{"product_id":"alhambra-javier-mengual-2026-j-m-v-serie-nt-257","title":"Alhambra - 2026 José María Vilaplana NT-2 No. 263","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAbout the luthier\u003c\/h3\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eJosé María Vilaplana has been closely connected with Alhambra Guitars from the company’s earliest beginnings. As a young craftsman, he worked alongside his father in a small woodworking workshop in Muro de Alcoy, where the first experimental guitars were developed during the early 1960s. Together with Francisco Martínez Clavel and Ricardo Llorens, he helped establish the foundations of what became Manufacturas Alhambra in 1965.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eOver more than three decades, Vilaplana refined his understanding of the Spanish guitar through patient study of its historical development and construction principles. The work of Antonio de Torres became a central reference, not as a model to reproduce literally, but as the basis for a contemporary concert instrument rooted in the proportions, responsiveness and tonal balance of the traditional Spanish school.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eHis instruments represent the most individual level of Alhambra’s production, combining the continuity of handcraftsmanship with carefully developed structural ideas. The José María Vilaplana series reflects this long experience: guitars conceived for professional musicians who require projection, security and an immediate response without losing the colour and articulation associated with the Spanish tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout the guitar\u003c\/h3\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eThe José María Vilaplana Serie NT-2 is a traditionally constructed concert guitar inspired by the work of Antonio de Torres, but developed through a series of precise structural refinements. Its solid red cedar soundboard is supported by seven fan braces, two closing bars and an additional transverse harmonic bar across the lower bout. This evolved bracing concept allows greater control of the soundboard’s resonant modes while preserving the directness and flexibility of the traditional Spanish design.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eThe result is an instrument with an immediate yet composed response. Notes emerge readily under a light touch, but retain a natural sense of weight and definition. The sound has a distinctly Spanish character: firm and focused in the attack, with a lively core that projects forward rather than spreading indistinctly around the player.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eIts register balance is particularly convincing. The basses carry substance and warmth, while the trebles remain clear and articulate as the music moves into higher positions. Changes of register are even and continuous, allowing scales and melodic lines to pass across the fingerboard without abrupt shifts in colour or volume.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eFast passages benefit from the guitar’s quick release and controlled resonance. Individual notes remain separated even at greater speed, while chords retain a broad, full presence. This combination of responsiveness, projection and tonal order gives the NT-2 a secure concert character, capable of supporting both rhythmic precision and more sustained, colour-driven playing.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eThe visual identity is equally considered. The solid Indian rosewood body, French-polished cedar soundboard and distinctive decorative work at the rosette, bridge and headstock place the instrument clearly within Vilaplana’s personal interpretation of the Spanish concert guitar. Schaller Grand Tune Classic Hauser tuners complement the refined headstock design, while Sonata Royal Classics strings form part of the instrument’s supplied setup.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Siccas Guitars","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54259514573133,"sku":"KS17945","price":9490.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0765\/4011\/7325\/files\/alhambra-javier-mengual-2026-jmv-serie-nt257-12.jpg?v=1783601248","url":"https:\/\/www.siccasguitars.com\/products\/alhambra-javier-mengual-2026-j-m-v-serie-nt-257","provider":"Siccas Guitars","version":"1.0","type":"link"}