M.Tezanos Peres　[テサーノス・ペレス] Concierto No.594

Product Description

Neck: Cedro
Fingerboard: Ebony
Finish (Top): Shellac
Finish (Back & Sides): Shellac
Tuning Machines: Fustero
String Height (1st): 3.1 mm
String Height (6th): 4.0 mm

[Luthier]

M. Tezanos Perez (also known as Tezanos y Perez) is a Spanish guitar-making brand founded in Madrid in 1992 by Mariano Tezanos Castro (1949–) and Teodoro Gregorio Perez Mariblanca (1952–).

Mariano’s father, Mariano Tezanos Martín (1915–1982), was one of the most important craftsmen at José Ramirez III’s workshop during its golden age in the 1960s. Working under the “MT” stamp, he made guitars played by Andrés Segovia and built Narciso Yepes’s first ten-string guitar. Alongside workshop foreman Paulino Bernabe, he helped establish Ramirez’s international reputation and remains highly regarded for embodying the distinctive Ramirez aesthetic.

Mariano Tezanos Castro began his apprenticeship at the Ramirez workshop in 1963 and soon earned the “MTC” stamp. After leaving in 1984, he founded Moreno y Castro with fellow Ramirez craftsman Arturo Sanzano Moreno. Following their separation, he worked independently before partnering with Teodoro Perez in 1992 to establish M. Tezanos Perez.

Teodoro Perez joined the Ramirez workshop in 1966, learning under Bernabe and Tezanos Martín. He completed his first guitar, a flamenco model, in 1969 and subsequently received the “GPM” stamp. During his approximately 26 years at Ramirez, he reportedly produced around 1,400 guitars.

Combining Mariano’s depth and solidity of tone with Perez’s warmth, musicality, and exceptional sense of balance, the brand became one of the leading names in the Madrid school from the 1990s onward. The two makers produced approximately three guitars per month until their partnership ended in the late 2000s. Mariano retired around the beginning of the 2010s due to an arm injury, while Teodoro Perez continues to make fine instruments and remains a respected figure in the Madrid tradition.

[Instrument]

This is a used M. Tezanos Perez Concierto, made in 2004, serial No. 594. The brand’s range at the time comprised three models: Concierto, the higher-grade Maestro, and Torres Replica. All were admired for their refined, balanced sound, reflecting the Ramirez-influenced Madrid tradition.

The guitar has a dignified, understated appearance, allowing the natural character of the wood to speak with quiet elegance. Its sound is rich, weighty, and resonant, with a deep, romantic voice and a distinctly Spanish expressive quality. Despite its considerable tonal depth, it retains remarkable refinement and restraint, releasing its full power when the music calls for it.

Its response is particularly engaging. Notes seem to emerge directly from the fingertips, with an exceptionally close relationship between touch and expression. This immediate response allows subtle changes in technique to translate naturally into musical nuance.

The soundboard features the brand’s characteristic bracing design. Two harmonic bars sit above and below the soundhole, each with an opening approximately 4 cm long and 3 mm high on the bass side. Thin concentric reinforcing plates surround the rosette, while a further thin plate reinforces the bridge area.

Rather than conventional fan bracing, the lower bout features four parallel braces aligned with the soundboard grain, with one divided into two sections, making five sections in total. An additional diagonal brace extends from the center of the lower harmonic bar toward the treble-side lining, while two closing bars form an inverted V near the bottom. The diagonal member has the same dimensions as the parallel braces and is therefore described here as a brace rather than a treble bar. The instrument’s resonance is tuned slightly below G-sharp.

The guitar retains its original factory specifications, including its finish and tuning machines, with no history of major repairs or modifications. Several relatively deep, elongated scratches appear on the soundboard beside the fingerboard, and fine playing marks are concentrated around the soundhole, particularly on the treble side. Elsewhere, only minor marks are present, and the back and sides remain remarkably clean for their age.

Two minor hairline cracks are present on the surface at the joints between the sides near the end block. They are superficial and limited in extent.

The neck and frets remain in good playing condition. The neck has a slim, flat D-shaped profile that feels compact and comfortable. String height at the 12th fret measures 3.1 mm on the first string and 4.0 mm on the sixth, with approximately 2.0 mm of saddle remaining. The moderate string tension makes the guitar comfortable to play as it stands, and the action can be lowered further to suit individual preference.

The guitar is fitted with Fustero tuning machines, a traditional Spanish brand, which remain fully functional.