Juan Orozco Classical Guitar - Model 60 1983 – Near Pristine - with case

Description

This listing is for a 1983 Juan Orozco model 60 classical guitar in near-pristine condition, commissioned and signed by Juan Orozco. It was handmade in Japan and is offered for sale by Clint Goss and Vera Shanov. This description was written by Clint …
I purchased this guitar in person at Juan Orozco’s shop in New York City in 1984. I played many of the guitars he had on offer and was drawn to this instrument for its substantial volume, to the rich bass timbre, and balanced treble.
I took classical lessons for about a year (while completing my Ph.D. at NYU), but then moved on to other instruments (we now lead workshops for musicians, primarily in the Native American flute).
This guitar and case are in near-pristine condition and has been in my possession throughout its life and has been stored in its case in a well-controlled environment
.
Juan Orozco III (April 14, 1937 – February 15, 2020) was a Spanish-born luthier and guitar impresario. He lived in New York from 1965 to 1995, where he had his famous guitar shop in the vicinity of Carnegie Hall. Juan was also known as the maker of Aranjuez guitar strings and guitar cases. He also organized many guitar concerts and built personal relationships with many other luthiers.
Orozco used these relationships to expand his business. He had his high-end guitars crafted to his specifications by the best Japan-based luthiers. These included individual luthiers Hiroshi Tamura, Ryoji Matsuoka, and Kazuo Yari and the renown workshops Takamine Gakki and Hoshino Gakki. It is unclear who the specific maker of this instrument was, but
I believe that Hoshino Gakki, in close cooperation with the premier luthier Masaru Kohono, crafted this fine instrument to Juan Orozco’s specifications
.
I am delighted to offer this fine instrument and hope that it will find a home where it gets the playing that it deserves. I believe that if you are familiar with the sound of a truly well-made guitar, you will treasure this instrument.
Based on the assessment of the wood experts at my local Woodworker’s shop, the soundboard top is constructed of solid, tight-grain
Spruce
, the back and sides are
Bolivian Rosewood
, the neck is
Mahogany
(with a Rosewood overlay on the front of the headstock), and the fingerboard is
Ebony
. Some Internet sources indicate that the back side of Orozco model 60 guitars were made with non-solid
Brazilian Rosewood
.
I measured the thickness of the top soundboard at the sound hole as 4.0mm (= 0.157” = 5/32” … see
https://esomogyi.com/articles/specific-top-thickness-in-the-guitar/
for an extensive discourse on soundboard thickness). It is standard scale, 650mm. The action is set at 2.79mm under E6 and 2.41mm under E1. The nut width is 51.1mm. String width E1 – E6 is 42.8mm at the nut and 59.0 at the saddle. There are NO structural issues, cracks, or significant scratches. There is one small ding on the left side of the rear upper bout which can be seen in image #7. The strings will need to be refreshed.
Since I do not personally have the playing skills to demonstrate the beautiful sound of this instrument, I have put together a sound sample for this instrument in a rather unusual method. I sampled (recorded) the sound of dozens of notes on the instrument and developed a Sound Library or “virtual instrument” in Kontakt by Native Instruments. I then played a MIDI file of the prelude
Asturias – Leyenda
by Isaac Albéniz (Op. 47 – courtesy of Free-Scores.com) through the virtual instrument.
Although this sound sample is rather mechanical sounding (because it comes from a scored MIDI file) and has issues with truncated notes, it
uses the actual sound of this guitar
. I believe this YouTube recording is valuable to hear the sound of this instrument:
https://youtu.be/MvJ62ZFgKcY
(tech details on the recording: single-velocity sound samples were recorded at close range on a single Neumann TLM-103 on a Sound Devices 788T. The sound file was rendered in Kontakt 6 and Cantabile 3 using a modest amount of convolution reverb of a medium concert hall to restore an ambient concert space).
Despite the issues in this method of producing a recording, you can hear that this guitar produces an authentic Spanish tonality and significant volume. The treble clarity (likely because of the Spruce top) and rich overtones in the bass combine with well-separated notes and transparent chords.
The original case (also near-pristine condition) is included, as well as the original Juan Orozco felt cloth (with an image if Juan’s New York City storefront), moisture wand, Aranjeuz tuning peg “twirler”, and SN-10 Sp. Guitar pitch-pipe tuner.
I have set the value of this instrument based on a number of considerations:
·
Model numbers of Japanese guitars during this period were linked to their prices in Japanese Yen. Model 60 was designed to retail at 600,000 Yen
in the year it was made
. Inflation of Yen between 1983 and 2021 is 24.88%, which translates the price to 749,280 Yen,
or ,785 US dollars
at 110.43 JPY to 1 USD as of 6/22/2021).
·
Present-day luthiers constructing solid wood classical guitars using wood that has been aged 38 years
charge a minimum of ,000
.
·
The tonal properties and response of Spruce soundboards improve over time.
Long-seasoned Spruce
soundboards are far more precious that Cedar or other woods.
·
Vintage guitars constructed of
straight-grain Brazilian Rosewood
are especially precious.
·
Brand new, Spanish-made guitars of this grade are
priced at ,000 and above
.
Feel free to write with an offer that is
*reasonable*
and I will respond. I cannot provide free shipping, but we will ship this instrument promptly.
Please check the high-resolution photos I have provided carefully – I believe that they authentically represent the condition of this instrument. As we are an individual seller (rather than a dealer or a store), we cannot accept return requests based on “changing your mind about the item”.
P.S. in addition to the photos of the guitar provided, I have come across these photos of Juan Orozco in his workshop and a photo dated April 1979 with Juan and his wife Renee at a reception for Andres Segovia. See the YouTube Video at:
https://youtu.be/MvJ62ZFgKcY
Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.