2019 Juan Hernandez Romantica Classical Guitar

The Juan Hernandez name has been in the game a good time. This is a Spanish-made guitar and it's a high-class one at that. Fit, finish, build, and quality are first-rate and the guitar itself handles beautifully and sounds gorgeous. It has authority written all over it and positively leaps at every note. It's funny because I've handled plenty of similar period guitars and this has much more firepower on offer than the originals while also yielding much of the same tonal qualities.

As the name implies, this is a copy/interpretation of an Early Romantic Guitar. That means late-1700s/early-1800s. In this case, it's a copy of a a La Cote-style guitar from that era -- 1810s-1830s. It's in "as-new" condition and looks, at most, like it's simply hung on a display rack for a while in a shop before being cased and left to its own devices. It's very clean.

Work was likewise very, very simple -- I just had to adjust the nut and saddle a bit and it was then bang-on and ready to go.

What I find most interesting about it are all of the little details that were retained from period instruments -- the super-multi-ply top binding/purfling for one. The delicate bridge shape, for example, as well. What's definitely modern and why I call it more of an interpretation, however, is the neck feel. The neck is wide and flat and has a thinner, fancy-classical, D-shape to its rear profile. This is much more spacing and room than most of the actual old guitars and it makes it a winner for actually playing classical music or fingerpicking folksongs.

Repairs included: a mild setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid flamed maple

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: ebony

Fretboard: ebony

Neck wood: Spanish cedar

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32" overall (quick, "standard" classical height)
String gauges: mid-tension nylon

Neck shape: slim-medium D

Board radius: flat

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-big

Scale length: 25 1/4"

Nut width: 1 7/8"

Body width: 12"

Body depth: 3 1/4"

Weight: 2 lbs 10 oz

Condition notes: it's basically as-new. Whatever light usewear might be on it might as well not be because I can't find any.

It comes with: a good Esteve hard case.