Solid Spruce Top Vintage Flamenco Guitar

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I have ordered this flamenco guitar and it was very promptly shipped in two boxes + gig bag + some foam padding. Guitar was wrapped in foamy bag, strings were wrapped in parchment. Delivered to Canada in 6 weeks (some delay happened due to the weather).

The build is truly beautiful, all the details, binding, purfling, rosette – are all natural wood inlays. Immaculate glossy finish. The top is solid. I like the idea of that wooden binding, it makes the guitar look thinner and more elegant. I also like that there’s no logo on the head-stock. Overall look is 10 out of 10, without exaggeration this is one of the most beautiful Spanish guitars I have ever handled. Large clear golpeador protecting the wood above and below the strings. The guitar is equipped with a truss rod which is a plus. 12-hole bridge – also a great feature to have (ensures good string break angle, simplifies restringing).
Even on the inside the work is very accurate. Traditional Spanish heel construction.
Bracing pattern is asymmetrical, reminds of Santos Hernandez. Angled central rib (closer to the bridge on treble side), 7 fans braces, no bottom ribs. The guitar has a faint rosewood smell.

Playability out of the box was very good, truss rod adjustment tool was included but I didn’t have to adjust anything. The height of the nut slots could be a tad lower, but it’s not bad already, basically the guitar is ready to be played. No issues with the intonation. Action feels comfortable, not too low, not too high. Slim comfortable neck. No fret buzz. Very accurate fretwork, frets are polished to a mirror-like shine, fret ends rounded, there is no sharpness. Tuners work smoothly (great looking tuners, by the way).

The sound is rich, loud, and bright, but not thin, there’s substantial body in the tone. Very responsive, would make a nice flamenco guitar but classical compositions sounds great on it too.

In all regards: tone, setup out of the box, looks, materials, construction – compared to a typical average guitar this is like a night and day difference. Very impressive. Not to mention that it’s not easy to find specifically a flamenco guitar, most stores offer mostly “classical” ones. This guitar is 100% flamenco.

Here are some of the measurements I did (approximate):
– nut width ~52 mm
– string spacing at nut ~43 mm
– string spacing at bridge ~56.5 mm
– scale length ~653 mm
– depth at upper bout ~88 mm
– depth at lower bout ~90 mm
– width at upper bout ~285 mm
– width at lower bout ~375 mm
– sound-hole diameter ~85 mm
– top of 12th fret to string-bottom distance: 3.2 mm – 2.4 mm (low-E – high-E)
– protruding saddle height at low-E ~3.5 mm
– string height above soundboard near the bridge ~9 mm, passes the cigarette “test”
– some neck relief is present (~0.15 – 0.2 mm)
– soundboard thickness ~2.7 mm
– main resonances: 102.5 Hz, 198.5 Hz, and 234.5 Hz. Totally acceptable values, for example I know that one flamenco guitar made by Jose Lopez Bellido in 1970 has a similar resonance profile. This would vary from guitar to guitar of course.