As Unique and Individual as the Musician who Plays it…

1999 Manuel Rodriguez, Sr. MSRBRZ Manuel Rodriguez Sr. Master Classical.

This amazing (12 fret to body) Classical Guitar was made in 1999 and has a 14 3/8 inch wide and 4 1/8 deep Brazilian Rosewood body with the most phenomenal two-piece back ever! Beautifully bound Solid Canadian Red Cedar top with a 3 7/16 diameter sound hole surrounded by the most unbelievable rosettes. Two-piece flamed Honduran Cedar neck with Brazilian Rosewood center strip. Ebony fretboard with nineteen medium-thin frets, a huge nut width of just under 2 3/16 inches, a thick profile and a scale length of 25 5/8 inches. Bone nut and bone bridge on Brazilian Rosewood base with abalone strip. Inside the sound-hole is a rectangular white label which reads "Construida en Madrid por / Manuel Rodriguez / [signature] M. Rodriguez / Hortaleza, 826 En el ano 1999 / N645". This guitar and its case are new old stock and are in absolutely mint (9.50) condition. Housed in the original VGV Vittorini single-latch + zipper, shaped brown leather hardshell with green plush lining & hygrometer (9.50). We have re-strung the guitar with the recommended GHS Bronze Classic Guitar Strings - High Tension, Clear Trebles, Set 2100W. Words cannot accurately describe the workmanship nor the stunning beauty of the eighty year-old woods that were used to make this guitar. The photographs however will speak a thousand volumes… The sound is incredible…

Using only the finest woods, and hand-forming each to precise tolerances, Manuel Rodriguez developed distinctive guitars fit for the world’s preeminent artists. Each instrument is as unique and individual as the musician who plays it.

"Manuel Rodriguez Sr. This guitar was 100% handmade in Madrid, Spain, by the master himself, Manuel Rodriguez Sr. It is a display of the finest woods and craftsmanship available. The top is Solid Canadian Red Cedar, while the back and sides are the most visually stunning Brazilian Rosewood ever harvested. The rosewood was hand selected from Manuel's private stock and has a history as rich as its appearance and tone. The wood was cut in 1936 following the Spanish Revolution and has been naturally drying since. Due to the fact that Brazilian Rosewood has long since been illegal to harvest and import, there will never be wood like it available again. Manuel Rodriguez Sr. only builds two of these remarkable instruments a year, and because of the scarcity and unique character of the woods, no two can, or will ever look the same. This guitar represents both mother nature and craftsmen at their finest." (Certificate with guitar).  

Footnote: Manuel Rodriguez Sr. died on Christmas day 2008. The last recommended retail price was $35,999

The history of Rodriguez guitars is as rich as the wood they are crafted from. Manuel Rodriguez, the grandson of flamenco guitarist Manuel Rodriguez Marequi and son of classical luthier Manuel Rodriguez Perez, learned the art of constructing a guitar firsthand. His apprenticeship began at the age of 13 in Madrid, and after operating in his own shop in Spain, Manuel emigrated to Los Angeles in 1959 and opened a business there. Manuel resided in Los Angeles for nearly 15 years, making guitars for professionals, Hollywood actors, teachers, and students before moving back to Madrid in 1973.