Alfonso Checa
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Model: 1973 Alfonso Checa flamenco guitar Top: German spruce Back and Sides: European maple Scale: 656mm Nut: 52mm Finish: Lacquer back and sides, top French polish Tuners: Original Country: Spain Year: 1973 Condition: Excellent Availability: Commission Sale Seller's Location: USA Item number: 1973-AC Price: $4000 This flamenca blanca was built by the late, great, Alfonso Checa. Born in 1914, Alfonso Checa Plaza was a guitar maker from Baza, a town in the province of Granada, who opened his workshop in 1935. During his life he was a renowned maker, and had won a first prize medal for his guitars at the International Exposition in Madrid in 1953 as well as first prize later in an exposition in Ronda. He trained his sons Jose and Vicente Checa, Vicente Perez Checa, Antonio Ruiz, and Pedro Martínez Peñalver. Pedro Martinez Peñalver started with him as an apprentice in 1962, and took over his workshop after his death in 1977. As Baza is a small provincial town, Checa made guitars for other makers, notably for Gerundino Fernandez, Jose Ramirez, Luis Aróstegui, and Benito Ferrer. Recognized as one of the master builders in Granada, his guitars have a duende professional flamenco players seek and love. As is typical of Checa's instruments, this guitar is made of master grade woods. Its top is made using the best tight-grained German spruce, the back and sides are made from impeccable European maple. Until 1930s when the depression made maple prohibitively expensive, maple was frequently used for the finest flamenco guitars. The neck is perfectly straight. The action is setup for flamenco at 3.5mm, but could be easily lowered if so desired. The guitar has been recently restored by German Vasquez Rubio, who repolished the face, re-fretted the guitar, including re-planning the fingerboard, repaired hairline cracks on either side of the fingerboard, and fitted the guitar with a new golpeador. |
