We have retired from importing and distributing children's guitars. You should contact the Esteve workshop in Spain for other dealers. Their website is: www.guitarrasesteve.es
Whereas a requinto is a small guitar designed for an adult, a children's guitar is designed for the small hands and body of a child. Therefore, instead of a nut width of 52mm, as on a requinto, our children's guitars have a 48mm width--this means it is easier for the child to reach the notes on the fingerboard. Instead of a body depth of 100mm, our children's guitars have a body depth of 90 to 93mm--this means it is easier for the child to hold the guitar. Also, the overall guitar body sizes are smaller in proportion to each scale length--facts which allow the child to reach up the scale.
Fernandez Music imports and stocks 4 sizes of Esteve Children's Guitars: a 580mm scale (10 to 12 years old), a 530mm scale (7 to 9 years old); a 480mm scale model (4 to 7 years old), and a 400mm scale for (under 4 years of age).
Made In Spain
These Esteve guitars are excellent playing and sounding instruments. They are small classical guitars built in workshop in Spain. These guitars have nylon strings instead of steel strings. They each feature a solid (not plywood) western cedar face, rosewood fingerboard, laminated African Sapele (mahogany) back and sides. Each guitar is personally set-up by Ron Fernández who inspects, refiles, recrowns (if necessary) and polishes the frets for ease of playing; he installs a real bone saddle, adjusts the saddle height, and smooths the slots in the nut. See our photo essay on set-up and fret dressing on the first page of the Fernandez Music website or on YouTube under Fret Dressing.
(which retail for $195). We realize that most parents would like to find their child a good enough guitar costing about $60 to $150 guitar. I have looked to Mexico, China, Portugal, and Eastern Europe for such a guitar. I have found some that look good. But I have not found one which plays properly. Usually the fingerboards are not correctly made. More specifically, most do not have any neck relief which means that the guitars will always produce a slight buzz when the strings are plucked. And, none of them sound as good as the Esteve guitars.
The biggest discouragement for a child, after they have learned to play a little, is a guitar which is an obstacle to them. The typical situation is that neither the child nor the parent knows anything about guitars when they buy the first one. After the child has spent many hours on the guitar they begin to sense that it doesn't sound or play right. The problem is that the parent has not spent the time practicing on the guitar and they do not recognize the problem with the instrument. One nationally recognized teacher of children told me that the typical child guitar student goes through 3 instruments in their first year and a half. Typically, parents start with a real cheapo all-plywood guitar ($50) because they are not sure their child will continue. Then, after a few months they buy a moderately priced one ($150) and they think that that one will do, but soon they realize that the moderately priced one is little better that the cheapo--it really doesn't sound good and it buzzes too much. Finally, they realize that they should buy a good guitar which will encourage their child. Teachers tell me that those children with good guitars take pride in their guitar study and seem to progress better than those playing cheapo guitars. It is important to realize that one real problem with a cheap guitar is that they have no resale value. In contrast, a good guitar will hold its value and allow the parent to sell it when the child graduates to a full size guitar.Born in 1914, Alfonso Checa Plaza was a guitar maker from Baza, a town in the province of Granada, who opened his workshop in 1935. During his life he was a renowned maker, and had won a first prize medal for his guitars at the International Exposition in Madrid in 1953 as well as first prize later in an exposition in Ronda. He trained his sons Jose and Vicente Checa, Vicente Perez Checa, Antonio Ruiz, and Pedro Martínez Peñalver. Pedro Martinez Peñalver started with him as an apprentice in 1962, and took over his workshop after his death in 1977. As Baza is a small provincial town, Checa made guitars for other makers, notably for Gerundino Fernandez, Jose Ramirez, Luis Aróstegui, and Benito Ferrer.
Artesanas Cadete 3/4 Size Classical
Augustine Caro Riaño was active in Granada in the first quarter of the 19th century. He was a watchmaker by profession, but built guitars in his spare time.
Manuel de la Chica was a Granada maker who was born in 1911. Like many guitar makers, Manuel de la Chica began as a cabinet maker. He did this work until the late 1930s, when he decided to build guitars. Already familiar with tools, woods, and having studied a little about acoustics, without any apprenticeship, he began to copy the guitars of Santos Hernandez. In time, however, he began to evolve his own designs. He felt that if you understand how sound travels, then you can improve a guitar's volume and tone. His technique wasto study how sound waves travel through the guitar. He claimed that the secret to making a great guitar was to take maximum of the vibrations that begin at the bridge and stop at the height of the sound hole. Although he achieved fame as a guitar maker, as a luthier Manuel built not only classical and flamenco guitars, butbandurrias, laúdes, bandurrins, laudins, laudons and guitar basses. Among his disciples are Antonio Lopez of Paris, Francisco Manuel Diaz of Granada, and Pedro Maldonado of Malaga. Manuel de la Chica retired in 1973 due to poor health. He died in 1998. His instruments were played by Andrés Segovia, Celedonio Romero, Luis Sanchez, Manuel Cano and Sebastian Maroto.
José Contreras, nicknamed El Granadino, was born in Granada near the beginning of the eighteenth century. He appears to have done his apprenticeship in Italy building violins in the style of Guarneri. He also made guitars. Sometime around 1740 he moved to Madrid where he continued to work until his death in 1779.
Manuel Rodriguez Model Ff Classical (made In Spain, Late 90's/early 00's)
Antonio Duran was born in Granada in 1940. He began working when he was ten, first in an insurance office, then in a pasta factory, later as a wood worker. So it was that he started working in the Casa of Eduardo Ferrer, first as a maker of castanets, then as an apprentice learning the art ofguitar making. He eventually married one's of Eduardo Ferrer's daughters. In 1957, he suffered an unfortunate accident while working which cost him his right arm. In 1958, he opened his own workshop. For his classical guitars, he uses Ferrer's system. His flamenco guitars, however, are built with a very different system. He builds more classical than flamenco guitars, primarily because there is greater demand for the former. A number of guitar makers have worked under him, including Juan Lopez Aguilarte, Antonio Velazques Reinosa, and Rafael Moreno Aguilar. The latter two continued their apprenticeships under Eduardo Ferrer. Agustin Carmona and his son also work in Antonio Duran's shop. His son, Eduardo Duran Ferrer, has followed in his footsteps as a builder.
Benito Ferrer was born in 1845 in Orihuela, Alicante. Benito's father was from Granada, and was an road engineer who had spent some time in that province. Benito's father died when he was very young, and the family returned to Granada. He was in the third year of medical school, and engaged to be married, when the family fell on hard times. His mother died in a cholera epidemic that swept through Granada, and he was left not only as the sole provider for his younger siblings, but without any visible means of support, and without a profession. Things looked very bleak. He was forced to quit school, break off his engagement, and find work. He found work with a notary--but his wages were hardly sufficient to support himself, let alone his eight siblings. To earn extra cash, he played bandurria-- which was his great love; and, from time to time, he helped D. José Ortega build instruments. Without money to spend on a better bandurria, he decided to build a one for himself to play. It turned out so wellthathe was soon flooded with orders, and so began his profession. Benito opened his workshop in 1875. Inhis workshop a host of luthiers learned their art as his apprentices-- Nicolas Ortega, José Castaño, as well as his nephew Eduardo Ferrer. Although Benito Ferrer is perhaps best remember for giving Andrés Segovia a classical guitar at the difficult beginning of his career, seeing that the poor young lad hadn't the money to buy it, and was spending his days practicing on instruments lent to him by friends; however, he
Antonio Duran was born in Granada in 1940. He began working when he was ten, first in an insurance office, then in a pasta factory, later as a wood worker. So it was that he started working in the Casa of Eduardo Ferrer, first as a maker of castanets, then as an apprentice learning the art ofguitar making. He eventually married one's of Eduardo Ferrer's daughters. In 1957, he suffered an unfortunate accident while working which cost him his right arm. In 1958, he opened his own workshop. For his classical guitars, he uses Ferrer's system. His flamenco guitars, however, are built with a very different system. He builds more classical than flamenco guitars, primarily because there is greater demand for the former. A number of guitar makers have worked under him, including Juan Lopez Aguilarte, Antonio Velazques Reinosa, and Rafael Moreno Aguilar. The latter two continued their apprenticeships under Eduardo Ferrer. Agustin Carmona and his son also work in Antonio Duran's shop. His son, Eduardo Duran Ferrer, has followed in his footsteps as a builder.
Benito Ferrer was born in 1845 in Orihuela, Alicante. Benito's father was from Granada, and was an road engineer who had spent some time in that province. Benito's father died when he was very young, and the family returned to Granada. He was in the third year of medical school, and engaged to be married, when the family fell on hard times. His mother died in a cholera epidemic that swept through Granada, and he was left not only as the sole provider for his younger siblings, but without any visible means of support, and without a profession. Things looked very bleak. He was forced to quit school, break off his engagement, and find work. He found work with a notary--but his wages were hardly sufficient to support himself, let alone his eight siblings. To earn extra cash, he played bandurria-- which was his great love; and, from time to time, he helped D. José Ortega build instruments. Without money to spend on a better bandurria, he decided to build a one for himself to play. It turned out so wellthathe was soon flooded with orders, and so began his profession. Benito opened his workshop in 1875. Inhis workshop a host of luthiers learned their art as his apprentices-- Nicolas Ortega, José Castaño, as well as his nephew Eduardo Ferrer. Although Benito Ferrer is perhaps best remember for giving Andrés Segovia a classical guitar at the difficult beginning of his career, seeing that the poor young lad hadn't the money to buy it, and was spending his days practicing on instruments lent to him by friends; however, he
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