RAFAEL MORALES revisited

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a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RAFAEL MORALES revisited

A while ago, El Ted mistakenly posted on Rafael Morales, intending to post on Rafael Moreno. However, there was a Rafael Morales, also working in Granada in the early 70's. I bought a blanca from him in December 73 (dated 71). The address on the label, however, was "Apartado 227, Granada", not Gran Via de Colon. I was staying in the old Hostal California on Caille Ganivet, run by Miguel Quehada, who taught me a few tientos variations. His pensione was in "Europe on $5 a day" and happened to be directly across the street from Bellido's shop. You couldn't walk down that street without hearing flamenco being played, and I met Morales in the street outside Bellido's shop after he heard me trying out several of Bellido's guitars. I had just blown a wad on a very fine Manuel de la Chica that I had commissioned a year earlier, and had been reassuring myself that I had made the right choice in Chica, namely that I had gotten a better guitar than Bellido had to offer (at that time, Chica was at the height of his powers and Bellido was young and relatively new on the scene).
Anyway, I had a few $ left, and needed a banger. Morales sold me one of his and I still have it. I've read that he lived from 1910 to 1974, so that means he was 63 at the time I met him and was destined to pass away a year later. He DID have a beard. Gray. Seemed a bit disreputable to my young eyes. Maybe he was in ill health.
We now know about Rafael Moreno thanks to El Ted. Does anybody know anything about Rafael MORALES? His guitar is a good one, VERY leasy to play and kind of old fashioned looking (cypress peg head face and white golpeador) but a good sound. The finish has crackled a bit, but it still sounds great. Cedar tapa, cypress back.
Anybody know of him?
Tony Arnold

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 20 2007 2:36:10

el ted

Posts: 466
Joined: Nov. 13 2003

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

Thanks for that illuminating post Tony. I hope I have understood it correctly, the name on the label inside my old guitar is definitely Rafael Morales.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 20 2007 10:39:25

el ted

Posts: 466
Joined: Nov. 13 2003

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

ps: just to identify my guitar a bit more clearly, the label inside it reads as follows:-
Guittaras de Alta Calidad
Flamenco y Concierto

Rafael Morales 1970

Alhambra di Castasieda appariada 227

All the lettering above is in gold print on a white label except the year '1970' which has been written on the label in blue ink.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 20 2007 13:14:35

el ted

Posts: 466
Joined: Nov. 13 2003

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

missed a bit!!!! after all that it says "Granada Espana"

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 20 2007 13:18:00

a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

Hey, El Ted!
Great! So there are at least two of us. Although I think he must have had 2 styles of labels printed. Mine has "1971" top center, then "Guitarras de Alta Calidad" centered, then "FLAMENCO Y CONCIERTO", then "Rafael Morales" centered in italics, then "Apartado 227" and "GRANADA [Espana]" on the next line, with RM's signature in blue ink scrawled across it.

So . . . what do you think of yours, and have you run into anyone else who has one?
Tony

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 21 2007 1:25:16

a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

BTW, Ted, I guess I misread the other thread you started on Rafael Morales. Somehow I had gotten the idea that someone had corrected you, saying that you were really talking about Rafael Moreno, and I had the impression you agreed that you had the name wrong. I'm really glad you didn't. Although I haven't really been looking, you're the only other person I've run into who has one, although I have found reference to him on the web. There is also a performer out there who is called Rafael Morales (still active) but it's not the same guy, and he works with a group. But there are a few references to the guitarerro. Nothing more than a mention that he was a part of the Granada school. Not sure what that means. Chica learned his trade from his cabinetmaker father and used those skills to begin making Torres-based instruments. Hardly a "school". Maybe there was something more organized among the other builders.

He had a flamenco instruction book out, too, by the way. He showed it to me, but I didn't get a copy, preferring to learn directly from teachers. He really seemed like an itinerant guitar seller when I met him. Slightly disreputable looking, and willing to do a deal in the street. The guitar he offered was undeniably worth the money, so I didn't really care where I bought it. I wish I had paid more attention to both him and Bellido. Who knew Bellido (or Gerundino) would turn out to be such great builders. I guess Gerundino counts as part of the Granada School; Almeria isn't that far away. I went to an all-night juerga held in a school in Almeria one night, and was able to drive back to Granada by dawn, so it couldn't be too far away. Made the trip in a VW that had to be parked on a hill to get it started. Fortunately, Bellido's shop and my apartment were on one of the steepest hills in Granada, leading up to the Torre Roja part of the Alhambra, which, like all medieval fortresses, was built at the top of the hill.

Incidentally, I had the chance to play my Chica IN the Alhambra. If you ever go there, visit the burial chamber built by Carlos (V, I think -- it post-dates the Islamic part of the structure). It's a big room, and the ceiling is parabolic in design, and the focus of the parabola is on the floor in the center, where I sat. All the sound generated by the guitar was reflected right back to me. It was like being inside the guitar! I'm sure the guards wouldn't even let me bring a guitar into the Alhambra in these post 9/11 days, but the guards then clapped along and sang.

Sorry . . . reminiscing.

Anyway, That's all I know about Rafael Moreno. I hope someone else can add something.

By the way, MY label is printed all in black ink. I didn't get any gold lettering. . .

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 21 2007 1:55:33

el ted

Posts: 466
Joined: Nov. 13 2003

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

Hola Tony,
it's great to hear about your encounter with the man himself. I haven't bumped into any other Rafael Morales guitars in my travels. Mine is rather worn and has obviously had a full life, which is what they were meant for. The pegs are soft ,and look as if a small dog takes them out of the guitar and chews them every night!
I keep 'retiring' the guitar due to its age, but then I can't resist playing it regularaly. It has a mellow- ish tone and not much volume, but the playability is second to none! The sound puts me in mind of 'old school' guitarists so I tend to play Gastor/Moron style on it.
Cheers from sunny Hull!
Ted.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 21 2007 7:25:34

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

a_arnold wrote:
Great! So there are at least two of us.
-----------------
I just remembered that I have a Rafael Morales as well. It's been sitting around my shop for years collecting dust. A customer left it with the hope that someday I'd fix it and sell it to a needy beginner. Gold print on the label and no date. Three piece back, rosewood fingerboard, cheap machines, warped neck, many cracks....overall a typical cheap Spanish flamenco guitar. If I ever have the time and inclination I'm going to rip the back off, repair all the cracks, reset the neck angle and level and fret the fingerboard although it's probably not worth the effort.

John Shelton

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 21 2007 19:13:49

a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

Interesting. My neck is unwarped, and no cracks have appeared in 36 years, but the finish has crazed -- and in a weird way: the finish cracks are about 3mm apart -- much larger than I have seen in other crazed finishes. The finish is quite brittle and damages easily. When I bought it I wanted to be sure I wasn't getting a sprayed urethane or epoxy finish, but he insisted it wasn't. He called it "goma laca" (sp?) which I think is lacquer, and mimed rubbing motions with his hand.

It is a really good banger for the price, but not a great guitar. Very very easy to play, at the price of lost clarity.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 21 2007 20:50:20

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

quote:

Interesting. My neck is unwarped, and no cracks have appeared in 36 years, but the finish has crazed

Many of these cracks were as a result of rough use and yours is probably a higher end model. Does the headstock kind of resemble a Bernal?

John Shelton

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 21 2007 21:53:26

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

quote:

Three piece back, rosewood fingerboard, cheap machines, warped neck, many cracks....overall a typical cheap Spanish flamenco guitar.

This sounds very familiar, especially with guitars from that period. I´ve seen many of them. All kinds of headstocks and labels. Many of them condes. They have one thing in common. Very low quality wood...(I´ve seen a "Conde" with a flatsawn neck made of "some kind of wood") and very fast assembly. Often with a 5 piece fan bracing, not closing struts or bridgeplate (fast to build)

At that time Andalucia was VERY poor and a lot of builders here made tons of guitars very fast which they send away to be sold under other names. Sometimes, when they had the time, they made some VERY nice instruments.

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Blog: http://news-from-the-workshop.blogspot.com/

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 22 2007 8:09:47

a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

No, John, it doesn't resemble a Bernal. Actually, it's kind of classy -- not overly fancy like some of the more flamboyant Paracho makers , but not as understated as a Ramirez or a Chica. Kind of architectural, like a masonry arch. Plus it is faced with cypress rather than rosewood. I believe, of all the headstock designs I've seen, I like this the best. Unfortunately for this guitar, the headstock is the best feature. I don't know if it is Morales' "signature" headstock or not. Many builders seem quite happy to put any headstock on their guitars the customer asks for. Others seem to have a proprietary attitude towards their design. I've never really thought much about it, but it I would be interested to learn if anyone knows what the convention (if there is one) is. I personally like being able to recognize a guitar by the headstock from a distance, but I'm not a proper luthier. Yet. I'll try and take a picture and upoad it if I can figure out how on this *^% computer.

And Anders, I'd also love to know how to recognize poor quality wood before it has cracked, warped, or split. I know that close, straight grain is one thing to look for in the tapa, but is that also true in cypress backs? How about rosewood? I've seen high-end guitars that had heavy, dark, straight-grained heartwood, and some that had streaks of lighter sapwood running through them, some extremely figured, most not. Does the curly figure of the better (more expensive) Koa contribute anything to the sound? Is Brazilian really better than Indian or Mexican? If so, why?

Tony Arnold

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 22 2007 21:28:56

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

With respect of wood for the back, the first thing you should learn to distinguish is Quatersawn versus flatsawn. A lot of these cheap cypress guitars were made of flatsawn or nearly flatsawn cypres. It makes the back a LOT softer. Its also a general problem with exotic rosewoods, that the wood is scarce and so you sell whatever you can get your hand on (Brazil Rosewood) or the tree is small meaning you cannot make a proper quatersawn back (madagascar rosewood).
IMHO some 90% of the braz rosewood I´ve been offered and I´ve seen used, has been worse than Indian rosewood because its been flatsawn or because you couldnt be sure it was Braz rosewood.
Indian rosewood is easy to find in good acoustic quality and sounds VERY well, but some people find it dull to look at.
When you leave a piece of sapwood in the center Its for the looks. I dont think it influences much in the sound if its a small sappwood center.
Koa... I havent had it in my hands, so I cant say.

Also remember that a lot of the info about wood you get on the internet, is from people wanting to SELL. ... And you know how the internet is...... Whatever shines is gold

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Blog: http://news-from-the-workshop.blogspot.com/

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 23 2007 7:25:35

a_arnold

Posts: 558
Joined: Jul. 30 2006

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

Thanks, Anders!
Is there a reference or book (maybe one on guitar luthiery) that can teach this kind thing?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Mar. 3 2007 2:48:15

el ted

Posts: 466
Joined: Nov. 13 2003

RE: RAFAEL MORALES revisited (in reply to a_arnold)

If any of you Rafael Morales fans are still out there, you can see me bashing away on mine on you tube. search for 'flamenco ted' and the film is called 'colombianas 2' I think....

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 14 2008 3:57:15