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[Robert Brochey]

Hello and it's a real pleasure to find so many people interested in these beautiful instruments! I have been restoring and building guitars for awhile now and am currently building the 1816 Jose Martinez  Salon guitar (thanks Scot for the great plans!) and should be finished with it in a few weeks now. It is being built with walnut back and sides, Douglas fir top, cedar neck and ebony fretboard, bridge and headplate. The rosette is made from walnut slices, tourquoise buttons and black mastic. An experimental design... so I'm devating a little from the plans but not much. My next instrument will be either a Lacote or La Prevotte inspired design. There are certainly some beautiful guitars in here! It's nice to see so many instruments being restored and built. Here are a couple photos of the Martinez I'm building.

Robert

[Mark Day]

Very nice work, Robert. I need to build another instrument from these plans...Now should I build it as a guitar, or....

"I'm thinking I'll have to make myself one of those...if I can find the plans..."

Scott, you can just buy a set from GAL ; )

[Robert Brochey]

Thank you very much Mark! I can tell you this, follow the plans and build the guitar! You won't be disappointed. I'm already starting the next one! I'd give you my plans Scot but they're covered with coffee cup rings... from all the late nights!

[Scot Tremblay]

Thanks for the offer guys...I found the original, right where I left them and I was looking everywhere else, go figure!

 

I picked up some "killer" quilted maple last fall that would be just the ticket. Once (and if) I get caught up on all my shop obligations. Better yet maybe I could commission one from you guys...nothing like a communal effort :)

[Robert Brochey]

Well Scot,  I tacked my plans above one of my work benches to remind myself I need to get started on the next one! The communal effort sounds like a good plan! This guitar would be especially beautiful with quilted maple... I am, however, having a tough time finding an appropriate case for it. Any thoughts in that regard would be most appreciated!

 

Robert

[Scot Tremblay]

It's been so long since I made one of those....I seem to remember it fit in either the bass uke case or one for the Mexican vihuela (or another of those crazy guitar like beauties the Mariachis play). I'd go to Sante Fe or Albuquerque (closer I guess) and take the guitar along to one of the stores that carry Marichai musical instruments and see if something fits. You could always order a custom one from Kingham but they are pretty pricy. Very nice cases though!

Isn't there a store called The Mariachi Connection or something like that...? Last I was there was for the 2003 Balloon Festival so that was a while back and my memory is getting rusty...besides I think I got radiation poisioning, right after those grey/green guys from Roswell abducted me and dropped me off in Almogordo...I'm getting homesick and I don't even live there.

[Robert Brochey]

Great advice, thanks!! I'll look up the Mariachi store... Albuquerque is closer but is still 130 miles away! We live between Grants and Gallup in the Zuni Mountains near Bluewater Lake. I know what you mean about the radiation poisoning and the grey/green aliens from Roswell. I haven't seen any of the aliens for awhile but that's not to say they won't drop by to try out the Martinez! The local paper got in touch with me about what I'm building here and are coming out next week to do a photo shoot and visit my shop. They want to do an article about the Martinez especially. Probably helps that I'm calling it the "El Morro"... I'll also let them know where they can buy the plans!

 

Thanks again for the tip on cases!!!

[Robert Brochey]

This reminds me... if you or anyone else knows more about Jose Martinez and his guitars I would really appreciate that information. I haven't been able to uncover much but I could be looking in the wrong place... also I'll be adding a sound clip as soon as I can get around to it, probably something simple like "Mrs. Winter's Jump", which I really like.

[Robert Brochey]

If anyone may be interested there's a 1900 classical guitar from the Obrecht Vienna School on craigslist in Albuquerque New Mexico for $900.00 Looks nice. Go to graigslist Albuquerque, musical instruments then search for classical. Just thought I'd pass that along.

[Scot Tremblay]

I don't know much. I first was exposed to his guitars at a luthiers show at Cordoba, Spain in the summer of 1989. The show was highlighting the work of makers from Malaga and covering from about 1790 to the present day (1989). Jose Martinez had two instruments in the show. A six course from ca. 179? and the little one from 1816 that I was able to examing for a brief moment along with a few students of the guitar making class. It was an interesting show with thirty some instruments from makers including Antonio de Lorca Garcia, Antonio de Lorca Pino, Eladio Molina up to modern makers like Pedro Guerrero and Alex Van der Horst (who, sadly,  we lost a few years back).

 

At the time (things may be different now with all the scholarship going on) about all the information available on Martinez was that he was born in Malaga around 1772, took his guitar builders exam (or passed, I'm not sure) around December 1808. His guitar is spotlighted in a work "Escenas Andaluzas" by Serafin Estebanez Calderon...

 

“Este personaje (el Planeta) tan autorizado por su vestido lleno de majeza, cuanto por cierta deferencia que todos le tributaban, traia debajo del brazo con aire gentil y desembarazado, una rica vihuela que no era natural de Malaga e hija legitima de las primoroses e inteligentes manos del famoso y antiguo artifice martinez. Tal guitarra era ancha en el fundamento, delineada a maravilla en el corte, el mastil llamandos atras con graciosidad gentil, el puentezuelo de ebano, asi como los trastes, las clavijas con ojete eran de granadillo y el clavijero de marfil de donde colgaban en cintas blancas y rojas el mono o fijador. El instrumento era, pues, de toda orquestra, es decir, de seis ordenes, y el coraje de lo mas fino con bordones sonoros o de argenteria."

 

He is mentioned by Fernando Sor a couple times in his "Methode pour la guitare" and it appears that Sor considers him in the same category (or maybe better since he's mentioned first) as Lacote as he says (my rough translation from the Spanish...) "I think, if I needed an instument, I would have a D. Josef Martinez of Malaga or a Sr. Lacote, French luthier..."

 

I don't think there are many of his instruments around. Other than the two at the show in Cordoba I've only heard mention of a few others.

 

Luthier Felix Manzanero has one in his private collection:

 

And I think the Museum of Music History in Copenhagen has one. Maybe if we have a Danish friend on EV&G they could run over and look for us...;)

 

And I've seen in an old Sotherby's catalog the mention of a Jose Martinez from the early 1800's up for auction. I have no idea where that one might be.

 

From the two I saw he did appear to be a superb craftsman so I would think he must have been an important figure in the development of the Malaga school as well as the Spanish school of guitar building.

 

That's the extent of my knowledge and I'm not sure how accurate it is. Maybe someone else can correct my errors and fill in the blanks.

[Robert Brochey]

Thanks for the history lesson Scot! The early guitar makers are so interesting... so talented with hand tools. I built the Martinez with only the occasional use of a band saw... but mostly hand tools to see what it was like, and explains why it took me so long! Is there an annual get together with builders and players of early guitars in the US that you know of? Maybe I could put something together here in New Mexico if anyone would be interested... it could be around here an be at one of the campgrounds nearby. We could invite a few of the aliens that abducted you from Roswell! Seriously, I think it would be great fun. Thanks again for the information on Jose. What a lovely little instrument.

[Mark Day]

Here is the case I am using for my vihuela built on Scot's plan:

http://elderly.com/accessories/items/GCEV-PARLOR.htm

It's a well-made case for a reasonable price. Built in Canada, just like Scot ; )

It's made for a parlor. It's a little larger than the Jose Martinez guitar, but I pad it out at the bottom with a small foam pad. I paid around $80 for it 2 years ago. It looks like it's going for $99 at the moment. Still cheaper than Kingham, I'm sure and Elderly often runs sales.

[Robert Brochey]

Thanks Mark! That looks like it would work!