Vicente Camacho

[AlfonsLievens]

I bought recently a Vicente Camacho. It sounds great, heavenly! I am looking now desperately for information about the luthier. Is there someone who can tell me wher I can find information about Vicente Camacho? All I have found is the article published in vol.4 no.11 (July 1986) of Classical Guitar Magazine.

[Azalais]

I just tried a goole (keywords: Vincente Camacho guitar) search and found several interesting items...

[zoozoo]

Camacho was working in madrid in the mid 80's. I visited his workshop in 1985 while looking for a guitar - he certainly had beautiful instruments - in the end I opted for a Bernabe - whose workshop was within working distance.

[pogmoor]

Hi zoozoo, Welcome to the forum. I hope you find it a friendly place There are lots of resources here, so have a look around and feel free to join any of the discussions.

Please have a look at this welcome page to find out what you need to know about using the forum.

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[chlimson]

There is also a write up about Vicente in Pepe Vergara website, but you must keep clicking next on the special section till you reach the write up!

[rob1953]

I bought a 1990 Vicente Camacho in 1991. For long periods of time (months at a time) it was stored in it's case in an inbuilt cupboard at home. I have recently noticed that the top, instead of being flat, is now uneven and seems to be following the contours of the strutting underneath, from the soundhole down past the bridge to the base. Any ideas on what could have caused this?

[GeoffB]

Hi Rob, welcome to the forum. Could I invite you to introduce yourself here?

Geoff

[kechance]

Hi - sorry to hear about your Camacho suffering in this way. When you store a guitar for a prolonged period, you should 1) Keep it in a place that you know will maintain humidity from 40% - 70% and 2) lower the string tension. Of these two things, the humidity is the chief factor, but it is harder to control than the other.

All is not lost - bowing can actually strengthen a top making the sound crisper (sort of like corrugations in steel or cardboard, which are put in to strengthen flimsy flat pieces). But it can also diminish the smoothness with which the sound board transmits vibrations, shortening the sustain of notes. And if it is severe, face warpage is seen as a negative by the next buyer down the road.

I recommend that you get an electronic hygrometer (humidity gauge) with a memory so that you can see how your storage space's humidity varies over time. Obtain a means of humidifying the space, and if that is not possible, get a humidifying element for your case. If you do this you will need to keep it charged with water, like you would for a humidor for cigars. And also, be on the look-out for 'case rot', which can happen if humidity becomes excessive, although this usually only causes mustiness which dissipates when the case has been opened and the instrument is allowed to breathe.

[Pepe Vergara]

Camacho built his guitar with an X bracing (kind of the way Martins are, not the same, but close). Try tuning it and playing for a while to see if it works back to its original. I sold mine to a professional Japanese player about a year ago. Those guitars are wonderful and some are made for small hands.

[simonm]

I have recently noticed that the top, instead of being flat, is now uneven and seems to be following the contours of the strutting underneath, from the soundhole down past the bridge to the base.

This is not necessarily a problem. Obviously that depends on strong this effect is. On my lightest builds you can very easily feel all the struts/bracing when you run your fingers across the top. Tops are domed a little and part of the technique for doing this is to press the struts/bracing onto the top while it rests on a hollowed out solera. This can quite easily result in a pattern being visible especially if it is a lightly built guitar. If you are in doubt get a professional luthier to look at it. You could also post pictures here if you are really concerned.

[rob1953]

Thank you kechance and simonm for your kind responses re my Camacho. I think I will take it to a professional luthier to take a look at it.
Now all I need to do is find one in London.

Best wishes

Rob

[rounie]

Hi Rob 1953,

Best of luck....Stewart Mewburn in London comes to mind and UK has some teriffic luthiers...

[rob1953]

Thanks for the info rounie. I've just looked at Stewart's website and it looks really good. If my Camacho is in need of repair I just wonder if he would do it. There appears to be no mention of him doing repairs on his website, but maybe there's no harm in asking him.

Kind regards

Rob

[hyz]

Camacho built his guitar with an X bracing (kind of the way Martins are, not the same, but close). Try tuning it and playing for a while to see if it works back to its original. I sold mine to a professional Japanese player about a year ago. Those guitars are wonderful and some are made for small hands.

Is that the same X bracing like the Bernabe's Royal and Imperial?

I feel Camacho is a great luthier from Spain who has been under-rated. He should deserve a better spot on the market.

hyz