OUR VALUED US CUSTOMER, please keep in mind that there is a 15% tariff on EU and Japan made goods. It will be charged on the purchase amount by the UPS on behalf of the US Customs, plus the brokerage fee of about $30.
An ultra rare find that looks stunning and sound absolutely incredible. We find it especially suitable for playing baroque and classical music. Top quality select tone woods have been used to build it. The craftsmanship is remarkable and overall condition is very good despite the age of almost 50 years.
A hand-built classical guitar by the German master luthier Adolf Meinel, made in Markneukirchen in Saxony and dated 1978. The label is individually numbered and signed by hand in ink, and carries the gilt "Made in GDR" export seal. Meinel styled himself plainly as Gitarrenbauer — guitar maker — and by this instrument's serial number he had built well over three thousand guitars.
Markneukirchen has been a centre of instrument making for more than three hundred and fifty years, recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, and is the town C. F. Martin emigrated from. It is also home to the tradition of Richard Jacob "Weissgerber," the outstanding German classical guitar maker of the twentieth century, and Meinel is named among the town's notable guitar luthiers alongside Weissgerber, Schneider, Gropp, Kreul and Dietrich. What makes an instrument like this worth attention is the context: while the state-owned Musima factory in the same town was producing around 360 laminated guitars a day, Meinel was building all-solid instruments by hand in his own workshop and signing each one personally.
The guitar is solid throughout — German spruce top with solid rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard and rosewood bridge — with Torres-style fan bracing at the Spanish standard 650 mm scale and 52 mm nut. Meinel's guitars are known for a distinctly slim neck that makes them exceptionally comfortable to play, particularly for smaller hands, and for a clear, transparent, honest voice in the German tradition. A genuine luthier-built instrument rather than factory production, and increasingly hard to find.
Condition
The guitar is in very good condition. It has superficial marks of use in different places, such as dings and scuffs. There is a a crack at the bottom of the guitar that you can see on pic. It doesn't affect the tone or playability in any way. Please refer to the pictures. Guitar players have different styles and features, so it might need to be set up according to your preferences. The neck is very straight.
There is no visible fretwear.
The white strips that you might see on some pictures are just reflections.
Specs
Top: Solid German Spruce
Bracing: Fan
Back and Sides: Rosewood
Finish: Shellac
Neck: Mahogany, Natural Bone Nut
Fingerboard: Ebony
Bridge: Rosewood, Natural Bone Saddle
String Length: 650 mm
Nut width: 52 mm
String Width: 41.5 mm
Body Thickness: 100 mm (3 15/16")
Action at 12 fret (1st): 2.75 mm
Action at 12 fret (6th): 3.25 mm
Ships in original case
