Salvador Castillo Flamenco Especial

This is a solid german spruce top, with spanish cypress back and sides. Not the usual local palo escrito. French polish finish; ebony fingerboard. Rosette around soundhole, large flamenco style pickguard.
The odour of this guitar is amazing - smells like the woods !
Made by Salvador Castillo, 2005, for a Flamenco guitarist in Guadalajara - he traded it in on a different model, and I purchased it used in 2006. A few fingernail scratches beyond the large pickguard, but that only adds character for me. Case included.

I am not a flamenco player, and was initially interested in a concert classical. For that matter, I am not a classical player - I do play fingerstyle folk and blues, and have always been looking for a nylon string to use.
When I picked up this guitar, I was stunned at both the responsiveness and evenness of the guitar. At low or high volume, light picking or flailing, no specific tone overrode another. The tone was phenomenally even and true.
The, when Sr. Castillo played it, I was sold - he brought out every nuance and dynamic possibilty this instrument had to offer. Whether I am ever able to duplicate this remains to be seen, however, I know its' potential. It has to be the loudest nylon string guitar I've ever heard ! I can hardly wait to see how it sounds with a few more years of playing.

The action is great - low and responsive - no fret buzz anywhere.
I personally love ebony fingerboards, so I am a bit partial. The balance is good - no heavy headstock or body.
No finish issues (glue, etc), french polish is even and glows. Not convinced the tuners are the highest quality, but they haven't been a problem so far. Gear ratio is good.
Headstock is moderately figured, two tone.

I will not use this guitar for live playing - it is primarily for my own enjoyment, and to be used for recording.
As mentioned, the tuners may or may not be the best, but I have yet to have slippage or other problems.
The finish is great - wipe with a soft cloth, and all is well.
As Mexico City is very dry most of the year, I humidify all my guitars, so humidity should not be an issue.

I am sure if I had any problems, Sr. Castillo would do whatever was necessary. During my purchase he was extremely helpful and willing to discuss anything about his construction processes.

I have been playing for around 30 years, and this is my first nylon string. As an alternate instrument to my steel string acoustics and electrics, it gives me another choice in recording and composing, and with its unique sound, always prompts new ideas.
As I am currently living in Mexico, it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to get a quality hand crafted instrument, from a master luthier, at a lower cost than a similar instrument would be in Canada. In fact, since this purchase, I have played several instruments costing upwards of 2 and 3 times as much, and they did not have the same spark, or life, that this guitar has. I would enthusiasticaly recommend Sr. Castillo's guitars to any serious player.

Made 2003 in Paracho, Mexico. Solid Sitka Spruce soundboard, stained dark, with very unique, dark and figured Palo Escrito back and sides, solid wood. It is smallish, compared to the other guitars mentioned herein, and very light. No electronics. Ebony fretboard, wooden peg tuning. Included lightweight hard case; functional.

This is a light, thin wooded, highly resonant, responsive, loud, raspy Flamenco guitar. My Spanish guitar instructor pooh-poohed it when I first bought it, and so I also bought a a $4000 Spanish made flamenco by Jose Luis Pedregosa...European spruce top with solid cypress back and sides, which is very nice sounding....but the longer I play them both the more I am coming to prefer the responsiveness of the Castillo. I was told that Salvador made this guitar from old Palo Escrito he had obtained from his father, and planned to keep this guitar for himself, but sold it to finance his house constructin. I don't know if that is true, but it is a particularly beautiful, dark and figured Palo Escrito, unlike any other I have seen. (I also own a Salvador Castillo classical....european spruce top and palo escrito back and sides, and a Traphagen classical, European spruce and Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, and a Ramirez R-3 classical, cedar top, laminated Indian rosewood back and sides).

THe action is low and very easy....buzzes when you want. The wood was unflawed and the construction was first rate all around. The only problem was with the wooden tuning pegs...I broke one and had to replace them all...with Lestor Devoe pegs.

I have been playng 2-3 hours daily for 6 plus years, and ony recently getting good enough to perform....just did my first wedding last month. I have put many hours on this guitar (I play my Traphagen even more), and afte replacing the tuning pegs I haven't had a single problem or noticed any wear. It seems very reliable.

I am not expecting any customer support, as Mr. Castillo is in Paracho, Mexico. If I have any problems with my guitars, I use a local luthier here in San Diego.

As I mentioned, this guitar compares very favorable to the $4000 Pedregosa I also own, which several professional players have told me is first rate. The two guitars have quite different sounds, with the Castillo being more responsive and earthy/raspy. It sounds good on all strings, high and low.