Your Classical Guitar Input Here

pro brands of classical guitars

by Cary
(Richmond, Virginia)

Looking to the future, in the $2,000- $4,000 grouping, what are the most used brands by the pros, also your opinion on the best tone guitars...who makes the guitars that people like Williams, Bream, Segovia , etc use(d) and what price range do they fall in?
Thanks

Hi Cary,

I'm a bit biased at the moment as I recently purchased a Paulino Bernabe Model 20 and I absolutely love it! :))

But since it's in a price range upwards of $6000 you might not be interested.

My advice in your stated price range would be something like:

* The Ramirez 4E

or,

* Manuel Contreras II C-7

Both of these guitar makers have high quality reputations and couldn’t afford to put out inferior quality merchandise or they'd go out of business real quick!

Apart from that I have used, until the Bernabe recently, a Yamaha grand concert which has been fabulous. Yamaha make great guitars with quality sound.

In terms of what the professionals like Williams, Bream, Segovia, it's a combination but you can be rest assured the instruments are of the highest quality and standards and the makers are the best in the world.

For instance, Segovia had a guitar made by Hermann Hauser. I think the very Hauser he used on many famous recordings over the years now resides in the New York Museum of Art, donated by Madame Segovia upon Segovia's death.

Julian Bream also played a Hauser that was on loan from Rose Augustine (Augustine strings) but I think had to return it after her death.

John Williams has used guitars by Fleta and the Australian Greg Smallman, whose output is small but the quality, of course, is very high. It is said he also recently bought a Paulino Bernabe for concert work.

I'm pretty sure their guitars would be upwards of $10 000 at least, if not much more but after all, it is their livelihood and they need instruments of the highest quality.

When you think of Stradivarius violins going for millions then it's not hard to imagine someone paying a mere $10 000 to $20 000 for a good guitar.

I hope this is of help.

Kind regards,
Trevor M.