A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar used in toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of flamenco.
The luthiers of Andalusia made instruments in a wide range of prices, largely based on the materials used, and the amount of decoration. The cheapest guitars were often simple, basic instruments made from the less expensive local woods such as cypress, rather than imported rosewood. Antonio de Torres, one of the most renowned luthiers, did not differentiate between flamenco and classical guitars.: Only later, after Andres Segovia and others popularized classical guitar music, did this distinction emerge.
The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress, sycamore, or rosewood for the back and sides, and spruce for the top. This (in the case of cypress and sycamore) accounts for its characteristic body color. Flamenco guitars are built lighter in weight than classical guitars, which produces a “brighter” and more percussive sound quality. Builders achieve the lighter weight by reducing the amount of internal bracing and the thickness of body and top construction. The top is typically made of either spruce or cedar, though other tone woods are used today. Volume has traditionally been very important for flamenco guitarists, as they must be heard over the sound of the dancers’ nailed shoes. To increase volume, harder woods, such as rosewood, can be used for the back and sides, with softer woods for the top.
Alex Fox is a flamenco guitarist.
Fox was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he was inspired by a broad range of artists ranging from The Beatles to The Gipsy Kings. Fox later received a scholarship to train with the director of the Teatro Colón Symphony Orchestra, an opportunity which signaled the start of his career as a conductor, teacher and composer. It was during this time that Fox honed his own unique style which blended, according to his official biography, "classical rumba and flamenco rhythms with a Mediterranean flair."
Fox moved to Miami, Florida, United States, in 1984 where he quickly established himself as a noted local artist in the South Beach area.
His first album, To The Gypsies, was an independent production under his own label, Coco Musical, Inc. The album met with critical and commercial success worldwide, leading to the release of six more albums.
Highlights of his career include:
Fox's latest endeavor is the formation of the Fox Trio, featuring his sons Sebastian and David.
Carlos Montoya (13 December 1903 – 3 March 1993) was a prominent Flamenco guitarist and a founder of the modern-day popular Flamenco style of music.
His unique style and successful career, despite all odds, have left a great legacy for modern day Flamenco. It is because of his pioneering work in popular Flamenco music that have allowed other great modern groups such as the Gipsy Kings to take hold in all parts of the world. A few of his video recordings can still be found on YouTube.
Carlos Montoya was born in Madrid, Spain, on December 13, 1903. As the nephew of renowned flamenco guitarist Ramón Montoya he seemed to have been born to play Flamenco, but it was his uncle who would be his biggest obstacle, as he refused to teach Carlos the tricks of the trade. He began studying the guitar with his mother and a neighboring barber, Pepe el Barbero, a.k.a. Pepe the Barber. By the time he was 14 years old he was accompanying dancers and singers in the cafes of Madrid, Spain.
In the 1920s and 1930s he performed extensively in Europe, North America, and Asia with the likes of La Teresina. The outbreak of World War II brought him to the United States where he began his most successful days as a musician, and frequently toured with the dancer La Argentina. Settling in New York City during World War II (circa 1941), he began touring on his own, bringing his fiery style to concert halls, universities, and orchestras. During this period he made a few recordings for several major and independent labels including RCA Victor, Everest and Folkways.
Vicente Amigo Girol (born 25 March 1967) is a Spanish flamenco composer and virtuoso guitarist, born in Guadalcanal, near Seville. He has played as backing guitarist on recordings by flamenco singers El Pele, Camarón de la Isla, Vicente Soto, Luis de Córdoba and the rociero band Salmarina, and he has acted as a producer for Remedios Amaya and José Mercé. His album Ciudad de las Ideas won the 2001 Latin Grammy for the Best Flamenco Album and the 2002 Ondas award for the best Flamenco work.
Although he is Sevillian by birth, he was raised and lives in Córdoba, where he attended his first guitar lessons with El Tomate and Merengue de Córdoba, and later, he improved his guitar playing with Manolo Sanlúcar, with whom he worked for ten years. After a period of accompaniment which began alongside El Pele, he started to devote himself almost exclusively to playing concerts in 1988. De Mi Corazón al Aire ("From Out of My Heart", 1991) was his first record. An admirer of Paco de Lucía since childhood, Amigo took part with him in the show "Leyendas de la guitarra" (Legends of the Guitar) that was held in Seville as a foretaste of the Expo 92 exhibition, which also featured Paco de Lucía, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Nuno Bettencourt, Phil Manzanera, Joe Cocker, Jack Bruce and Richard Thompson. By that time, he had already been awarded some of the most prestigious flamenco guitar prizes.