1965 Manuel Rodriguez Los Angeles signed Guitar #242 633 mm scale, 50 mm nut, Spruce and Indian Rosewood with Mobile bridge (at the time of patent pending), Gold plated Landsdorfer gears, French polish. $4,000. There are 2 professionally repaired cracks along the center seam of the top below the bridge, one was repaired in the early 1970's, the other was done in 2004 by George Paecock in San Francisco. They are shown in the bottom photo.
Manuel Rodriguez began working in the José Ramirez workshop in 1939. In 1955 he maintained a workshop with Archangel Fernandez at Jesus y Maria 25, Madrid. He stayed there until he moved to the United States in 1957. He had his workshop in Los Angeles until the mid 1970 's, when he returned to his homeland.
He advertised his invention of the sliding Mobile bridge in Wilfred Appleby's "Guitar News" magazine in the early 1960's. This is the 1st guitar of this type available at FFSI since 1997, when the same model as this made in 1972 and previously owned by Angel Romero was consigned.
This has a wonderful tone, with lots of volume and being a short scale instrument it is perfect for a lady player, or the gentleman who would like to play the music of Agustin Barrios, with the long stretches that his pieces can involve.
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