José Luis Romanillos - 2003 No. 810 “La Lluvia”
José Luis Romanillos - 2003 No. 810 “La Lluvia”
Overview
Overview
About the luthier
José Luis Romanillos Vega was born in Madrid in 1932, where he started his cabinet-making apprenticeship at the age of thirteen. In 1956, he moved to England to work in a hospital in Epsom and a few months later in a hospital in London. Five years later, José Luis Romanillos, made his first Spanish guitar in London.
Encouraged by the English guitarist Julian Bream in 1970, J. L. Romanillos set up a guitar-making workshop in the village of Semley, Wiltshire. Romanillos’ guitars have received recognition for their sound quality as well as for their aesthetical appearance from guitarists worldwide. Pure sound and harmonic balance of the strings are what Romanillos looked for and achieved in his quest of the subtle “Spanish sound”. The Daily Mail has called him “the Stradivari of the guitar” and the Italian magazine Sei Corde “the most important living stringed instrument maker”.
J. L. Romanillos has given courses on Spanish guitar making in numerous countries as well as lectures and seminars about the organology of the instrument. He has also given lectures on the history and development of the vihuela de mano and the Spanish guitar. In addition, he was a member of the Crafts Council of Great Britain for ten years. Since 1995 he was living in Guijosa, a rural district annexed to Sigüenza in the northern part of the province of Guadalajara in Spain. In collaboration with his wife Marian, he published a dictionary of stringed-instrument makers and guitar-makers of Spain titled “The Vihuela de Mano and the Spanish Guitar” in 2002.
About the guitar
This beautiful guitar from 2003 is a fine example of José L. Romanillos’s craftsmanship and can even be considered one of his finest works. Named “La Lluvia” (“The Rain”), this instrument bears the number 810 and features rich decorative detailing. One particularly notable element is its exceptionally low main body resonance, between E and F — a rare characteristic among Romanillos guitars — which contributes to its distinct charm and tonal personality. The back is relatively lightweight and produces a bright, ringing tap tone, indicating high-frequency responsiveness. The trebles are remarkably consistent, with excellent sustain, a difficult achievement for any luthier — especially when paired with such deep and resonant basses. This 2003 Romanillos guitar was built by José Romanillos himself. It is a rare and historically significant instrument, bearing two of José Romanillos’s own signatures under the soundboard, confirming his personal authorship.
Condition
This 2003 Romanillos guitar is in excellent condition, showing only minimal superficial playing wear. It has a very thin, well-repaired crack on the lower bout bass side, near where the player rests their right hand. This is purely an aesthetic issue and has no influence on the sound of the guitar whatsoever. There are no structural issues.
| Luthier: | José Luis Romanillos |
| Construction year: | 2003 |
| Construction type: | Traditional |
| Top: | Spruce |
| Back and sides: | Indian rosewood |
| Finish: | French polish |
| Air body frequency: | E / F |
| Scale: | 650 mm |
| Nut: | 51.5 mm |
| Weight: | 1470 grams |
| Tuners: | Rodgers |
| Strings: | Knobloch - EDC 34.0 |
| Condition: | Excellent |
| Case: | Hiscox Pro II “Siccas Edition” |
Details about GPSR:
Classical Guitar
José Luis Romanillos
Siccas Guitars GmbH, Roonstr. 31, 76137 Karlsruhe, Germany, www.siccasguitars.com, info@siccasguitars.com
Note: For antique guitars, the GPSR does not apply.
Video overview
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Classical Guitar
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