Manuel Contreras 1 (1983) / Antonio Dotras Cordoba / Francisco Esteve ELEC Model / Francisco Esteve Concert model 1973 and 1971.

This Manuel Contreras dates from 1983, the time Manuel 

Contreras I was in charge. Cedar topped guitar and Brasilian

rosewood sides and back. A 655 mm scale is provided and

of course an ebony fingerboard. 

These kind of coloured rosette was most used on guitars 

made by Manuel Contreras around these times. However, 

the exact rosette as this one we haven't been able to find yet.

The soundboard has been provided with a traditional 5 fan bracing.

These 2A class guitars seems to posess a bit more the traditional

Madrid (Jose Ramirez) sound and I can confirm that but only

the real beauty of its'  sound was detactable after I removed the

rather crudely placed scratchplates (even layer on layer on the

higher string side) and the exchange of the badly modelled

bridgebone. Absolutely handbuilt but not by Manuel Contreras

himself. The guitars that have a hand signed label are the 

premium concert guitars but often built by Ignacio Rozas

or Jose Antonio Lagunar, who both later built guitars 

under their own name.

A beautiful piece of wood has been used for the back and

sides which makes this instrument a beauty. Strange move

remains the use of Brasilian rosewood sides and back. A

narrow grained top with one well repaired crack beneath 

the bridge completes this instrument.

A non signed label which could point towards a guitar

second to their top model (2A) and most likely made 

by one of his workmen. The models of lesser quality

all are provided with another label: starting with "Guitareria"

and not "Luthier'. This one is absolutely handbuilt anyway.

        

We fond a similar model on the Dream Guitars site. That

guitar built in 1984 has been presented as a Concert guitar

and it simply is as the correct headform is there, though

not the feather inlay the 1A models are equipped with.

The inlay work is similar to the Contreras presented here

though my guitar is equipped with a cedar top and the 

guitar on the Dream Guitars site has a spruce top.

The immediately remark to be made by seeing this picture

is the presence of the central feather inlay which is said to

be only present on the concert models! An extensive interview 

around the guitars of Manuel Contreras in the Orfeo magazine 

nr. 3 is confirming this.

The head furthermore looks the same as on the 1A model.

And of course the Fustero tuners and the inlay in the head

that can be found as well on the 1A model. However the

outer ends on top of the heads are normally a bit sharper

on the later Doble Tapa models but the earlier ones do show

more similarities. The outer heelform isn't the same

as on the double tapa models of the mid eighties.

A nice shot of the Fustero tuners that are hand engraved

as was done by this company from Barcelona on their

higher end tuning machines. Take a look at the worm 

gear which is riveted on these tuners. This Lyre model

can also be found on the Jose Ramirez case 1A models.

A shot of the back that still  is in pristine condition.

The soundboard shows some play wear but nothing

serious. We compared this instrument with the somewhat 

later double tapa models and the plantilla (contours)

of the body differs from these models which can mean

two things. As in a small workshop like Manuel Contreras

had the use of only one soundbox model would be most

explainable. What is of relevance is the comparison

between a slightly earlier signed Contreras and this one.

On the sides the use of  Brasilian rosewood becomes

even more obvious. Nicely matched as was common.

The use of this Brasilian rosewood for a non signed guitar
is of course remarkable. There are no markings inside this
instrument so the mystery is still there but anyway:
Playability is great and the sound can concur that of
a signed instrument from the Contreras workshop.
Probably Contreras worked the same way as Jose
Ramirez did: If there were any flaws on the 1A meant
guitars they were labelled 2A or not signed. On this
guitar the "flaw" could be the ebony used for the
fingerboard, in fact third quality because of the small
spots that can be detected at various places. It doesn't
affect the sound in any way of course

Some nail wear to see on this picture.

On the left in the lower bout a nick that can be restored.

Do not use clear lacquer at once on the bare wood as that

colors much too dark. I use oil paint to match the color

of the soundboard and afterwards level the dent with

super glue that mixes nicely with the surrounding 

lacquer. From the left side of the string tie block to

the bottom of the guitar there is a repaired crack and

it was already there when I bought the guitar some 

15 years ago (?)

Antonio Dotras Cordoba

I recently obtained this guitar for very little and not

that I'm in need of a guitar I'm allways curious to

learn more about several makers. As Antonio Dotras

Cordoba, based in Barcelona has been mentioned in

the Jose Romanillos dictionary it awakened my

interest in this instrument. It has not been built with

the highest grade of materials nor has it been finished

with the utmost care but its' sound was remarkable

already though there is a lot left to be done.

The headform is almost universal what made me think

it to be a cheaper imported guitar from Valencia. You can 

think of Hijos de Vicente Tatay or other Valencian makers

but the plantilla is bigger. In fact the soundbox is longer.

This instrument is equipped with a 3 piece fan bracing.

Probably the soundboard has been kept a bit thicker and

there is where something is left to be done but we

need to do that with care.

As the soundboard will be thinned around the edges

the guitar as a whole will be stripped and entirely

lacquered. The neck profile can be adjusted and the

fingerboard will be stripped from its' paint as well

and provided with nickel silver frets.

The bridge is OK and not even that roughly modelled.

The soundboard shows us a not really quarter sawn

piece of wood. One crack in the upper right end but

that is not a very tricky spot.

As I allways collect parts of old guitar tuners this is

no big deal but probably I will mount some better tuners 

on this guitar and reshape the head a bit. As for the label

it says: A. Dotras Cordoba - Calle San Pablo 28 what

makes it easy to place in time as Dotras had his workshop

on the Calle San Pablo 5 from 1920 untill 1957.

In 1957-58 he was at Calle San Pablo 28 and around

the year 1963 Vicente Carillo Cantos and his wife 

Gabriela Casas Fornier went to work for Dotras 

Cordoba in Calle Ancha, Barcelona

Here the guitar has been entirely stripped but it is

becoming allready clear that not all the damaged spots

can be cured as they are too deep in the wood.

The guitar hasn't bee treated that well maybe because

it was "just"  a student guitar so in order to give it back 

"some of its' glory" we had to reshape the head and 

the two vertical sleeves for the tuners.

The insert for the crack has been made here.

For most guitar players it would be reassuring

but in fact very little could have happened if

we had left it the way it was.

By putting the guitarhead against the wall the earlier

damages occurred but making the head slightly thinner 

we can start shaping the head all over again.

And indeed, most of these guitars were lacquered

in a quick way. This time 8 layers of thin Alkyd spray 

paint were applied to get this result. The scale of this

guitar is 645 mm. The width of the topnut: 52 mm.

The own frequency of the soundbox lies on an A

which means 110 Hz.

And surely you can comb your hair in the shiny back.

When the lacquer has been hardened out it is always

possible to polish the back to a less shiny appearance.

The rosette is fresh again and I've added an extra 19th

fret that simply is in need for some demanding pieces.

The old original tuners were worn out and had too much

play so to make it playable the addition of new tuners

was the best solution.

No this is not the label in the guitar here above. I've added 

it to show that there were 3 different labels when Antonio

Dotras Cordoba was situated in the Calle San Pablo 28 which

is a bit strange as the Romanillos dictionnary states him

to be on this adress only in 1957-58. But three labels in

such a short time is a bit astonishing.

A signed and dated label could be a sign of superior 

quality instruments as can be seen here above.

The label presented here above is also present in the

guitar I described allready. But you can see here a

more complex rosette and most likely an ebony

fingerboard which points towards a concert instrument.

Being very enthusiastic about the first A.D.C. I was able to 

buy a second one on an auction in England. Some features

appeared to be the same but the quality of the soundboard 

on this one is a little bit higher. On the other hand there is

no fan bracing in this instrument. So only a ladderbracing

but a still straight top. As the components were undamaged

I decided to have it a full relacquering job as the beauty 

of the back was allready apparent.

The back can be admired here. Also walnut can 

have its' qualtities in figuring once nicely matched.

Again a nice guitar but soundwise lesser than the first one.

And with a little bit of pain in my heart I parted from this 

guitar though I know it received a good home!

The outer heel is a part of the back certainly has

advantages as the guitar is less able to deform

regarding neck to body construction.

I've levelled the fingerboard a bit and lowered the quite

high standard bridge as a heavy bridge has a negative

influence on the sound. In order to make a better angle

over the bridgebone a string saver has been used for

the first string.

The copper frets have been changed for nickel

silver new ones. And the slight damages on the

fingerboard in the lower positions have been 

cured by shaving it towards the head.

In this case I left the headform the way it was.

It was nearly undamaged as can be studied here.

I think these tuners to be somewhat older so the guitar

could have been built at the end of the fifties.

A small crack in the fingerboard left but is has been

stabilized in the meantime. The well known Calle

San Pablo 28 label. From 1957 / 1958 on A.D.C. 

was situated there. I was disappointed at first 

with the sound result. But having it under tension

while I was on holidays and playing the guitar 

after that period of time I was astonished about

the sound result: Much, much better. These in-

struments deserve attention as the Telesforo

Julve guitars allready do in recent times!

Francisco Esteve ELEC model

This particular model has been built by master luthier

Manuel Adalid in collaboration with Francisco Esteve.

It is the top of the line electric cutaway guitars in their

collection. All solid woods and acoustic a really

surprising tone. Spruce top, Indian rosewood sides

and back, a cedar neck that is provided with an ebony 

fingerboard. This is a cedar topped guitar and so is

its' sound. Scale on this guitar is 655 mm.

The back of the neck has been reinforced with an ebony

layer. The outer heel on this guitar was still more rounded

as the later examples that also have another bridge.

Not the most expensive Fustero tuners but they work 

surprisingly well. On the most expensive Fustero tuners

the base plate has ben hand engraved. You are able to

eetact that as the cutting is simply sharper and moreover

the knobs are riveted on the axes most of the time. The

high end Fustero tuners were mounted on various top 

concert guitars to mention Jose Ramirez III the clase 

1A guitars and most of the top end Manuel Contreras 

guitars. Fustero was famous for their beautiful engra-

vings rather than their supreme tuning qualities.

Clearly visible is the ebony fingerboard and the finely

executed binding. For better playability the neck will

be refretted in the future and before that the fingerboard

will be shaved off a bit towards the head in order to get

a better angle over the bridgebone and a better tone!

The later ELEC models have an ebony bridge which is beautiful

but in fact a bit too heavy. On this guitar, that has been imported

in England by the Juan Teijeiro Music Company, the bridge is 

executed out of Brasilian rosewood. Only in small characters

the name of Francisco Esteve has been mentioned on the label

though it clearly says: ELEC and has been dated 1989.

Want to know more around this brand and in general

about the Valencia made guitars, just check this site:

www.guitarrasvalencia.wordpress.com

Francisco Esteve Concert Model

Definately a Francisco Esteve Concert guitar that could

be built by Manuel Adalid but with a rather disturbing

label as this guitar was made for the Spanish Guitar Centre

in Newcastle upon Tyne in Great Britain and thus bears

their label. Superior craftsmanship as can be admired

in the shaping of the rosette but also inner woodwork.

We received a message from the Francisco Esteve company

(with many thanks to Sergio Camargo who did efforts to

ask Mr. Manuel Adalid about this instrument.) With the

treatment of shellac the French polishing method is ment.

I was quite certain but I wanted to verify with Manuel Adalid about this instrument.

“This guitar is how you can see a concert instrument, the best thing that I was doing 

in Esteve's workshop at the time. It's a concert guitar because of the constructive 

details that you correctly pointed out. These were made for the English house, the

Spanish Guitar Center”. We believe that all of it is finished in shellac, top and body.

It is possible that the overhead is from Palosanto de Río as well. It's a guitar on 

which more than one luthier intervened and in which D. Manuel Adalid father 

(and the eldest: Manuel Adalid Lazaro ) did part of the work on it. It is artisan 
and entirely by hand. Today it would resemble a 60th Anniversary model, the 
most elaborate thing we do of concert models but with a soundboard with a 
classic traditional system. 

The recommended retail price of the model new 60th Anniversary is about 

6000 euros depending on the place due to taxes and rates of each country. 

You have a wonderful instrument and we hope you enjoy it. It seems to be 

in good condition.

Take good care of yourself and kind regards

Sergio Camargo (Esteve Guitarras)

The round label looks a lot like the Tatay labels of that 

time. Probably no coincidence as Esteve worked for the 

Tatay company. Built in 1973 it is their 75th guitar

that year. Most likely numner 75 in this range.

At the bottom right the same rounded label can be seen

that is presented this guitar. As was common these companies

often worked for Music shops and even other makers.

Here, the refinished back is presented. We had contact

with the Esteve company and they claim among others

that these guitars were shellac treated so most likely 

with the so called "French polishing" technique. Over

the years the shellac has died out too much and the

back showed some ugly spots (here beyond)

A beautiful back (and sides) this model is provided with.

It could even be Brasilian rosewood but we're not sure yet.

The upper picture has been taken after intensive French

polishing work that was needed to put it back in its'

old glory again. And thereby: It is a keeper. Remarkable

is that the finish gives  a kind of "yellowish" appearance 

over time. In order to keep things as original as possible

I've kept the sides and front the way they were.

A nice executed Rozette completes this furthermore

flawlessly built instrument. Inner woodwork is simply

of top quality. The golden Spanish Guitar Centre

label is sticked at the bottom. The soundboard is

strengthened with a traditional fan bracing and the

sound is as can be expected from a Valencian maker:

"Woody"  and with a kind of springyness and lots

of volume and tone colour.

This head has been covered with a Brasilian rosewood

veneer layer. This has been confirmed by Manuel Adalid.

And information in an E-mail says that both father and son

Adalid worked on this guitar which is special of course.

Both front and back have been French polished 

again as there were several damages to cure.

Want to know more around this brand and in general

about the Valencia made guitars, just check this site:

www.guitarrasvalencia.wordpress.com

Another "Francisco" labelled guitar

Even a more beautiful Manuel Adalid product we 

were able to buy. This example is in near mint condition

and dates from 1971 as the label states.

A stunning back as well but a bit a too thick a neck to

be honest. I shaved this neck to make  it more comfortably

playable. Lacquer work on this one is in a near mint

condition. The soundbox frequency lies on a G (98 Herz.)