Hola de Cordoba

[amoroccan]

Hola de Cordoba../images/Emo70.gif

Actually, I am writing right now from Seville - just arrived this aftrenoon from Cordoba.

I arrived to Cordobe yesterday, missing by two hours a workshop with... Manolo Sanlucar. This was part of the Cordoba Guitar Festival that goes till July 16. Nothing special to say about Cordoba here. This message will soon be followed by a "Hola de Sevilla".

Hasta Pronto! Your reporter in Andalucia​

 

[amoroccan]

Hola de Seville../images/Emo70.gif

OK - I am finally in Seville - and guess what was the first place I visited... That's right Antonio Bernal's store.

(Don't confuse Antonio with Valeriano - Valeriano is the manufacturer, while Antonio is the younger store owner in Seville). I got a chance to play on 4 different models that are within the budget I allocated for my guitar: Model Credit Card Cash Price [euros] Price [euros] ===== ============= ============= Sueno 999 899 Buleria 1342 1194 Aneja 1450 1290 Maestro 1716 1510 The Sueno sounded great, just as many folks here said. It also felt very comfortable for my left hand (which by now everyone knows it is small). The Buleria didn't sound much different than the Sueno, but it didn't feel as comfortable. The Sueno and the Buleria are the only models (of the 4 listed here) with a cedar top. I then played the Aneja. It sounded great too and surprisingly loud, given it is significantly thinner than "standard" guitars. Antonio told me this was the popular flamenco guitar design in the 1950's and the 1960's. It felt very comfortable too. Lastly I played the Maestro and... was disappointed.

While the basses sounded good, there were some "dead points" in the G string where it felt like the box did not resonate at all. How could that be?

Fortunately, he has 3 more units of this model, so I am going to try all of them in the course of next 4 days and see if this was a problem of this particular only? Or perhaps this is what Zidan de Toledo said about the guitar needing to "open" over the years? Both the Aneja and Maestro have Spruce top. When I asked Antonio what makes the Maestro more expensive than the Aneja, he said that the Maestro's Spruce grain is more dense. It was clearly visible. However, as I said earlier, the Anejo sounded better to me. I am going to invest there a few hours every day... BTW, does anyone here knows the street address of the ELMUNDO and ANTIGUA BAR? These were recommended to me by a dear person, but without an address. I can probably find them by myself, but if you have the information off hand, it may save me some precious time. Thanks! Muchas Gracias.​

 

[Zidan de Toledo]

כתובות

אז ככה - אל מונדו נמצא ב-CALLE SIETE REVUELTAS 5 והאנטיגווה ב- CALLE CASTELLAR 50 המשך יבוא..

 

[la orejita]

so many ppl in here...

come to malaga! u 2 zidan...the sangria is waiting...

 

[amoroccan]

../images/Emo51.gif Muchisimas Gracias, Zidan

Yesterday I went to "LOS GALLOS" and it was amazing as expected. Wow! The program was very interesting as it was carefully comprised of "old flamenco" and "new flamenco", if you know what I mean. 12 artists on the stage (2 guitarists, 3 cantaores, 5 bailoras and 2 bailores). I have much more to say about the various flamenco shows I saw so far, but I am in a hurry now, sorry. Oh - the ticket price for "LOS GALLOS" is 27 euros - A bargain for the #1 tablao in the world (according to Pepe (the owner?), who sold us the tickets).​

 

[Zidan de Toledo]

muy bien

יפה מאד, תמשיך ככה לחוות את הפלמנקו. הבארים השניים שנתתי את הכתובות הם משהו אחר לגמרי, יותר קטן אנטימי ואפוף עשן..אז תתכונן מראש.שווה גם לברר לפני מתי יש פלמנקו בדיוק. אל מונדו נמצא קרוב מא דלפלאזה אלפלפה, והאנטיגווה בקרבת פלאזה סאן מרקו. ואל תשכח למסור דש..

 

[amoroccan]

I just returned from Carboneria

A very different but not less interesting experience. The guitarist was a 14-15 years old kid. He was playing a year 2000 model F Bernal guitar (just as Antonio "warned" me a few hours earlier). He wasn't as virtuoso as the ones in Los Gallos, but it is clear to me that this kid will be very famous within 10 years from now... Again, lots of things to say, but it is 1:30 in the morning and I have to prepare for the next day... For now I will just mention (before I forget) that the audience in Carboneria seemed extremely knowledgeable about flamenco - to put it mildly. In fact, some of the folks sitting next to me gave very professional palmas. I couldn't resist the temptation and I joined them whenever I felt confident enough not to ruin.

Tomorrow I will try to visit the ANTIGUA and save EL MUNDO for the last night.​

 

[amoroccan]

And now from ANTIGUA

And... Zidan, you have warm regards from ATSUKO. She even played for us your CD...

She gave me her business card, so if you need her email address or phone number(s), just leave me a message.​

 

[Zidan de Toledo]

gracias..

היא עדיין שומרת את הדיסק שלנו..מצחיק. נדמה לי שזה הקלטה של הופעה שעשינו שם בזמנו. אגב, זיהית אותה מתוך הסרט 'ונגו'??

 

[אמרוקאי]

למה זה מצחיק?

לצערי הגענו בלילה שלא היתה בו הופעת פלמנקו. הבר היה שומם פרט לאשה אחת שנראתה מיודדת מאוד עם בעלת הבית, ושסוקרנה על ידי עובדת היותנו יהודים עד מאוד, כאילו היינו מין זן נדיר של דוֹדוֹ. ברגע ש-ATSUKO שמה את הדיסק של ההופעה שלכם, התמלא פתאום הבר באנשים... או שמא היתה זו מקריות?

לצערי, לא ראיתי עדיין את הסרט VENGO. זהו אחד הסרטים שחיפשתי שם כדי לקנות, אבל לא ניתן היה למצאו בשום מקום. נאלצתי להסתפק ברכישת הסרטים CARMEN ו- LOS TARANTOS. את הסרט VENGO אצטרך כנראה לשכור מחנות וידיאו המתמחה בסרטים אקזוטים ונדירים (אין סיכוי למצוא סרט כזה ב Block Buster). אגב, אני יודע מה זה "אדון עולם", אבל מה זה "אדום עולם"?

 

[paco chico]

maybe amerocai

maybe we have seen each other and didnt know im in cordoba for the festival the aneja can cost you less in granada than in sevilla like 150 euros less later

 

[amoroccan]

It is quite possible

that we have seen each other but didn't know. I didn't know about Sanlucar's workshop in Cordoba, otherwise I *may* have made some different arrangements (I am not travelling with a guitar...). Interestingly enough, I was in the Mesquita when I suddenly heard some nice Flamenco guitar playing. I was automtically drawn outside to the courtyard, where a group of 5 players (various ages) was jamming some Tangos. After they finished I asked them whether they participated in the workshop of Sanlucar, to which they all answered positively with a grin on their face.

They were from all over the world: Japan, Bilbao, Hungary, San-Francisco, etc. As for buying the guitar in Granada, it is too late, as I am traveling in one direction only (clockwise). Unfortunately, I have two weeks only to spend in Spain, after which I have to return to work. I am also zeroing-in on my guitar: The Aneja has a Spruce top. I liked the sound of the Cedar top better. I can get both the Sueno and the Maestro in Cedar. Thus I am now debating between the two. Now... here is the interesting part: They (Sueno & Maestro in Cedar) sound the same! So, one may ask, why pay 500 euros more for the Maestro? Ah, explains Antonio, the Maestro is made of top quality wood, which has been cured for 10 years (vs. the Sueno wood which cured for only 3 years). The back of the Sueno is made of 3 pieces, while the Maestro's is a 2-piece one. The Maestro's neck is reinforced rosewood. Also, the "crown" of the guitar's neck (sorry I don't remember the exact term now) is of a style that identifies this guitar as Bernal's top quality. Perhaps it has implications about how it is going to retain its value (or appreciate) over time. Another interesting point: Antonio explained that becaues of the wood quality, the sound of the Maestro "develops over time", while the Sueno's remains steady. This is very interesting, because I understood from a recent discussion in this forum that this kind of difference between guitars is due to the *wood type* (Spruce vs. Cedar) and not wood quality. Can someone clarify this point for me please? Best regards, You rep in Seville​

 

[amoroccan]

OK - I think that

I either misunderstood Antonio, or he didn't express himself clearly (in a combination of Spanish and broken English). What I read here in this forum is in line with what I read in this article: "...Cedar and redwood are also more responsive than spruce at least initially, but they do not improve with age to the degree that spruce guitars do. Spruce, because it is a more resinous wood than cedar, takes more time to break in. With age resins become increasingly brittle, and with play, as these resins are fractured by sound, the guitar becomes increasingly responsive and mellow. Guitarist talk about this in terms of a "green" guitar "opening up" with time. How fast this happens depends on how much one plays and the age of the woods used in the top. The more aged the spruce used in making a top is, the more quickly it opens up."​

 

[jazzistco]

Hello to amarocan !!!

Hey, if you are yet there' there are a cutaway models of Valeriano? how it cost?

 

[amoroccan]

Hello Jazzistco../images/Emo70.gif

I just returned from my last evaluation visit in Bernal's shop in Seville (I spent about 2 hours every day in order to be completely in peace with my choice). Guess which guitar I picked?

Anyway, answering your question, I did not inquire about cut-a-way models, but if you want to get an idea about their prices you can find a nice price list here.​

 

[amoroccan]

Yet Another Update

Someone mentioned earlier that the Sevilla-Rock store was closed. The good news is that there is a store named Compas-Sur (Cuesta del Rosario 7-E, Tel 954 215 662) that carries everything flamenco: CDs, videos, libros, DVDs. Unfortunately however, they didn't have the Carlos Saura movies I was looking for. Their web site is this: http://www.compas-sur.com/​