Meet my new Love: She’s from Spain and she’s Hot!

Alhambra is a well known palace in Spain and, for the guitarists, it's also what inspired Tarrega to compose one of the most beautiful tremolo piece.
But did you know it's also a Spanish Guitar Brand? It is actually one of the most famous in Europe. Can you dream of any better than a Spanish guitar? All countries have a different conception of guitar sound but when it comes to Spain the personality is the first thing that will strike you along with the projection of the sound, the warmth and the tradition. Tradition is the key word: Those guys have made guitars for centuries; therefore, nobody can catch up with them!

A Little Bit of a Story
When you hold an Alhambra Guitar in your arms, you hold all of that. When my Friend and associate John Francis first promoted the Alhambra guitars to me I thought they were just another student model. Imagine my surprise when one of my students showed up with an 8-P model electric-acoustic that he had purchased from John's online shop. The first thing that struck me was the beauty of the instrument. Perfect craftsmanship and beautiful woods make this instrument one of the most impressive I have seen.

Alhambra 8-P



The Alhambra 8-P is an all-solid entry concert-level quality classical guitar with a wonderful richness of tone. But richness is not the only thing: the sound projection is so amazing that I had the urge to compare with the guitar I played at that time, hand made and priced at $10,000. That was an experience! This Alhambra was just louder than my $10,000 guitar… OK, let's try again… unbelievable! The action was also just perfect: high enough to make the guitar sing but extremely comfortable. Basses and trebles were balanced which allows having a full control of the voices and to emphasize whatever voice you want without any struggle. Therefore you become the conductor and have a complete orchestra under your fingers. It is hard to imagine all the possibilities this instrument offers and the limits are just my imagination. I just could not believe it and had a hard time giving the guitar back to my student.
Alhambra model 8P guitars and above are built by a smaller, more experienced team at the Alhambra facility. They feature a lighter, nitrocellulose lacquer finish and a bridge-like cross bracing. All of these factors work together to give this guitar a very beautiful, loud, and refined sound. Its cedar top gives it a nice warm tone quality with excellent volume and clarity.



I called Alhambra and wanted to try the high-end concert models. The good news was: they were to be at the Summer NAMM Show where I went, anxious and excited.

Here they are!
Imagine a huge booth with dozens of amazing guitars exposed! All the guitars I have seen on their website, where I spent hours and hours, were there. My attraction led me to the Luthier Rio Model. I had looked at this guitar for hours on the internet and would finally play one!

Luthier Rio Spruce

The Alhambra Luthier Rio is a beautifully crafted by two of the master luthiers at Alhambra, Javier Mengual and José Margarit. Just touching it was a sensual experience, the beautiful finish; I should say the perfect finish, the incredible quality of Solid German Spruce top with very tight and regular nodules all across it. The back and sides are made of Brazilian Rosewood. Let's take a closer look at the sides. The book matching is perfect the grain appears to create one continuous line, and showcases a dramatic effect. How many hours did they spend matching it and have a perfect continuous pattern? The purfling itself is a piece of art.
This guitar has an amazingly rich and refined tone. Also, just by moving my finger a millimeter I get a different sound, just a millimeter! Can you imagine when you move your right hand from bridge to neck the incredible range of sound you have? It is a gazillion colors palette. It has a revolutionary floating bracing pattern that givesit a really phenomenal tone and projection. This guitar has an amazingly rich and refined tone, also, just by moving my finger a millimeter I get a different sound, just a millimeter! Can you imagine when you move your right hand from bridge to neck the incredible range of sound you have? It like a gazillion colors palette. It has a revolutionary floating bracing pattern that gives it a really phenomenal tone and projection.


Its fullness, tone quality, craftsmanship, volume, projection, and playability are superb. This guitar is a wonderful example of the fine work of the luthiers at Alhambra. This is by far the best guitar that I have played. I am in the process of re-working my whole repertoire and explore the endless possibilities of tone for new interpretations. And, trust me, I possessed some of the most expansive guitars but this one is the one I was looking for.
She's my new love and forever!

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