Fernando Gonzalez M. Classical Guitar (2023)
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Fernando Gonzalez M. Classical Guitar (2023), Paracho, Mexico, serial # 0027.
This lovely recent classical guitar is hand signed and dated 10/2023 by the maker, Fernando Gonzalez M. It was built at Sr. Gonzalez’s workshop at Calle Independencia #131, Paracho, Mexico. This guitar features a cedar soundboard with 5-fan bracing and an integral arm-rest, beautiful grained Cocobolo back and sides, a Spanish Cedar neck with 650 mm scale length and 52 mm nut width on the ebony fingerboard. Fernando's guitars are always built with all solid woods and entirely handmade.
Fernando Gonzalez Magana is considered one of the master luthiers of Paracho, building instruments in the tradition of Torres and Hauser. He studied and worked under master Luthier German Vazquez Rubio in Los Angeles, along with the Hill Guitar Company (Ben Lomond outside of Santa Cruz, CA.) Fernando Gonzalez Magana was the 1st prize winner of the 2022 Paracho's National Guitar-Maker Competition in the top the "Grandes Maestros" category, as well as:
- Second place in the Studio Category in 1997
- First place in the Concert Category in 2012
- Honorable Mention in the Concert Category in 2015
Fernando Gonzalez M. learned the luthier's art from his father, as he relates:
"My first contact with guitar making was through my father (Guillermo Gonzalez Perez), who has been building guitars since he was 14; he is 76 now. After that, I learned from many friends, some more famous than others, like Arnulfo Rubio, Rafael Granados, Abel García, Guillermo Rubio, and many more who have been kind enough to share their valuable experience with me. All of this happened here in Paracho. In the United States, I worked with German Vazquez Rubio (Los Angeles). There, I gained a lot of experience, as we did many repairs on world-class guitars, such as Hauser, Santos Hernandez, Ramirez, A. Marin, and others. This helped me refine my skills and learn about different styles and building techniques, as well as develop a broader perspective and understanding"
He has also worked with Fender Mexico’s R&D department as well as with Kenny Hill if the Hill Guitar Company where he developed double top construction methods. Fernando has participated as an exhibitor in festivals in Mexico: Paracho, Saltillo, Coahuila; Taxco, Guerrero; Monterrey, Nuevo Leon; Jalapa, Veracruz; Tepic, Nayarit; Culiacan, Sinaloa; Colima, Colima and in the United States in Texas, Arizona, Florida, and at the GFA, as well as in South Carolina in 2012 and California in 2014, receiving great acclaim and very positive feedback.
Paracho is a small town in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, and is known as the guitar-making capital of Mexico. For more than 450 years, since the Spanish conquistadors arrived building instruments been a way of life in Paracho, high in the Sierra Nevadas. The locals estimate that 90% of the 35,000 people who live and work in Paracho make guitars or guitar parts. Most are made in factories, but a small portion like this instrument are entirely crafted by hand, in around 20 artisanal workshops many consider the finest luthiers in the New World.
Overall length is 39 in. (99.1 cm.), 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 2 in. (51 mm.).
This handmade guitar has lately been in the hands of a performing concert player and though of recent build shows some notable play wear. The top has numerous nail marks below the fingerboard and below and behind the soundhole, with small scuffs and dings over the entire instrument. A small tap-protector style clear plastic plate sits behind the bridge to protect against scars from restringing, another is installed above the strings. There are no cracks or structural issues and this is a strong performing with a powerful even sound and very good projection. This instrument has just begun to mature, and already is a fine player with an excellent traditional sound. Overall Excellent - Condition.
This lovely recent classical guitar is hand signed and dated 10/2023 by the maker, Fernando Gonzalez M. It was built at Sr. Gonzalez’s workshop at Calle Independencia #131, Paracho, Mexico. This guitar features a cedar soundboard with 5-fan bracing and an integral arm-rest, beautiful grained Cocobolo back and sides, a Spanish Cedar neck with 650 mm scale length and 52 mm nut width on the ebony fingerboard. Fernando's guitars are always built with all solid woods and entirely handmade.
Fernando Gonzalez Magana is considered one of the master luthiers of Paracho, building instruments in the tradition of Torres and Hauser. He studied and worked under master Luthier German Vazquez Rubio in Los Angeles, along with the Hill Guitar Company (Ben Lomond outside of Santa Cruz, CA.) Fernando Gonzalez Magana was the 1st prize winner of the 2022 Paracho's National Guitar-Maker Competition in the top the "Grandes Maestros" category, as well as:
- Second place in the Studio Category in 1997
- First place in the Concert Category in 2012
- Honorable Mention in the Concert Category in 2015
Fernando Gonzalez M. learned the luthier's art from his father, as he relates:
"My first contact with guitar making was through my father (Guillermo Gonzalez Perez), who has been building guitars since he was 14; he is 76 now. After that, I learned from many friends, some more famous than others, like Arnulfo Rubio, Rafael Granados, Abel García, Guillermo Rubio, and many more who have been kind enough to share their valuable experience with me. All of this happened here in Paracho. In the United States, I worked with German Vazquez Rubio (Los Angeles). There, I gained a lot of experience, as we did many repairs on world-class guitars, such as Hauser, Santos Hernandez, Ramirez, A. Marin, and others. This helped me refine my skills and learn about different styles and building techniques, as well as develop a broader perspective and understanding"
He has also worked with Fender Mexico’s R&D department as well as with Kenny Hill if the Hill Guitar Company where he developed double top construction methods. Fernando has participated as an exhibitor in festivals in Mexico: Paracho, Saltillo, Coahuila; Taxco, Guerrero; Monterrey, Nuevo Leon; Jalapa, Veracruz; Tepic, Nayarit; Culiacan, Sinaloa; Colima, Colima and in the United States in Texas, Arizona, Florida, and at the GFA, as well as in South Carolina in 2012 and California in 2014, receiving great acclaim and very positive feedback.
Paracho is a small town in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, and is known as the guitar-making capital of Mexico. For more than 450 years, since the Spanish conquistadors arrived building instruments been a way of life in Paracho, high in the Sierra Nevadas. The locals estimate that 90% of the 35,000 people who live and work in Paracho make guitars or guitar parts. Most are made in factories, but a small portion like this instrument are entirely crafted by hand, in around 20 artisanal workshops many consider the finest luthiers in the New World.
Overall length is 39 in. (99.1 cm.), 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 2 in. (51 mm.).
This handmade guitar has lately been in the hands of a performing concert player and though of recent build shows some notable play wear. The top has numerous nail marks below the fingerboard and below and behind the soundhole, with small scuffs and dings over the entire instrument. A small tap-protector style clear plastic plate sits behind the bridge to protect against scars from restringing, another is installed above the strings. There are no cracks or structural issues and this is a strong performing with a powerful even sound and very good projection. This instrument has just begun to mature, and already is a fine player with an excellent traditional sound. Overall Excellent - Condition.