From the artisan hands of the Conde family have come flamenco guitars caressed by artists such as Paco de Lucía, Tomatito, Leonard Cohen, Al di Meola… Phenomena that have taken the sound of these magnificent pieces all over the world through their art.
Fachada de la antigua Hermanos Conde
Making flamenco guitars is an art with a distinctly Spanish identity in which, the Madrid school of guitar makers has stood out for its good work. Felipe Conde, descendant of the “Conde Hermanos- Esteso” saga, which is now more than 100 years old, comments: “The workshop is always a guarantee and a guarantee, as the craftsman is responsible for all the pieces that leave his workshop and the relationship with his works is not interrupted”. He also states that “the guitars end up coming back, for conservation and tuning”.
Making guitars today is a little different from a hundred years ago, but only a little. The differences between the handmade guitars made a hundred years ago and those made today lie in the construction and the woods used.
“In the past, the flamenco guitar was made with a top of European spruce, and the sides and back of Spanish cypress, but since the 1970s, red cedar has also been used for the top and palo santo for the sides and back. “In our workshop, my father Mariano, my uncle Faustino and Paco de Lucía created the rosewood flamenco guitar, with more projection, more volume and a more precise sound”.
The importance of wood
The wood is one of the fundamental choices in the construction of a good guitar, as its qualities will determine the sound or the use that the guitar will have. Some of the woods used in the construction are Palo Santo from India and Madagascar, Spanish sypress or cedar from Canada.
Half-moon guitars
In 1960, the “half-moon head”, which became the hallmark of the firm, was generalised in the first guitars, as well as modifying the measurements of the template, the interior of the top and the introduction of new mosaics, inspired by the embroidery of past centuries.
Conde Brothers Guitars
C/ Arrieta, 4. Madrid
condehermanos.com
How Conde Hermanos-Esteso guitars were born
Domingo Esteso is one of the greatest exponents in the history of the Spanish guitar. With him, at the beginning of the 20th century, this dynasty of craftsmen began.
Esteso began working as an apprentice in Manuel Ramírez’s workshop, and after his death, he worked for his widow, putting his name next to the label.
He worked in the workshop with Santos Hernández and Enrique García, the three of them becoming the outstanding successors of Manuel Ramírez’s workshop.
In 1926, his nephew, Faustino Conde, joined the workshop, and in 1929, Mariano Conde, father of the current owner of the workshop.
Domingo Esteso became independent and moved to 7 Gavina Street (Madrid), together with his wife, Nicolasa Salamanca, who varnished the guitars. It was his most prolific period. You can still see pieces of great beauty and impeccable workmanship that over the years and the luck of fate fell into the hands of people who knew how to treat them as true works of art.
Many of these guitars were sold outside Spain, especially in Argentina (a label was made for the Romero y Fernández house in Buenos Aires).
The flamenco guitar of Paco de Lucía and Hermanos Conde
The FC28 model is a flamenco concert guitar resulting from the collaboration between Hermanos Conde and Paco de Lucia.Paco de Lucia needed a guitar suitable for playing on big stages but without losing its flamenco soul. Thus was born the first flamenco concert guitar made of materials carefully selected for their sound qualities. Also for its beauty, using the best German spruce and Palo Santo.
It is a sublime instrument that brings together the best of the tradition, innovation and craftsmanship fostered in this workshop since 1915. This “Media Luna” is the instrument played by almost all the leading flamenco artists of today and the past.
FC28 de Paco de Lucía