1980s Unmarked (American?) Quality Classical Guitar
This guitar is a complete mystery machine. It's a high-grade, luthier-built, lightly-made, great-sounding classical that has a "flamenco twist" to its sound. It's close-grained spruce over flamed maple back and sides, fan-braced, and awfully pretty. It has a dovetailed neck joint (curious vs. normal Spanish-style) and the fella who has it here for consignment said he got it from someone who said they'd paid a pretty penny for it. The provenance is lost, however, so all we know is that it's fancy and a custom-built affair -- which is what it looks like. I'm guessing it's probably an American build (or possibly German) judging by the neck joint style.
It dates probably from the mid-'80s and the finish shows that age in fine-line weather-checking throughout, some buckle-rash to the back-upper-bout, and wear and tear to the back of the neck (probably from leaning it against a piece of furniture or the like). It's got slick trim -- wood throughout, and with lots of nice decorative touches -- and seems to be an instrument that was loved for a time and then neglected for decades.
It's now playing spot-on and has plenty of saddle height. The action is currently a hair low (just above 1/16" at the 12th fret) and so it's got a bit of a "flamenco snap" to the sound when played aggressively. The action can certainly be bumped-up for more of a classical feel and sound, though, but I do like the maple back and sides for folk-strumming vibes!
Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, new bone saddle, cleaning, minor touch-ups in some spots, and setup work.
Weight: 3 lbs 10 oz
Scale length: 25 3/4"
Nut width: 2"
Neck shape: medium-bigger D
Board radius: flat
Body width: 14 3/4"
Body depth: 4"
Top wood: solid spruce
Back & sides wood: solid flamed maple
Bracing type: fan
Bridge: rosewood
Fretboard: rosewood
Neck wood: 3-piece maple with ebony(?) laminations
Action height at 12th fret: 3/32”overall (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: medium tension nylon
Neck relief: straight
Fret style: medium-wider
Condition notes: there's finish weather-checking throughout and scratching, scuffs, and small nicks and dings here and there on the back, sides, and neck. The top is pretty clean, however.
It comes with: whatever old case I have on hand to suit.
Consignor tag: DDN
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