Hermann Hauser III Ex. Angel Romero & Martha Masters, 1990

Every so often a guitar comes through our hands whose story is as remarkable as its sound, and this 1990 Hermann Hauser III, No. 263, is exactly that instrument. It was built for Angel Romero, one of the towering figures of the classical guitar, and carries his initials, "AR," embossed into the headstock. For roughly the last fifteen years it has been the concert instrument of Martha Masters, the 2000 Guitar Foundation of America International Competition winner and one of the most respected performer-teachers in America. The latest three of her albums were recorded on this very guitar, and it is featured in the video attached to this listing.

What makes it special goes beyond the names attached to it. This is a Hauser III built in a very particular way, with a cedar top, seven-fan bracing, and a floating brace under the soundhole in the style of Miguel Rodriguez, the Cordoban design that the Romero family famously championed. It is, in effect, a Hauser workshop instrument voiced toward the warmth and Spanish color the Romeros loved. Among players who have spent time with it, more than a few have called it the finest sounding Hauser III they have ever heard.

Specifications

Luthier: Hermann Hauser III

Serial: No. 263

Back & Sides: Brazilian Rosewood

Construction: Traditional, seven-fan braced with a floating soundhole brace (Miguel Rodriguez style)

Finish: French polished top; nitrocellulose lacquer back and sides

Built For: Angel Romero ("AR" embossed on headstock)

Provenance: Angel Romero; Martha Masters (approximately 15 years, two albums recorded)

Strings: D'Addario XTC45FF with normal tension nylon first string
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Condition: Excellent and structurally sound; no cracks or repairs; excellent top with minor marks; significant wear to the back

Sound & Playability

The combination of a cedar top and the Rodriguez-style floating brace gives this guitar a voice that leans warm, colorful, and immediate rather than cool or reserved. There is a roundness and body to the sound that rewards a singing, expressive right hand, and the Spanish design lineage shows in the way the instrument responds. This is a guitar built for the concert stage by two demanding professional artists, and it has the projection, color, and dynamic reach that a career instrument requires.

Cedar-topped Hausers of this type are prized for their responsiveness and their ability to bloom under the fingers, and its long service in the hands of Angel Romero and Martha Masters speaks to how comfortable and rewarding it is to play over a full program.

Construction & Design

The cedar top is seven-fan braced with an additional floating brace beneath the soundhole, a hallmark of the Miguel Rodriguez tradition rather than the standard Hauser pattern. The back and sides are Brazilian rosewood. The top is French polished, while the back and sides are finished in nitrocellulose lacquer. The guitar is fitted with Reischl tuners, and the headstock is embossed "AR" for Angel Romero, a permanent mark of its origins. Two top protectors are installed to guard the soundboard.

Provenance

Angel Romero is a Spanish classical guitarist and conductor and a founding member of Los Romeros, the quartet known as "The Royal Family of the Guitar." At sixteen he gave the American West Coast premiere of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and he has since performed and recorded at the highest level for more than half a century, with a long personal history of playing the finest Hauser and Miguel Rodriguez instruments. This guitar was made for him and bears his initials.

Martha Masters won the Guitar Foundation of America International Solo Competition in 2000, the same year she took first prize at the Andres Segovia International Competition in Linares, Spain. She studied with Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Conservatory and completed her doctorate with Scott Tennant at USC, has recorded for Naxos and other labels, authored widely used method books, and serves as President of the Guitar Foundation of America. She has owned and concertized on this guitar for roughly fifteen years and recorded two albums on it.

About Hermann Hauser III

Hermann Hauser III carries forward one of the most storied names in the history of the instrument. The Hauser workshop, founded by Hermann Hauser I, built the guitars that defined the modern German school and produced the legendary instrument Andres Segovia played for decades. Hauser III has continued that lineage with meticulous craftsmanship and a reputation for building among the most refined and collectible guitars of the traditional school. An instrument like this one, built to a special design for an artist of Angel Romero's stature, represents the workshop at its most personal and ambitious.

The guitar is structurally excellent, with no cracks and no repairs. The top is in excellent condition, showing only small marks here and there, and has two top protectors installed. There is considerable wear to the back consistent with an instrument that has been played and toured by professional artists over many years. Honest playing wear on the back aside, this is a clean, healthy, structurally sound concert instrument.