006 16:41:33

gshaviv

Posts: 272
Joined: Mar. 22 2005
From: Israel

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

go with Green, go with Green, go with Green....

I hope you get my feeling by now.

If you are looking for a guitar in that budget range, Aaron Green is your best bet.

Aaron's guitar's are clear, sharp, with excellent separation and very playable (and very loud, like a canon). I have a negra with Madagascar rosewood and it's the finest instrument I've played on, and a few professional players that tried my guitar agreed.

From the few samples I've heard from his blancas they should be exquisite. I will get a blanca from Green as soon as I convince my wife that parting with $5k for a Green blanca is a noble cause ;)

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Guy

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 17 2006 18:59:33

DavidT

Posts: 181
Joined: Mar. 17 2005
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

Ilia and all,

One thing for sure is that you "have to test-drive" the guitar first before you buy it. You may have to go through many of them before you can find the one you like. Not only that you have to have a "reference" guitar to compare to.

I spent $200 2 months ago just for test-drive 2 Vincente Carillo guitars over the weekend. It's very expensive journey. I did not buy the guitars. But some one may like them and buy them.

Good thing about Aaron guitars is he offers trial option. DeVoe on the other hand does not. Not all DeVoe's are the same. One person may like the DeVoe the other person may not.

Buying a desirable quality guitar is truely a dauting task.

Dave

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 17 2006 19:02:24

Rain

Posts: 475
Joined: Jul. 7 2005

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to Patrick)

I have a Green Blanca due in several months. The 2 guitars i played of his were outstanding. They have a very traditional sound, and were very loud, which for some reason(I would guess due to the body size compared to a classical guitar) are not so easy to find in flamenco guitars. I love the sound of his guitars, but sound is subjective as we all know. I never played a Devoe that I liked, I dont find his guitars to project well at all(In volume no comparison to a Green).
The Devoe statement is going to make alot of people on this forum angry. But I played his guitars, and in my SUBJECTIVE opinion, well I just dont get the fascination people have with his guitars.
And I ask those who reply to my negative comments on Devoe, to please not use the fact that Vicente Amigo, Paco de Lucia have played Devoes. Be more creative. Hey lets name all the greats who dont play his guitars.

itoprover, audition as many makers as you can. That traditional blanca sound with powerful clear and rich trebles, well thats a Green, but I'm sorry the part about the Reyes sound that you said your looking for, and I know that sound very well in my head, that Vicente Amigo sound from his first album. I'm not sure thats a Green and its definately not a DEvoe. Man, did i run on.

Good luck

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 17 2006 19:04:50

Guest

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 17 2006 19:31:44

DavidT

Posts: 181
Joined: Mar. 17 2005
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to Guest)

nealf,

Oops, sorry I missread the description. The 48 hr approval only applies to the guitars in stock and not the commission one. That gives you the only choice is buying through dealers who has 48 hour on-approval. That what I've been doing.

Like I said it's a dauting task.

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Dave

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 17 2006 21:00:06

itoprover

Posts: 343
Joined: Jan. 3 2006

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

Does anybody have any experience with Jose Rodriguez (from Cordoba) guitars?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 18 2006 4:09:21

Guest

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 20 2006 2:04:02

itoprover

Posts: 343
Joined: Jan. 3 2006

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

Thanks everyone for the info and advices, I decided to order a blanca from Aaron Green.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 21 2006 4:59:18

Ricardo

Posts: 14819
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

Some other options along these lines that rarely gets mentioned Richard Brune, and Robert Ruck. Both guys actually play and love making flamenco guitars, but are more famous for their classicals. I played guitars from both makers and they were REALLY good, very flamenco. A little more pricey maybe I don't know the market much, but they charge around $6500.

Take care.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 24 2006 6:06:53

Guest

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 24 2006 8:03:53

hhmusic

Posts: 164
Joined: May 13 2006

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to Guest)

romerito, i have a devoe blanca for sale, which is (barely) under $5000. you can see it here, if interested. thanks-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300041231354&rd=1&rd=1

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 24 2006 16:16:19

Patrick

Posts: 1189
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Portland, Oregon

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

quote:

Some other options along these lines that rarely gets mentioned Richard Brune, and Robert Ruck.

Ricardo,

Brune' might be an option, but Ruck is pretty much out of the picture. Bob (Ruck) has a ten year list and is not taking orders anymore. He brought his personal negra to my house this past spring and he thought he might sell it to Dan Zeff. Zeff has a standing order with him. The problem is, by the time a dealer gets one, they mark them up to around eight to ten grand.

I know the guy, and I can't even get one.

Bob told me a story about how Brune' and him built their first guitars together. They were both into flamenco and didn't have a lot of dough at the time. The first guitars they built were flamencos.

He also had a great story about Brune' and him driving thousands of miles across the country to Western Cananda to buy a truck load of Western Red cedar. At the time no market existed for the stuff in the instrument market and they had to buy it in log form from a small mill.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 24 2006 17:44:45

Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to itoprover)

This is OT, but you guys are guitar geeks so I doubt you'll mind. I had a dinner party this weekend and invited over my neighbor, who is a violin luthier.

http://www.shewchukviolins.com/

Me and the other guitarists at the party spent all night asking him questions about this and that. He is an encyclopedia!

Anyway, people were asking him how important the quality of wood was for the instruments. He said, if you find a load of great wood then that's your career...

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Arizona Wedding Music Guitar

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 25 2006 21:39:49

Ricardo

Posts: 14819
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Need advice! - Please help me de... (in reply to Patrick)

quote:

Brune' might be an option, but Ruck is pretty much out of the picture.

Too bad. But I know two friends that got VERY lucky then last year and the year before! Actually 3 if you count Nunez!

I have a friend on the wait list for years. At the time he ordered Ruck's guitar he was a classical guitar student. By the time his name came up, he was full on into flamenco and told Ruck to make it a flamenco negra!