Eladio Molina 1862 / Juan da Montagne

The label mentions the year 1862 but that was the year

this guitarreros won a gold medal at the Malaga exhibition.

However the adress and other features are pointing towards

an instrument made between 1862 - 1882. This instrument

has most likely been provided with a new soundboard and 

the old fretwork caused fret slots that were too broad. The 

further restaurations possibly could have been done by 

Pablo Requena who lives in London and Amsterdam.

The back of this guitar has developed some inevitable 

cracks during its' lifetime. But still beautiful woods

have been used for this guitar as can be seen here below. 

A cedar neck but surprisingly no inner Spanish heel 

Unmistakenly Brasilian rosewood but the 

more darker variant and not the orangy one.

Wether if this is the original rosette we do not know for sure as

most likely the soundboard has been replaced during an extensive

restauration. The sides and back are typical late 19th century

Brasilian rosewood ones. A five piece fan bracing with two

closing ribs has been placed on the top. And this narrow 

but tasteful rosette completes this instrument.

Brasilian rosewood, rather narrow bridge this luthier

provided his guitars with. Most likely original.

Still some repairs on sides and back have to be done but

absolutely worth the trouble.

This head seems to have been shortened a bit but in

fact was a close copy of the Antonio Lorca heads who was 

his teacher for a while and Molina probably honoured Lorca

in this manner. A lot of Malaga based builders used this 

typical headform that often were provided with peg tuners.

After visiting the Flamenco Museum in Malaga we were

able to compare this instrument with other Malaga made

guitars that were exposed there. 

The label Eladio Molina only must have used after 1862.

This instrument has originally been provided with tuning

pegs as can be seen at the outer ends of the two sleeves.

The tuners on this instrument we have seen on a Juan 

Estruch guitar from about 1920 so the tuners must be

quite old themselves.

Some beautiful pictures of the woods used. Extra ordinary

detail is that the outer heel and neck are made from one

(same) piece of wood. And probably the head shared this

process but the repair makes it difficult to conclude.

This guitar has a romantic and vibrant sound with lots

of colours in it. Still a delight to listen to and play!

Instruments from this luthier prove to be quite scarce!

Juan da Montagne

This is most likely ment as a flamenco guitar regarding the cypress

back and sides. Though for a flamenco guitar quite heavy, I'm always

triggered in how such a guitar sounds for the classical guitar pieces

of Spanish composers. It has to be repaired at first as the head is

showing a crack. This looks more severe to non-luthiers as even a 

broken head can be fixed satisfactory. This guitar has been built

with a traditional 7 fan Torres bracing and no closing ribs.

Ebony fingerboard and bridge. The scale is 650 mm.

Nice pieces of figured cypress have been used for the back 

and also a lot of attention was dedicated to the bindings.

Typical for a real flamenco model the soundbox is less deep

than compared to a classical model. Jan van den Heuvel

was able to buy his woods in Germany as the Egmond

(Alpha) company had good contacts there. Scale 65 cm.

On this picture you are able to see the bindings better and

also the "reinforcement" layer in the neck.

In fact derived from a Torres head as well. Juan da Montagne

(or in Dutch: Jan van den Heuvel) often visited Spain in order

to learn from the famous guitarreros there. In the head itself

the French lily has been engraved also known as the "Fleur de

 Lis". The tuners are most likely from the German factory 

KOLB. Anyway good working and hand engraved and 

they work very well and smooth.

The tuners with, very strange, plastic knobs. But those knobs

made it possible to conclude these tuners to be from Kolb. As

mostly is the case with cheap plastic buttons: They are showing

a seam. These knobs are an exception, so no seam here!

A very tasteful rosette and an ebony bridge are making

this guitar a very nice instrument. Another feature is the doomed

top what makes it possible to construct with a thinner top

Question remains wether if this instrument has been built for 

the Egmond company for which van den Heuvel was an advisor 

or in his own workshop in Geldrop (The Netherlands).

His son claims this to be from his fathers own workshop.

A close up from the rosette. Regarding the traditional 7 fan bracing of

the top chances are big that Jan van den Heuvel was closely involved

in the design of the Alpha classical guitars that had a serie of 6 models.

These guitars were a big success on the Dutch market but being too

expensive to produce in a workshop with disabled people the selling 

price had to be lower than costs for producing these guitars and that

ment the end for the Alpha guitars and the former Egmond company.

The label says: Juan Reinier da Montagne: Modelo 23F.

Besides that the addition of a number: 701125 and most

likely a signature can be studied in the lower right corner

by clicking on this picture. The first two digits could mean

the year of production: 1970 but I'm not sure yet. All

these features have been added to the label in ink so it

could be as well that this was the 23th instrument van

den Heuvel has produced already moved from Australia

to the Netherlands back again with wife and kids.

The prefix "F" mos likely stands for "Flamenco".

Jan van den Heuvel died 15 years ago (around 2000)

The damage to the headstock has been repaired here and

in order to make things like new I've refinished the whole

neck. The outer ends of the frets were treated with a file 

that damaged the fretboard. Things are now the way they

should be again. This guitar produces a very even sound 

thorough the different frequency registers. Maybe not

the absolute top for which it misses a bit of character but

very well and neatly built and now again ready to serve

a player for probably a lifetime! This example definitely

is better suited for classical music as the sustain resembles

that of a classical guitar and the higher notes are sounding

very "rounded". And not the attack and immediate response

a genuine flamenco model mostly produces.