daveinspain Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Going through the local want adds I see a very interesting guitar, looks like an old arch top and the price was very reasonable/cheap. I called the owner and asked if I could check it out. He didn't live far from me so it wasn't any problem and if the guitar was a dog, no major time lost. Found the place no problem and the guy brings out the guitar. Looked pretty cool so I was thinking cool wall hanger if nothing else. The strings looked like they were the original strings from the 50s all black and rusted but i got it tuned up as best I could. It actually sounded good as an acoustic but it also had a couple floating pick ups on it with on and off switches and tone and volume control for both. They guy didn't have an amp to try it out so I had no idea if the electronics even worked. As it turns out it was his dad's guitar and he said at the time is was considered a very good guitar, made here in Valencia where I live. I forget what the guy was asking for it, I think it might have been 4 or 5 hundred euros. As I couldn't try it out and it needed a major set up I offered 250, he took it. When I got the guitar home and went to pug it in, the female jack was a hair too small for a 1/4 inch jack to fit in, WTF... As it turns out at the time the guitar was made they used some other jack that was a hair slimmer and shorter than a regular 1/4 inch jack. I had the pickup plate off and just sort of forgot about the guitar for several months. One day I decided to try and find a jack to see if the electronics worked. I called a few places but no one had the jack I was looking for. There was one shop that was interested in seeing the guitar though and they asked me to bring it by. I had done a lot of work with the shop in the past and hadn't see these guys in a long time so when I got there it was sort of like an old reunion. The shop is actually a pro sound shop, geared at high end recording equipment and was very empty when I got there. My guitar was the highlight of the day! It turned into a quest to find a jack to see if the electronics work and what they would sound like. As it turns out the owner of the store says wait I might have a jack for that... He disappears for a while and comes back with a old real to real tape player, not even a tape recorder it just played tape, long story short, it had the jack. The store tech made a cable with the small male jack and a regular guitar jack and we went back into the store's show room where there were some guitar amps. Plugged it in and heavens gates opened! I couldn't believe what I was hearing, crisp, full, clean, warm and full of harmonics... The guitar sounded better than my ES 175, sorry Gibson. The neck on the guitar is like a baseball bat. There is no truss rod but it's solid Mahogany and is perfect after 50 or more years so I guess it doesn't need one. This guitar is the most unique guitar I own and was made right here in Valencia where I live. It's a part of history and I love it. Sometimes thing just turn out right. Here are some pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Hayden Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Good fine Dave looks good for It's age 4H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Whatever it is, it's cool😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Wow. What a beautiful guitar!! Thanks for sharing the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted November 15, 2016 Author Share Posted November 15, 2016 Wow. What a beautiful guitar!! Thanks for sharing the story. The guitar itself is not bad looking at all but the floating pick ups With the electronics plate are pretty ugly. That being said it has Avery cool retro look that I like. Best part is how it plays and sounds though. I did some research and found out it was built by Guillermo Lluquet, a well know luthier who not only built guitars but had his own method of teaching guitar and Paco De Lucia was a student and used his method while learning to play... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Great story. Any change of some sound clips? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 The guitar itself is not bad looking at all but the floating pick ups With the electronics plate are pretty ugly. I think the pickups and electronics look great. Like you said, the retro look is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Holy cow! Made in Valencia!!! Very cool, and unique indeed! Now I regret a bit that I didn't buy a hollowbody once at a flea market in madrid. Looked similar but no cut-out and with the traditional f-holes. There was no makers mark nowhere. The guy wen't down to 100 bucks, then I noticed that the neck was crooked as hell. Also someone had painted the entire fretboard with thick black paint. Looked pretty beaten, didn't have the time to make it playable again, if it would have been possible. Investing that money in a pedal was more useful and with less headache! Oh, now that we are at it..... The pawn shop you bought your MIM Strat, is it here in Valencia/Spain? You score nice beasts man, the shops I know don't have very nice guitars normaly, and their prices are laughable. Congratulations, enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 Oh, now that we are at it..... The pawn shop you bought your MIM Strat, is it here in Valencia/Spain? You score nice beasts man, the shops I know don't have very nice guitars normaly, and their prices are laughable. Congratulations, enjoy it! I bought the MIM Stratocaster from a friend not a pawn shop.., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 I bought the MIM Stratocaster from a friend not a pawn shop.., Ha, my memory is mixing things I guess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 It only ever occurred to me to buy a nylons strung guitar in Spain. I looked a couple of years ago in and around Jerez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 It only ever occurred to me to buy a nylons strung guitar in Spain. I looked a couple of years ago in and around Jerez. Did you buy the nylon string guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 What a great find. It looks very good for its age and you love the tone, congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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