Manuel Perez Paez - - Flamenco guitar - Spain - 2010 (No reserve price)

Manuel Perez Paez 2010 – An Extraordinary Spanish Guitar with Monumental Sound and Incredible Ornamentation

Manuel Perez Paez was born in Motril, Granada, in 1925. He began building guitars during the 1950s and studied the craft with various guitar makers in Granada.

His life, however, took an unusual turn. During the 1960s and 1970s, Manuel and his brother dedicated themselves to other technical projects. The Paez brothers became particularly well known for developing an innovative automotive braking system, for which they received several awards during the 1970s.

Later, Manuel Perez Paez returned fully to his passion for guitar making. He remained an inventive and experimental builder, constantly searching for ways to improve the construction and sound of his instruments. During the final years of his life, his guitars became increasingly elaborate, with some instruments requiring an extraordinary amount of work simply to create their intricate decoration.

This Manuel Perez Paez 2010 is a wonderful example from this fascinating late period.

At first glance, it is almost impossible not to focus on the ornamentation. Countless individual pieces of wood have been assembled into elaborate mosaic-like patterns. It is difficult to imagine how many hours of meticulous work were necessary to create an instrument like this.

But this Manuel Perez Paez 2010 is much more than a visually spectacular guitar.

The top is made from spruce with contrasting cedar strips. The sides are rosewood, while the extraordinary back combines different sections of rosewood and cypress to create its distinctive decorative design. With a scale length of 650 mm and a nut width of 52 mm, the guitar retains familiar classical dimensions despite its highly individual construction.

And then you play it.

The body is large, and the Manuel Perez Paez 2010 is somewhat heavier than many traditional Spanish classical guitars. The result is a sound of remarkable scale and authority.

This is a big-sounding guitar.

The volume is enormous, with a powerful projection that can effortlessly fill a room. Yet what makes the instrument particularly impressive is that this sheer power does not come at the expense of musical detail. Individual notes remain clear and colorful, with a beautiful spectrum of timbres and plenty of character.

The Manuel Perez Paez 2010 therefore combines two qualities that do not always appear together: tremendous volume and a surprisingly refined tonal palette.

It is an instrument that immediately makes its presence felt – visually and acoustically.

The guitar is in good used condition and naturally shows signs of playing and age. We have carefully adjusted it in our workshop, and it now offers excellent playability with a pleasantly low string action.

Manuel Perez Paez died in 2013, making this 2010 guitar one of the instruments from the final years of his long and unusual career. It represents a period in which his passion for experimentation, decoration and guitar making came together in particularly spectacular form.

For anyone searching for a conventional Spanish classical guitar, there are certainly more understated choices.

But for someone looking for an instrument with a completely individual appearance, remarkable craftsmanship and a huge, powerful voice, this Manuel Perez Paez 2010 is something very special.

A guitar that is almost impossible to overlook – and even harder to forget once you have heard it.

You can hear the guitar's sound and see it being played here on YouTube – just copy the link:

https://youtu.be/GmZMlJjFifQ