# NGD Luis Sevillano Flamenco Guitar



## albert (Apr 15, 2009)

My 2004 Luis Sevillano Flamenco guitar arrived today! I was worried that Customs would seize it for having Cypress b/s but they decided to release it after 9 days. 

Upon opening the box it came in I found a few assorted styrofoam pieces and some balled up sheets of plastic supporting the guitar case. Not a lot of protection but the case did seem wedged in alright. Upon removing the case from the box I noticed that the case was slightly open at the head stock end with the hinge separated. So much for letting the guitar slowly warming up. I am not sure if this happened in shipping or if the customs people didn't close it right.

So took out the guitar and all seemed alright, the guitar looked very nice with no dings or marks. So I let the guitar sit for a half hour in the guitar rack and then I look more closely. Directly on the guitar looks very nice but at an angle of about 60 degrees I see spider web cracks in the finish. Not very deep but it is annoying to see in an otherwise perfect guitar.

I bring the rusty old strings up to tune to see how the guitar sounds and I am pleasantly surprised by a clear tone with a lot of projection from such a small bodied guitar. The bass is not as deep as from my other classical guitars but it is punchy and in balance with the trebles. And the action is super low but no buzzing. I don't know how the strings can be so low and yet not buzz, it is amazing. The guitar is also super easy to play, I really like this guitar.

Since it sounds so nice I will not be returning this guitar. It still looks nice unless you look close at a sharp angle so I guess I can live with that. Perhaps if I get ambitious someday I can try stripping the nitro finish and put on a French polish one.

Here are a few pics of my new baby.


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## Lord-Humongous (Jun 5, 2014)

Gorgeous! Congrats on the NGD!


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Glad to see it finally arrived.That is a very nice looking Flamenco guitar. Enjoy!


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## StratCat (Dec 30, 2013)

Cracks in the finish??

Sounds like something electric players pay a premium for. Road worn, relic, whatever!

Nice looking guitar, can you provide more details about it? 

And of course, enjoy!


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## albert (Apr 15, 2009)

The cracks look like a spider web in the finish. It isn't very deep and you need to look at an angle in bright light to see them but it's there. A rapid change in temperature probably caused it, either in transit to me or earlier with the previous owner. I didn't see this in his photos but they weren't the best in the ad. I like the sound of the guitar and it is super easy to play with the low action. I will be keeping the guitar regardless of it's cosmetic imperfection.

The back and sides are Cypress which is on the cites list appendix 1. I was scared it might get confiscated but it made it through alright. The top is spruce, the fingerboard and bridge are ebony. The neck is mahogany (I think).


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## albert (Apr 15, 2009)

Upon looking at the guitar again today the checking isn't as bad as it looks in the above picture. You have to look with a bright light at a distance of withing 1 foot to see it so I guess I can live with it. The guitar looks like new otherwise. If it gets worse I may strip it and give it a french polish finish.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Congrats! 

Certainly a beautiful looking guitar. 

The rosette (is that the correct term?) is so intricate and detailed...









ENJOY!


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## albert (Apr 15, 2009)

Yes, it is a nice rosette. It must be difficult to work with such small pieces.

I noticed yesterday that when I rub the guitar with the polishing cloth the checking goes away. Perhaps the surface is warmed by friction and closed the very fine cracks. They seemed to come back over time but not as bad. Then I thought about using lemon oil as it worked well on scratches on furniture.

So tried a bit on the polishing cloth and the checking is no longer visible. I checked next day and she is still clear. Time will tell if this is a permanent fix but she is looking good for now!

Here are a couple of pics. You can see the size of the body compared to the two classical guitars it is between.


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

Please stop putting lemon oil on the guitar if you ever need to do any body gluing it can seriously interfere with it, look checking ios just partr of an older guitar flamenco or classical doesn't matter. Just play it love it and enjoy it, that's all that matters. ship


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## Guyfrets (Aug 20, 2012)

Ship of fools said:


> Please stop putting lemon oil on the guitar if you ever need to do any body gluing it can seriously interfere with it, look checking ios just partr of an older guitar flamenco or classical doesn't matter. Just play it love it and enjoy it, that's all that matters. ship


Let me second the sentiment expressed above. Furniture polish is a very bad idea. Your new guitar looks fine and, more importantly, will sound a lot better if you keep it properly humidified and pass on the lemon oil or treating it with any other foreign substance.

BTW - Congratulations on what looks like a wonderful acquisition.


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## albert (Apr 15, 2009)

The amount I put on was very little and is a one time application. I think people are over reacting a bit. And thanks for the compliments, it is a nice guitar.


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

I wonder did you buy the guitar to play or maybe you just like collecting ( nothing wrong with that ) and no we are not overreacting I have well over 50 years musically playing and know many builders and they will all tell you that any amount of furniture lemon oil is bad for guitars take a drop of oil and put it on a piece of wood and in 2 weeks let me know how much that oil has traveled very little can go a very long way.
Checking on a guitar to me just shows me that it might have been loved and thats that


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## albert (Apr 15, 2009)

I guess I bought the guitar for both reasons. I wanted to try playing flamenco on a guitar more suited for it and not risk scratching up my classical guitars. Especially my Bernabe with the French polish finish which seems to mark so easily. I also like the look of my new guitar so I am also a collector.

I meant no disrespect in my comment about over reacting. I am sure that on bare wood oil is not a good idea. I have not required any work on any of my guitars so maybe I got lucky. But I do like the look of my guitar without the extensive checking. It looks like new now. 

A guitar to me is not just a musical instrument, it is also a work of art.


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

Never thought you were being disrespectful towards us I guess because I have looked at my guitars ( several hundred over all these years ) as part of my work for so long I never get that some people always look at it as a piece of art also and yes you have gotten lucky that you have never had the binding come up or top separation.Well enjoy it and play the hell out of her.


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## Guyfrets (Aug 20, 2012)

I'm prepared to concede an over-reaction re: furniture polish applied to a guitar. And I felt no disrespect about being accused of over reacting. We are, after all, guitarists sharing our passion for the most truly poetic (not to mention most popular) of all instruments.
That said, the next time I see or hear of someone applying furniture polish to their guitar I'll likely over-react again. If those applying the polish listen closely they might even hear their guitar intone in a panicky falsetto, "No....no...., Mr. Hands, please don't polish me!".

Hope you're enjoying your new Luis Sevillano.


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## albert (Apr 15, 2009)

It appears that the finish checking is returning, probably as the oil evaporates. So using lemon oil has not resulted in a long term repair. I guess I won't be using it again in the future, just a dry and clean cloth. 

I did not notice a change in the tone with the few drops of lemon oil that I had used but the guitar needed new strings which I have replaced last night. The old ones were kind of dead and tarnished looking (black in places). Oh well, she still looks nice and should play better now with fresh strings. 

Thanks for the advice guys, there are many with more experience than I have and it is good to learn from others.


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