Manuel Velazquez, 1973

Manuel Velazquez guitars represent one of the most important American chapters of Spanish-style guitar making. Born in 1917 and later based in the United States after moving from Puerto Rico, Velazquez was largely responsible for keeping the European tradition of classical guitar making alive in this country. He was deeply inspired by Santos Hernández, Antonio de Torres, and Hermann Hauser I, and when you play his guitars they feel like a beautiful combination of those instruments.

The first thing we think of when playing his great guitars from the 1960s and 1970s is that they feel like Hausers. Perhaps not quite as clear and bright as a Hauser, but a richer, slightly more Spanish sounding Hauser. This 1973 example captures that quality completely. It bears his signature both on the label and underneath the top, and it has spent the last 53 years being played and cared for, which is exactly why it sounds the way it does today.

Velazquez guitars have been played by artists such as Paul Simon, Jorge Morel, Rey de la Torre, and Eliot Fisk, and were notably admired by Andrés Segovia. You do not find Manuel Velazquez guitars like this on the market often, and you find them even less often in this kind of playing condition.

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Sound & Character

From the very first chord, there is that strong influence from the Hauser and German tradition alongside the Spanish tradition of Santos Hernández and Torres. The first string absolutely explodes off the guitar, with a vocal quality, long sustain, and a great deal of color. On some Hauser guitars there is a feeling of tiptoeing, of having to be very careful and precise to draw the best sound out of the instrument. On this guitar it feels very easy to make a singing sound.

The second string pops off the guitar with just as much brilliance as the first, with no sense of tipping toward third string fatness. Moving to the third string in ninth position reveals one of the qualities that separates a good guitar from a great one: how beautifully it moves from one register to the next. It feels effortless. You are not adjusting your hand depending on which string you are on, and each string sounds so similar to the others that the guitar is very predictable and rewarding to play. We would characterize the trebles as very round and clear, but not overly bright, with a mellow quality that is the beauty of an aged spruce top.

Many guitarists over the years, including some of the most famous of all time, have said that a spruce top guitar is sometimes not even worth playing because of how long it takes to break in. There is no such concern here. With more than 50 years under its belt, this is an obviously broken in, beautiful guitar to play.

The basses have a beautiful hum, yet there is still plenty of macho sound when you really drive them. The fifth and sixth strings show an evenness that is very hard to find, with great clarity and a bold punch in the bass that we crave when playing guitar. The main air resonance sits at G, or perhaps just above, and the guitar feels very rich in the low end.

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Playability

This guitar has a standard 650mm scale, as expected of Velazquez guitars, and a 53mm nut width, just one millimeter wider than what is considered standard today but very common both then and now. The action is currently set very low, at 3.25mm on the sixth string and 2.5mm on the first, so it plays like butter. Pushed a little hard, the basses will buzz, but low action is never a concern since it can always be raised.

The neck is quite full in the hand. It is C-shaped rather than D-shaped, and medium to large in size, but because of the low action it feels very comfortable to play. The guitar weighs 1,620 grams, neither heavy nor especially light, and it feels great in the hands.

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The spruce top shows beautiful age and a rosette in green and the neutral tones of the spruce, with a nice pattern on both the inside and outside rings. Underneath the top is a seven fan brace design with one vertical bar running diagonally on the treble side and two closing braces in the lower bout. The bridge appears to be Brazilian rosewood, very straight grained.

The Brazilian rosewood back and sides are a beautiful old set. This is not the flashy material with sapwood everywhere; it is the very beautiful, dark, great old stuff. The upper portion of the sides is a slightly lighter Brazilian and the lower portion a little darker, which makes for some really nice contrast. The headstock carries a classy Brazilian rosewood veneer with two stripes down the center, something Velazquez did often, and is fitted with very nice old Landstorfer/Reischl tuning machines with white rollers and a pleasing patina.

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Specifications

Back & Sides: Brazilian Rosewood

Construction: Traditional, seven fan braces

Action: 3.25mm (6th string), 2.5mm (1st string)

Condition: Good, with playing wear throughout. No cracks or repaired cracks on the top or back

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This guitar is now over 50 years old, and it shows honest playing wear throughout, as you would expect of an instrument that was lovingly played for many years. There is wear in different places on the top, though nothing of real concern. Importantly, there are no cracks or repaired cracks on the top or back. There are lots of little marks here and there, along with some tiny, peculiar red dots on the top that are very hard to see from more than a couple of feet away but may be visible in the photographs.

Velazquez did not believe in French polish finishes, feeling they wore away too quickly, so this guitar is not French polished. There is wear to the finish on the back and sides, but fortunately it has not worn through into the wood. It is not in perfect condition, but it is one of those guitars where it is obvious why it was played so much.

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