Alhambra Guitars: Classical and Flamenco Instruments Hand Built in Spain
In the small Spanish town of Muro del Alcoy, a team of eight young men, aged 14 to 30, came together in 1962 to begin their Great Adventure of guitar making.
At first the workshop was located in a horse stable. In 1965, the group coalesced into a more formal business and registered as “Manufacturas Alhambra, S.A.” under the supervision of Master Luthiers José María Vilaplana and Ricardo Llorens. The new company was financed with the aid of new shareholders. Several of the original team, are still with Alhambra and now these men are among the most experienced Master Luthiers in all of Spain.
Alhambra grew from a team of enthusiastic young Luthiers, free of the tradition-bound ways common to most “family business” workshops. Unfettered by traditional ways of building, they were free to experiment and invent new, more efficient construction techniques. As a result, Alhambra has become perhaps the most advanced of all Spanish makers, offering some of the finest guitars in the world from basic beginner instruments through to Professional Concert-grade guitars.
Alhambra was the first of the many Spanish builders to modernize their facility, adopting modern humidity control, glue and finishing techniques, water and toxic waste treatment and adhering to CITES regulations for the protection of endangered wood species.
The Twelfth Fret began its relationship with Alhambra in 1994 and in the past 20 years have sold well over 1000 guitars. The staff at Alhambra are very helpful and always a pleasure to deal with. It is remarkable how easily we transact business considering the great distances involved.
With over 70 models available we have great difficulty choosing what models to carry but suffice it to say, each and every model offered represents what I see as “the best in show” of each comparable price-range category.
Our current offering of 26 models ranges from the Professional / Concert-grade Luthier Models down to the basic Model 1C – THE best buy in classical guitars under $500.00.
Recently, Alhambra has developed an innovative new Crossover Model guitar; Narrow neck models specifically for steel string players “crossing over” to nylon string. Particularly popular with Latin Jazz and Chet style players, Alhambra builds a variety of thinline and full body models.
The Alhambra 636 mm, shorter scale “Señorita” series guitars allow us to offer smaller sized instruments built to the highest quality level of our other instruments.
Most Alhambra models are also available with cutaway and pickup system and we carry a variety of models for all professional performance needs.