Overview: José Luis Romanillos Vega was born in Madrid in 1932. At thirteen he apprenticed with a Madrid cabinetmaking firm. In 1956 he moved to England where in 1961 he made his first Spanish guitar. In 1970 he set up a workshop as a guitar maker in the village of Semley, Wiltshire, encouraged by the great English guitarist Julian Bream who recorded and performed world wide on his 1973 Romanillos guitar.

José Romanillos' iconic guitars are revered both for their elegant sound and great physical beauty. In his lifelong pursuit of what he called the subtle "Spanish sound,” Romanillos strove to achieve a pure harmonically balanced deep singing instrumental voice, responsive to an artist's most subtle and bold changes in tone, color, and attack.

The excellent musical example offered here stands testament to this great master's enduring achievement.  

Materials: European spruce soundboard with haselfichte (bear claw) figure covering the entire top, dark brown/black Ind. sides and back, maple bindings, ebony fingerboard, cedar neck, "V" graft head to neck joint, signature Romanillos rosette inspired by the arches of the Mezquita mosque in Cordoba, French polish of shellac finish, Rodgers tuning machine heads with engraved brass Hauser style sideplates and oval bone buttons, 650mm string length, Visesnut Active Series case.