It's Here! 2022 German Vasquez Rubio Custom Elite Cutaway Build: Story, Pics & Vid

[91709jack]

(Entire post in 3 parts due to length & pics. Got carried away. Parts 2 & 3 follow.)
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Previous thread that led to this: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=626335

The short version:

How & why I chose German Vasquez Rubio:

After trying out, and hoping that it wouldn't cost me more than $2,000 to get something to enjoy for a long time, I had to accept that my expectations meant a bump in budget. Of course, I am to blame for my preferences. Once I accepted that a higher end, hand-made instrument was my solution, it was either purchasing something already available, or better yet, going for a customized one. There were a few here and there, but for this kind of dough I'd prefer seeing and touching them. Between logistics, and my specs, I thought, "Why not support a local luthier who can accomplish this?"

Would I recommend German? Absolutely.
Would I buy another guitar from him? Absolutely. (Although TBH this is pretty much IT. When I commit to something significant it's because I think in terms of: *if* I could have one instrument for the rest of my life, what would/should it have and do? And this certainly does it in spades. Kept my first Yamaha G255S for 20 years, played the Hirade H5 for the last 24 years, so at 58 this GVR will stay with me until my hair & teeth fall out!)

Specs: GVR #61002
Soundboard: 20+ Year Aged Master Grade Elite Western Red Cedar
Sides & Back: Master Grade Elite Indian Rosewood
Fingerboard: African Ebony
Neck Profile: Custom 20.5 mm at 1st fret
Frets: 22, E string to 24th
Finish: French Polished
Scale: 640 mm
Nut Width: 48 mm
Design: 14th fret at body
Fret Markers: 3rd, 5th, 7th (triangle), 9th, 12th, 15th (triangle) and 17th
Tuning Machines: Irving Sloane Frictionless
Tie Block: 12-Hole
Electronic Pickup: LR Baggs, Anthem model
Case: Hardshell
Strings: D'Addario EJ46
Current Strings: D'Addario EJ46 (Basses), Savarez Alliance High Tension 540J (Trebles)

German Vasquez Rubio
GuitarsbyGVR on Instagram
Web: guitarsbygvr.com
Tel: (310) 347-6207
[email protected]

Story and pics follow. Dates in BOLD RED for your convenience.
For the videos (highlighted in BLUE), click the links to play, then hit back arrow to resume on this page.
That's all.

(For the record, this is a totally unsolicited and unpaid review by a very happy customer. Me.)

FULL VERSION FOLLOWS! (Enjoy the fun details, especially the photos from inside his shop!)
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September 30th, 2021, 2:30 PM: First visit (24 years later!)

The German Vasquez Rubio Guitar Shop, on 5117 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90016


Not my first time visiting his shop. Heard about him from Guitar Salon, and finding out he was local, had to drop by. Played on his (then) $2,000 instruments, both beautiful in sight & sound, but really couldn't comfortably afford it... I remembered him as a very nice and soft-spoken man. He hasn't changed.


Already went online and listened to as many clips of his instruments as YouTube could cough up. And then Google spits out this beauty. I know he's good. And he MAKES cutaways. But will he make ME one? By then I knew I was in serious, but good trouble. At the least the kind that won't jeopardize my marriage...


On top of supporting a local luthier, it's the rare opportunity to occasionally drop in, as my schedule allowed, from start to finish.

As I chatted with Armand, it turned out Rubio occasionally makes a cutaway, as Google confirmed. And he happened to have one available. A flamenco with a cedar top. The tones in the lower frets didn't necessarily catch my ear. But in the upper registers, with the capo at 7th or 9th, it was gorgeous. It was a Concert model with about a $7,000 price tag.

As I carefully stared down each instrument inside the glass case, I catch ANOTHER cutaway, and asked Armand about it. "Oh THAT. I forgot we had that one. When someone commissions an Elite model, which is normally DOUBLE the price of a Concert, German builds one without the expensive woods and materials, to make sure it's what the client wants."

(It's the one tucked away in the corner, with the red arrow...)


This particular demo is a Concert version, in Spruce, with the floating neck, and a bowed lower part of the soundboard, all specifics from his client.


As I played it, it only confirmed my preference for the sound of a cedar top. (Current H5 is cedar.) And for the first time, I tried out a guitar with the 14th fret meeting the body instead of the 12th.

WOW. I snap on a capo, from the 5th, to the 7th, 9th, even 12th. Staying nicely in tune for the most part. There are songs I've fingerpicked, or tried to, but never finished, because it just goes way up there. It was absolutely freaky to not only reach those notes with ease, but was able to throw my thumb around and play a GM7 on the 10th fret! My brain (& heart) just stopped for a moment - questioning if I just did that.

Examining the neck, I then asked if German can further shave a little width and thickness off, as I often find fingerpicking a song in C & F is more "satisfying" in terms of imitating the nuances of voice, instead of D & G, although the latter provides a better & easier fingering many times, primarily because I have to play the F bass with my thumb. Turns out Rubio knows just how much he can shave things off and keep the integrity, etc. In my case, he recommended a neck profile at the 1st fret of 20.5 mm, and nut width of 48 mm. I was never a steel string player that needed a super narrow neck, and with the nylon strings, still wanted a wide enough neck so my fingers don't trample each other, but thinner on the thickness of the neck.

Here are the other specs, for now... Didn't expect the "just looking" transitioned into a deposit so quickly, but it felt right. Expected delivery of April/May 2022 (Also ordered LR Baggs Anthem pickup system)


October 1st, 2021, 1 PM: Contacted Armand for 3 main questions and smaller details:
1. The sound difference between the Concert & Elite, and *if* the Elite can be built without the more expensive & exotic woods. (FYI, Concert generally $7,000, Elite about double that.) It's worth noting he has another top of the line model called the Monarca, which is a double-top. After discussing about this, and hearing a few samples, while it IS louder, it sounded a bit tighter, and a bit, for lack of a better word, more "plasticky." At least to my ears, it lost quite a bit of warmth that I prefer.
2. Scale length: I was thinking in view of my smaller hands, why not go as short as possible, maybe 635 mm? But since I would be spending a lot of time above the 5th, and even 7th frets all the way to 14th, they suggested not going below 640 mm to leave some playable fret space.
3. Pearl dot markers on frets 3, 5, 7, 12, 17, and shell triangles on 9 & 15.

October 26th, 2021, 4 PM: I decide to upgrade from the Concert model to the Elite features.
...but did not opt for the exotic woods. Had it added something significant to the sound, I might have spent the extra. So the price "only" went up by about half.


May 2th, 2022, 11 AM: Time to pick the woods!
On this visit, German reached into some little nook behind a wall and whipped out his prized stash of Western Red Cedar that have been aged for over 20 years.




June 8th, 2022, 2 PM: Update:
Text from Armand saying soundboard glued and wood prepped. And where possible will post a few ongoing videos on their Instagram at GuitarsbyGVR.

July 8th, 2022, 8 PM: Update pics.
Some pictures from Armand of German working on the soundboard.


July 14th, 2022, 9 PM: More ongoing pictures.


July 18th, 2022, 3 PM: Getting there!




End of Part 1, Part 2 follows.

[91709jack]

Part 2 of 3!

July 21st, 2022: Video of routing front and back. (Click link below to play, then back arrow to continue this.)
https://videopress.com/v/Lavum9YQ

July 24th, 2022: Video of unwrapping after gluing the binding. (Click link below to play, then back arrow to continue this.)
https://videopress.com/v/tHAjXtWD

July 25th, 2022: Video of gluing the heel cap. (Click link below to play, then back arrow to continue this.)
https://videopress.com/v/58gXNSFM

July 29th, 2022: Video of filing fret ends. (Click link below to play, then back arrow to continue this.)
https://videopress.com/v/rVG7snCZ

August 3rd, 2022, 1 PM: "Your guitar is almost finished!"




August 23rd, 2022, 2 PM: It's here!
Feels like I'm picking up our 4th baby! (We have 3 daughters.) First pics right in the nursery.


Good thing this back side didn't need to be slapped!


Armand has earned the right to be the pediatrician! Very grateful and thankful for his assistance in so many ways. And since the only Spanish I know relates to lengua & cabeza burritos, so glad he tirelessly translated my every question and comment to German throughout this journey. I was only physically at the shop 3 times, but he always kept me abreast of what was going on, and where necessary, when things were delayed a bit, which was not a big deal. I'm not surprised he plays a pretty mean guitar as well, which you'll hear as soundtrack on their numerous Instagram videos. THANK YOU, Armand!


Two of our daughters are in art. There's something about works of art that many often refer to as their "babies." Something that has so much of the creator, be it a painting, sculpture, or a masterpiece like this is like entrusting one's baby to another. And here's the master craftsman himself, German.


Just like a baby, it was securely strapped in the back seat. Unlike a baby, it didn't cry or need a diaper change. It was worth the wait.

Off to Part 3, Homecoming!

[91709jack]

Part 3: It's Home!

Well protected in its Humicase.


German's signature headstock for his Custom Elite guitars.




Irving Sloane frictionless tuners.


Indian Rosewood sides.








Back of Indian Rosewood:


Rosette (and LR Baggs pickup system): Was given the option to choose my rosette. There were so many I lost perspective, so I just asked German to pick what he thought would be best. Beautiful choice.



12-hole tie block: Took me by surprise, had to figure out how to do it...


I'm usually not one to plaster my face anywhere, but I'll make an exception for this, if only to show that smile that's on my ugly face every time I've picked it up. It's an absolute pleasure, and certainly a privilege, to be able to own a piece of art that embodies over 50 years of the highest craftsmanship and dedication, and get to enjoy it everyday. So, to German, wishing you many more amazing years ahead, and my deepest thanks. Not many chances in one's life, especially for ordinary people like me, to meet a living legend.


Verdict: My goal was a guitar that was:
1. Playable to my limitations, which translated into the specifications of the 640 mm scale, 48 mm nut, 20.5 mm neck profile, and corresponding low action.
2. The 14th fret at the body and 24th fret extensions were also incorporated. Not that I'll really get that high, but as I spend most of the time between 5th and 15th easily, it feels fabulous.
3. Sound like a piano. The D'Addario EJ46 trebles didn't sound good to me, so I swapped them out within a week or so to Savarez Alliance 540Js, which I've now played for years on my Hirade H5. I guess I have my own very uninformed, but practical to me, bathroom acoustics test.

(A moment of stupidity. New to ear buds, I'd leave one in my left ear, as I played along new songs to learn. The guitar sounded tinny to my surprise. Took a few days until I realized it was the result of the "ambient noise" function. When I finally took off the left bud, what a beautiful sound the guitar made. And what a relief!)

If I had to nitpick, I feel it's a tad short on sustain, a little on the trebles, but more noticeable on the basses. BUT I also knew and accepted going in that the cutaway design would invariably mean a tradeoff in some way, a perfect compromise.

There are a few little cosmetic imperfections, that Armand clarified is to be expected when it's 100% handcrafted. No jigs, etc...

So as it stands, very happy and contented, definitely mission accomplished.

Yes, profuse apologies. Will get to recording a sound clip when I get around to it!

Only one little project on the way. Bought a few sets of strings to try out and compare. Armand did mention that while German's guitars are built for any tension, ideally high tension gauges will bring out the sweet spot of volume & tone. Normal for playability, with a very slight disadvantage to sound. Have some Dogal Diamante Extra Strong (set), Philippe Bosset Titanium Hard Tension (set), Knobloch Actives CX Carbon Super High (set), Knobloch Actives CX Carbon High (set), D'Addario EJ44 Pro Arte Extra High (bass) & Savarez Cantiga Premium High (bass).

And one last thing...

My personalized signed label.


If I were to sum up what over 40 years of playing guitar has been like to me, the one word would be: JOY. In good times, even bad, there's something about music, especially when one plays it, that rejoices, comforts, and even grieves with you. This is serious and effective medication for the soul. And I don't take it for granted that this is like having a Ferrari for a daily driver.

Hope you all enjoyed this! Thank you!

[Gitfiddlemann]

Wow. Hearty congrats on your new custom guitar Jack. Your 4th child is a beauty.
And thanks for the comprehensive post, pics and description. I think this is the first such crossover/classical style nylon stringer I've ever seen with a 14 fret neck. It's so beneficial to know your own preferences when ordering a custom.
He seems to have nailed all your special specs for you.
Great stuff! Would love to hear how it sounds, even if you're just noodling around.
Enjoy your new guitar!

[Carey]

Congratulations on your new guitar! German Vazquez does superb work.

[91709jack]

Originally Posted by AndreF

I think this is the first such crossover/classical style nylon stringer I've ever seen with a 14 fret neck. It's so beneficial to know your own preferences when ordering a custom.

Thanks Andre! There are a handful of the 14 fret at body models. Closest one in production is a Cordoba Fusion 14, in maple, which are the sides, with a spruce top. Tried a couple of spruce tops, even from German, but just really partial to the cedar sound. Haha could've saved myself a boatload of cash. Will be working on some sound samples, as I'm now planning on throwing on a few sets of strings and decide. Did that on my Hirade over 20 years ago, picked EJ46 basses and Savarez Alliance 540J for trebles and stuck by them for over 20 years...

Originally Posted by Carey

Congratulations on your new guitar! German Vazquez does superb work.

Thanks Carey!