Paco Santiago Marin［パコ・サンチャゴ・マリン］ Original Model No.C 246

Product Description

Neck:Cedro
Fingerboard:Ebony
Finish(Top):Shellac
Finish(Back & Sides):Shellac
Tuning Machines:FUSTERO
String Height(1st):2.6mm
String Height(6th):3.7mm

[Maker Information]

Francisco (Paco) Santiago Marín was born in Granada, Spain, in 1946. At the age of twelve, he began his apprenticeship under his father, Francisco Santiago Oliva, a cabinetmaker. From 1963, he simultaneously studied guitar-making techniques at the workshop of his uncle, Antonio Marín Montero.

While working under his father, he was engaged exclusively in cabinetmaking. His experience at his uncle's workshop, however, led him to pursue a career as a guitar maker. After dedicating ten years to apprenticeship and research, he established his own workshop in Granada in 1973. He currently works together with his son, Luis Santiago Hernández (b. 1969).

Although his guitars show a strong influence from Antonio Marín both visually and acoustically, Santiago Marín considers the guitars of Antonio de Torres and the traditional Granada guitar to be his primary models. The vivid, resonant sound of natural wood and generous volume are distinctly characteristic of the Granada school, while the restrained coloration of the tone and its subtly shaded character can also be described as distinctly European. This combination has become one of the defining characteristics of his instruments.

He has won first prize at three international guitar-making competitions: Granada in 1985, Jaén in 1993, and Barcelona in 1995, earning a high level of international recognition. His guitars have also been played by many distinguished guitarists. In addition to established masters such as Leo Brouwer, David Russell, María Esther Guzmán, and Conrado Raglianti, highly expressive virtuosos including Ricardo Gallén and José Antonio Escobar have also chosen to play his instruments.

[Instrument Information]

This is a 2007 Paco Santiago Marín Original Model, No. C.246.

The Original Model is the flagship model of the brand and, together with Antonio Marín Montero's Boucher Model, is one of the highly popular guitars that symbolize contemporary Granada guitar making. While this instrument naturally shares certain visual and tonal characteristics with the work of his uncle Antonio, Paco Santiago Marín has refined and distilled the essential elements of the Granada tradition into a uniquely powerful form of musical expression. Combined with its elegant yet restrained appearance, this gives his guitars an especially distinctive appeal among contemporary Spanish instruments.

The instrument achieves an exceptionally high level of the acoustic characteristics associated with Granada: a smooth and pleasing sonic texture, articulation that responds with complete immediacy to both hands, and the characteristic tonal balance of the Spanish guitar. Its sound possesses generous spatial depth while remaining clear, focused, and capable of projecting effortlessly into the upper register.

At the same time, the tone is rich in nuance and expressive character without ever artificially manufacturing sweetness. Instead, it ultimately allows the wood itself to speak, resulting in a remarkably austere and authentic voice. Paco Santiago Marín's particular approach lies in deliberately preserving—or perhaps allowing—the essential purity of the guitar as an instrument without forcing it entirely into a theoretical framework. The result is truly remarkable.

If the Spanish guitar can be said to create a “singing” sound that follows the physicality of the player—the touch of the fingertips—and approaches the quality of the human voice, Paco Santiago Marín takes a different approach here: the instrument seems to speak in a voice originating directly from the wood itself. The sensation that music emerges in the space between human physicality and material substance is particularly well suited to classical music.

The instrument as a whole settles into a dignified yet refined character, and this particular example can be considered an outstanding specimen among the many guitars of this model.

The internal soundboard bracing consists of two harmonic bars of different sizes above the soundhole, on the neck side, and one harmonic bar below the soundhole, on the bridge side. A reinforcing plate surrounds the soundhole, covering the area beneath the rosette. Short braces extend from the edges of the soundhole on both the treble and bass sides toward the adjacent sides. Seven symmetrical fan braces are installed, while a thin reinforcing plate runs beneath the bridge and saddle area across the span of the seven fan braces.

Of the seven fan braces, the two outermost braces are approximately half the length of the central five. The reinforcing plate running along the saddle position is usually shaped and sized approximately to match the bridge plate. In this instrument, however, Paco Marín employs a narrow and thin design whose short dimension is approximately half the width of the bridge plate. This can also be viewed as a variation on the transverse bar installed at the same position in Antonio Marín's Boucher Model.

The resonance is set slightly below G.

The instrument retains its original shellac finish exactly as applied at the time of manufacture. Considering that it is nearly twenty years old, it remains in very good overall condition.

There are some areas of concentrated playing wear and light scratches on the soundboard, particularly around both sides of the fingerboard extending toward the soundhole and beneath the bridge. These marks are relatively minor and do not detract from the instrument's appearance. The back and sides show only minor traces of localized friction and remain in very attractive condition, retaining the lustrous appearance of the shellac finish.

There are some minor fingernail marks on the back of the neck, but these are limited in extent and do not affect either the appearance or the feel of the grip. The neck, frets, tuners, and other components directly related to playability are all in good condition.

The neck has a slim, relatively flat D-shaped profile, providing a compact grip. Combined with the 640 mm scale length, this helps reduce stress on the left hand during playing.

The current string height is 2.6 mm on the 1st string and 3.7 mm on the 6th string at the 12th fret, with approximately 1.0–1.5 mm of saddle remaining. The setup is therefore relatively low and comfortable to play.

The total body weight is 1.54 kg.