Menu
A series of unique pieces. Each one is a one-of-a-kind unique instrument that will never be exactly copied. Elements of these designs may act as prototype inspirations for new construction lines that might be developed in future. Priced at €48,400 (tax included)
Guidance photos. Do not correspond to final product.
Since my childhood, I had an interest in literature. Prose, and especially verse, have accompanied me through all stages of my life; from that childhood at the Pias de San Antón School, where I captained and urged a team of classmates to write a short daily story, until “Anhelo” (“Yearning”), the first of the Poem Guitars, emerged in 2009.
The first activity was decapitated and dissolved when I was summoned to the rector’s office due to complaints from the parents of my classmates. In their defence, they claimed they were not completing their daily homework because they had to present me with their stories the next morning.
The second activity is enshrined in guitar verses that have now reached number 58 displayed on the label of a Mariano Conde Poem Guitar, following a gradual and steady upward trickle in the sequential numbers identifying these unique pieces. The verse for “Anhelo”, the name of guitar number 1 of the special Poem Guitar series, had been kept in a drawer for ten years before it was captured and displayed one day on a Mariano Conde guitar.
Light and shadow led me to the same thing: looking for one I found the other.
It is not worse to dwell in the past
but rather to see a hope broken.
Poem Guitar No.1 : “Anhelo” (“Yearning”)
I position the Poem Guitars at the vertex of an imaginary rhombus, as I explain in the verse titled “Rombo” (“Rhombus”), guitar number 56 in the series. They lie the apex and the crucible of good guitars where there is no distinction between flamenco and concert classical guitars, where pop, jazz, and Brazilian rhythms, among other musical currents, inhabit a sonorous space.
The reason for this lies in their seductive feel, the quality and quantity of their sound, and their insistent harmonics that make them the greatest exponents of “half-moon” guitars.
The key to all the above lies in their construction. It is the product of exhaustive craftsmanship in which each guitar has its own personality, which emerges in the construction process. Each is treated individually, taking into account the flexibility or rigidity of the woods that form it, some woods centuries old. I will omit further descriptions of these subtle and carefully guarded combination choices and construction parameters for obvious reasons.
We perform tests and checks, and we fine-tune each guitar with extremely finessed craftsmanship that can delay its construction for months. Each guitar is a one-of-a-kind unique instrument that will never be exactly copied and may become the prototype inspiration for a new construction line that can be developed, archived, or blended with other existing models.
Wood speaks, and listening to it and understanding what it says is the goal. There are no better or worse woods. Wood is present and waiting. And the more years you wait the better. In an artisan handmade guitar, waiting and patience are two more key components.
In addition to spruce, cypress and rosewood, there are a multitude of tone-wood species, and it is an exciting challenge to incorporate them into the construction of a guitar.
Every kind of wood I carry.
Beginning of a new era!
Rooted in the “half moon”
the “full moon” was born!
Poem Guitar No.33 : “De Todo” (“Everything”)
“Everything”, Poem Guitar number 33, is a clear example of the above. It was not named in vain since it was made from eleven different woods.
Furthermore, with this guitar began a metamorphosis of the “half-moon”, an evolution so far used in fourteen of the Poem Guitars. Emerging from the traditional “half-moon” headstock sprouts an icon, a small sculpture sometimes related to the name of the instrument. These are so-called “Full-Moon Poem Guitars”. To date, three of these “Full-Moon” guitars have a removable sculpture, allowing it to be positioned at the base of the “half-moon” or remain in its purpose-built box. With Poem Guitars, I permit myself to enjoy, break moulds, comprehend myself through the various woods, and appreciate that the old is at the service of the new and not the other way around. But to create something new, you must have first digested the old, the tradition, the craft…you need a base, foundations, and archives where you can consult and return as many times as necessary until, due to the heights of the new building of sound being constructed, the distance lets evolution surge by itself into the bosom of that harmonious tangle.
Elevating the height of that building is a question of time; time that irretrievably passes and leaves us with the sensation of having left countless things undone. Fortunately, the Mariano Conde name will continue with someone who has been a reality for many years: my son and pupil, Mariano Rodrigo. The guarantor, bearer, and connoisseur of what is expressed here.
I always bear in mind what I learned from my father, Mariano, in the workshop at 7 Gravina Street in Madrid. I always recall his commentary and lessons, his patience and skilled work. His desire to make the guitar sound bigger and better. In fact, guitar number 38, “Unica” (“Unique”), incorporates inside it an original creation of my father, who, in those years, was a visionary of future guitar designs now known as ‘double top’ and ‘chambered’.
Today, I go further. Out of honour and as a tribute to my teacher comes “Hongsa”, numbered 58 and the latest of the Poem Guitars to date.
Such an age-old design was not
the work of just any fellow… nor the
largest, nor the smallest… it was
the inventiveness from the genius
from my father and my lord!
Poem Guitar No. 38 : “Unica” (“Unique”)
Guitar numbered 19, named “Colores” (“Colours”) was the first of the Poem Guitars to have the initials “MC” inscribed on the top. From that point on, they all did. At first, they were written with an indelible marker pen, and later, they were branded into the wood. The verse of guitar number 26, named “Iniciales” (“Initials”) is an explanation for MC.
Guitars numbered 1, “Anhelo” (“Yearning”) through to 18, “Andalucia”, do not carry the MC initials except for a few that were subsequently inscribed, for various reasons. That was the case with numbers 9, “Rocio”, and 15, “Triangulo” (“Triangle”).
As for the themes of the verses, I can say they are extremely varied. There are flamenco-inspired sentences, brief biographies and descriptions, plus romantic and eschatological overtones. Poem Guitars are in the hands of professional and amateur guitarists, usually owning one or two instruments and up to four in the case of collectors. The owners reside in many parts of the world, including Spain, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Holland, France, Nicaragua, and Thailand.
Among the professionals, we can highlight the following owners: Amós Lora, Jesús Guerrero, Ed Sheeran, Raimundo Amador, Joni Jiménez and Antonio Sánchez, among others.
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Materiales
Contact
C. de la Amnistía, 1, 28013 Madrid
Monday – Friday: 9 am – 2 pm, 5 pm – 7 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 14 pm
915 218 155
Info@marianoconde.com
© 2024 Guitarreria Mariano Conde
