Classical Guitars - Kent Guitar Classics

Vicente Arias of calle Santa Isabel, no. 20, Madrid.

• Year:

  1906. Labelled, dated and signed by the maker.

• Body:

  Flamed maple - really beautiful timber with characteristic grain marking and the natural, ambered yellow colours.
  Body length:- 470mm.
  Top bout:- 254 mm wide & 86 mm deep.
  Waist:- 212 mm & 88 mm deep.
  Bottom bout:- 348 mm wide & 90 mm deep.
  Shellac french-polished.

• Front:

  European spruce - a book-matched front with quite wide grain including his concentric ring rosette with red, green and black colours. The bridge is ebony with a long saddle length of 101mm. Internally there are seven fan-struts, no bridge plate or strut and no closing bars.

• Tuners:

  The tuners may be from USA (?) - they seem to be the originals and are in full working order. With round, bone buttons and small diameter, steel rollers, the engraved side-plates have the following numbers and letters - D.R.G.M / 76348 / K.K.Oe.P / 47/3427 / U.S.A.P. / 609715. The geared, roller ends have a quick-release mechanism which, when pulled, releases all the tension of the string. If anyone can add light to the make and origin, we would be pleased to hear.

• Scale:

  64 cm with 18 frets (plus 19th and 20th for the 1st string) on an ebony fingerboard.

• Neck Width:

  50 mm at the nut with 42 mm string spacing.

• Weight:

  1095 grams

• Condition:

  For a guitar over 110 years old, this guitar is in remarkable condition. Apart from the very common, fine stress crack, either side of the fingerboard, the back, sides and front most unusually, appear to be free of cracks and with original finish.
  The tuning machines, which are quite fancy, are in full working order and the buttons in good, strong condition.

• Comments:

  These guitars of Vicente Arias are not common with perhaps 65-70 known to exist today. They were generally quite small in body size (though this one not as small as others seen) and almost every one seems to be different in terms of decorative detail. Some were very plain and simple and others highly-decorated. They do also vary in body size and plantilla shape, though rarely the size of the modern day guitar. In most cases, they have a very pleasing and often deep sound.
  This one has an air resonance around F giving the bass a full, deep character. The middle and treble are quite sweet and rounded - yet to experiment with strings to find what works best.
  Overall another lovely example .... very pleasing to the eye and charming to play.

  Vicente Arias - Click here to find out more about this maker

• Price:
  Sold June 2018
• AVAILABILITY
  SOLD + 44 (0) 1732 453 523 Contact via Email

  Available from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. UK time.