Hernandez y Aguado - 1973

The two friends Santiago Diaz Martinez, better known as Manuel Hernandez, and Victoriano Aguado Rodriguez got to know each other while working together in a piano factory. After the factory closed, they founded their own company that initially focused on the restoration of furniture and pianos. They built their two first guitars privately between 1945 and 1948, which were also played and examined by Regio Sainz de la Maza. This was a very encouraging experience and the two friends decided to keep on building guitars. In 1948 Modesto Borreguero, who had worked in the workshop of the famous luthier Manuel Ramirez, joined Manuel Hernandez and Victoriano Aguado Rodriguez, and they started to increasingly focus on the making of guitars – with huge success. Famous artists, such as John Williams, Julian Bream, and Atahualpa Yupanqui played „HyA“guitars. With a total production of only 356 guitars, Hernandez y Aguado instruments are among the rarest and most sought-after guitars made in the twentieth century.

This guitar is a really interesting instrument from the very last years of activity of the "Hernandez y Aguado" workshop. At this time, Victoriano Aguado, who was mainly in charge of the varnishing of the guitars and the crafting of the necks, was retired, and Manuel Hernandez recruited skilled luthiers to support him in building the guitars. The hands who made this fascinating 1973 instrument are those of Maestro Manuel Hernandez and Japanese luthier Hideyuki Ezaki, Yamaha's "Master guitar builder" at the time, who led a brilliant career as a guitar maker. This Hernandez y Aguado guitar shows all signs of the great HyA concert guitars in building quality, aesthetics, and sound. It is hand-signed by Manuel Hernandez on the label and by both H. Ezaki and M. Hernandez inside the soundboard. There, the building year also appears. The head is hand-carved, as usual for HyA's guitars, and has a distinct design making it unique. Most of the time, Victoriano was the one making the head plate design, even after he retired, as is the case for Jesus Belezar's guitars. Moreover, its condition is stunning, with only an unnoticeable hairline crack at the fingerboard-soundboard junction and superficial playing marks.

Every guitar from Hernandez y Aguado has this indescribable touch and fascinating quality in it. This guitar has a long sustain and is very rich in overtones. What strikes the player most, however, is the tonal detail. The notes are very precisely defined in all registers and respond very quickly. Perfect for the highly virtuosic pieces that demand exactly this quality from a guitar, it also unfolds in carried pieces and totally captivates the audience with its warm and powerful tone.