Chartwell Guitar

2000 Ignacio Rozas 1a

Woods: straight grained CSA rosewood and western red cedar. Spanish cedar neck. French polish shellac throughout

Miscellany: 650mm scale, 52mm nut, 43mm string spacing at nut, 58mm at saddle. TKL type case.

Condition: this guitar has just come back from a luthier’s shop where a number of procedures have rendered this guitar as new. A dent in the upper top bout and a crack in the lower back bout have been dealt with prior to refinishing the guitar. A heavy lacquer had been applied when originally built and it was evident the natural resonance of this instrument was muffled by it. With a light application of shellac, the guitar is breathing and has gained a remarkable amount of power. Other than the filled top dent, evident in the photos, the cosmetic condition is mint. The Brazilian is dark and straight grained; the cedar is incredibly dense.

Comment:  The voice of this Madrid built instrument harkens back to the Ramirez shop glory days, of which Ignacio Rozas played a significant part. He is now retired but his solidly built guitars will be with us for some time to come. This guitar has many good years of music ahead and the appearance has been returned to its original beauty.