Tommy,
I'm not really a guitarron expert, so I don't really know about different tunings. It does not appear to have a truss rod, unless it's accessible from inside. I put a mirror and flashlight in there and couldn't see anything.
The instrument really has a handmade feel to it. Not like Clement handmade, but more like folk instrument handmade, which I guess is what it is, a Mexican folk instrument. I'm guessing there are no CNC machines down at Casa Cardiel. Since I was keeping this semi local, I assumed any prospective buyer would get a chance to see/feel/play it before buying so I didn't get very specific. I've gotten a little non local interest in it and may have a trade brewing, so I took some more photos. Honestly I haven't taken it out in years and kind of forgot about what it looked like.
It's very light--4.2lbs on my bathroom scale.
Here's what I sent in a pm to FranF:
Quote:
Here are some more photos:
http://s968.photobucket.com/albums/a...dog/guitarron/
Up to this point I wasn't planning on shipping so I assumed anyone buying would get an opportunity to check it out personally. Since you can't I took some more photos. I also forgot that it had a new set of strings in the pocket.
My wife got this for me new when she went to Mexico. I thought it would be neat for camping and such but we never did any of that. My church has a Hispanic ministry and I tried playing some with that.
If you're not familiar with a guitarron I want to point out it's not exactly like playing bass guitar. The neck is short and the action is high. I wondered if mine was built wrong when I got it. I looked at several others when I saw mariachi bands (we have a large Mexican population in our carpet mill town) and they all seem to be this way. The players use lots of open notes, but I've seen some that could walk all over it.
You can see a repair in the headstock. It came this way. It looks like the tuner screw split out when it was being installed. Other than that there are a few scratches I tried to photograph.
Just want to make sure you know exactly what you'd be getting. Let me know if you have questions.
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The repair isn't structural. The headstock has a top layer, and it's the layer that split.
I'm looking into shipping. The cost shouldn't be very high but I've got to find the right box.
As I was writing this I remembered I had a pdf of The Practical Method For The Guitarron. Here is the introduction (translated from Spanish):
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Practical Method For The Guitarron, Gonzalez (translation Clark) In order to study the GUITARRON it is not indispensable to have a strong constitution, be tall in stature, or possess super-developed hands. What is necessary is enthusiasm, dedication, a great deal of will power and, of course, a liking for the instrument. Many people think that the guitarron is easy to play, but this is not the case, as it presents problems like all other musical instruments. What is more, it has a unique characteristic: the strings are very high off the neck, making great strength necessary in the left hand to depress them. As a result, callouses form on the five fingers of the left hand and, in a similar manner, on the thumb, index, and middle fingers of the right hand which function to pull the strings in an upward motion, as I will subsequently explain. |
Oh, and Happy New Year!
