The father of Juan Miguel was the teacher of Gerundino, so Juan Miguel and Gerundino basically had the same master luthier teach them their craft. With the passing of Gernudino the guitars of Juan Miguel Gonzalez have become the ‘must have’ guitar for some of the finest flamenco players in Spain. Manolo Franco plays one for example, and Tomatito actually owns four, two Negra’s and two Blanca’s. This is a beautiful Negra, certainly one of the most elegant Negra’s I have seen. The Brazilian is subtle but gorgeous, and the rosette is the most artistic ‘wreath of roses’ I have seen, really simple yet highly artistic. The quality of the woods is superb as is the craftsmanship. The real treat comes with your first rasgueado though, The guitar purely growls as it springs to life almost commanding you to just stay out of it’s way! A very soft action allows for very expressive playing but this is not like some Negra’s which sound like classical guitars with tap plates on them. No, this is a buzzy, raspy, growly Flamenco guitar and it is easy to see why you might want to join Tomatito and others in playing one. A great Negra by any standard.