Help on a Vicente Tatay Tomas Guitar, dating and any info appricated!

[Randylands]

Hi all, I have an old Vicente Tatay Tomas Guitar with the case Ive had stored
for a long time, Ive decided to see what I got.... went to search and found
that they were made in Spain (Valencia), from aprox. 1890s to the 1930s, this
is old but I don't know if its that old..... Threw the sound hole there is a
very colorful round company tag which reads: Made in Spain, Valencia Espana,
Fabrica De Guitarras Bandurrias Y Laudes, VITATO, Vicente Tatay Tomas, Marca
Registrada! Has inlays around the body sound hole, mahogany neck, body is
bound front and back, Looks like a Spruce top, and the back and sides are the
same wood but not sure what kind.....on the light color side with kinda 3D look
to it..... any info would be greatly appricated or if you know of any sites
that I might try to see what this is..... also slotted headstock and brass
frets..... Thanks a bunch for any help!
Have a nice day...... Randy.......
P.S. the case is a somewhat hard case and is red on the inside and a brown
fabric like burlap on the outside and is molded perfectly for this guitar....
so I know it is original....the case looks to be Extremely old..... Thanks
again!!!!!!!!

[Ines van Grootel en Wim Bakker]

In the early seventies my parents bought me a new Vicente Tatay Tomas
Guitar. It was recommended by the public music school in Amsterdam. It had a
spruce top and a cedar neck and cedar sides. A few years ago a Dutch
magazine wrote an article about Vicente Tatay Tomas. The factory still
exists, but the guitars are not so popular anymore (at least in The
Netherlands) due to the import of guitars from the far east.

Wim Bakker

Randylands <randy...@aol.com> schreef in berichtnieuws
20000522224229...@ng-fd1.aol.com...

[William Betancourt]

Hi,

Tatay guitars are superb Spanish guitars. They can have a mellow to bright
tone, and have the best action I have ever found on a Spanish Guitar. I
brought one back in the sixties from Francisco Oller, a guitar dealer and
importer in New York. It was a steal at $700. A well known Luthier in the
New Jersey area told me
that they are still the standard for Spanish guitar makers in Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Mexico and South America.

One reason why they are not so popular in the North America these days, is
because of higher import tariffs, and because of the of the importation of
cheaper models, such as Yamaha, De Giorgio, Carlo Robelli etc.. Also,
because of the resounding success
and trade/transplantation of many local guitar shops in the US. However, if
you have one of
these guitars, you definitely have a genuine collector's item. Think of the
Tatay as the Rolls Royce of Spanish Guitars. That is, unless you already
have a Ramirez! :-)

BTW, They used to range in price between $500 to $2,000. Can't say what
they are worth to a collector now. But I canl tell you that I wouldn't sell
mine for $15, 000!

I am very curious to see what the experts here will tell you.

Regards,

WBB

"Randylands" <randy...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000522224229...@ng-fd1.aol.com...

[William Betancourt]

Oops! I almost forgot. Here is the contact information for your Guitar:

VICENTE TATAY TOMAS
CRA. MALILLA,88 - 46026 - VALENCIA - VALENCIA - ESPAÑA -
Tlf: 96 3330760 - Fax: 96 3330760

Regards,

WBB

"William Betancourt" <wi...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:RZFW4.1596$793....@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

[Randylands]

Thanks for your help.... you guys have been very informative.... I will try to
get ahold of the company.... I would like to see what these are going for on
the market.. I will probably sell it since I don't use it anymore.. Thanks
again, Randy.....

[gasto...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, May 23, 2000 2:00:00 AM UTC-5, Randylands wrote:
> Hi all, I have an old Vicente Tatay Tomas Guitar with the case Ive had stored
> for a long time, Ive decided to see what I got.... went to search and found
> that they were made in Spain (Valencia), from aprox. 1890s to the 1930s, this
> is old but I don't know if its that old..... Threw the sound hole there is a
> very colorful round company tag which reads: Made in Spain, Valencia Espana,
> Fabrica De Guitarras Bandurrias Y Laudes, VITATO, Vicente Tatay Tomas, Marca
> Registrada! Has inlays around the body sound hole, mahogany neck, body is
> bound front and back, Looks like a Spruce top, and the back and sides are the
> same wood but not sure what kind.....on the light color side with kinda 3D look
> to it..... any info would be greatly appricated or if you know of any sites
> that I might try to see what this is..... also slotted headstock and brass
> frets..... Thanks a bunch for any help!
> Have a nice day...... Randy.......
> P.S. the case is a somewhat hard case and is red on the inside and a brown
> fabric like burlap on the outside and is molded perfectly for this guitar....
> so I know it is original....the case looks to be Extremely old..... Thanks
> again!!!!!!!!

I have one of these too, it has the same exact round label below the hole, and on the back of the neck, it has a sticker that says b-105. I have no idea if that has anything to do with it, it's very hard to find any information about it, if anyone knows anyting, i would be very grateful!

[gasto...@gmail.com]

I am looking to sell it, but I have no idea what i have!

[coruj...@gmail.com]

Hi all...

I too have an old Guitar which was made by Vicente Tatay himself in 1951. Since I started my reaserch about this Label I realized that I have one of the oldest avaiable. My interest is to sell it back to the Tatay family. The phone number was very important for me to do that. If you have any kind of information that could help me out, please contact by e-mail.

Thanks
Best regards to all,

Daniel Villa Verde

[a.robi...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, May 23, 2000 2:00:00 AM UTC-5, Randylands wrote:
> Hi all, I have an old Vicente Tatay Tomas Guitar with the case Ive had stored
> for a long time, Ive decided to see what I got.... went to search and found
> that they were made in Spain (Valencia), from aprox. 1890s to the 1930s, this
> is old but I don't know if its that old..... Threw the sound hole there is a
> very colorful round company tag which reads: Made in Spain, Valencia Espana,
> Fabrica De Guitarras Bandurrias Y Laudes, VITATO, Vicente Tatay Tomas, Marca
> Registrada! Has inlays around the body sound hole, mahogany neck, body is
> bound front and back, Looks like a Spruce top, and the back and sides are the
> same wood but not sure what kind.....on the light color side with kinda 3D look
> to it..... any info would be greatly appricated or if you know of any sites
> that I might try to see what this is..... also slotted headstock and brass
> frets..... Thanks a bunch for any help!
> Have a nice day...... Randy.......
> P.S. the case is a somewhat hard case and is red on the inside and a brown
> fabric like burlap on the outside and is molded perfectly for this guitar....
> so I know it is original....the case looks to be Extremely old..... Thanks
> again!!!!!!!!

Is the guitar stolen? Can you post the serial numbers?

[Che]

Chauncey "Lord" Westbrook, an old classical jazz classical guitarist had a Tatay he bought at the old "Spanish Music Center" in NYC. He's in his 90's now in a Florida nursing home. He recorded a lot in NYC in the old days. I've made several post over the years concerning him and his Tatey. It was very percussive in the attack for jazz which worked for him. He might still have that guitar, who knows.

[mikiv...@gmail.com]

[tom g]

There is a lot of information about Tatay on internet but it is mostly in spanish. The Tatay factory in Valencia was still making guitars in the 90s. Even the cheap models can have a nice character of sound.
They only put brass frets on the cheaper models. If the wood of the sides is the same color - more or less - as the top then maybe it is a student flamenco model with cypress wood.

tom g

[migueldos...@gmail.com]

Greetings All,
The posts I’ve just seen have been a tremendous help, I’ll add what I can for the collective. In 1971,, aged 9, we moved to Vigo, España. My folks got this guitar for my brother, which soon had the strings mostly gone, and lived underneath our beds , and then made it to Singapore, and Houston where it continued to dwell under a bed- no case, don’t recall, as no one does- if it ever had a case.

The guitar I had come to consider a student model, 33” x 11 1/2” at the widest point. I started playing seriously in 1979, The guitar was a “wall hanger”; in ‘80 when I moved back to the states. The steel strings were as they had been, mostly gone. The brightly colored sticker was awesome, and I of course, cleaned up the guitar. Unfortunately, in ‘91 my one year old, finding it in his crawling path on the floor, was intrigued by the colorful sticker inside it, and I guess was hungry, as he ripped up the sticker,; a red and blue but was stuck on the side of his pie hole.I saved the pieces, as meticulously as able, decided it was about time to do it the justice it deserved.
The wonderful Luthier here in Houston, Neil Seargent, looked it over, and had some intriguing observations. I wanted to put classical strings on it, and with the nut, and saddle too far gone, he replaced those, and re- glued the sides and a crack or two, along with the remaining portion of the sticker , back in enough for me to read “ Vicente Tatay Tomas”; Carrera Malillas,88. Valencía, (España), and “...RIAS Y LAUDES”,- but not much else.
The top is a thick magnificent piece of Spruce, the back Mahogany,and sides and neck as well, I reckon. Someone along the line mentioned “Pear wood” to be a component, that would be the first and only time I’ve ever heard of wood from a Pear tree to be used on a guitar, but hey, Quien sabe? Thankfully, It had made it through it the rough years spent “character building”. Though one of a few many, it occupies a very special place in my heart, and it is an incredible relic from a truly magical and formidable time in my life, where we upped and moved from home, in rural Mississippi to Vigo, Spain .( which is about as far as you can as can get in the NW, opposed to Valencia, which is SE, . It may have been purchased in Madrid or Toledo, if not in Vigo. )
Moving around overseas,, I regard as one of the great fortunes to my life- because it allowed me to hear some rather different forms of music. And, to see others - largely, as we are-; Spanish, Malay, Indian, Christian, Muslim,Buddhist et. al, - they care for their families first, and seek no strife, war or much care about different ideologies.. Every land has extremists. My first few guitar playing friends were a friendly and intelligent Pakistani ( Love is Blue, his fave song, he tabbed it out and told me how to read music, making a note chart at lunch. I passed him the ball a lot more, in our soccer games as often as I could at least); a Nigerian guy ( Osibisa is the greatest band, Roger Dean did the cover art, you will recognize it, - I did, the flying elephants swooping to eat the defiant lizard, set the tone ); and a dude from Florida that took lessons, but shared his Stella and 99% of his knowledge. “Moose” ( surely a middle name, - his mom had to have had a tuff day, on his birthday ) did make me go figure out the riff that starts with 2 triplets in the middle of Slow Ride, on my own .( I passed to the the Nigerian guy a lot more, too, less to Moose. Again, as able.


The guitar was incredible from the first strum when I picked it up from Neil, 25+ years ago, till just now, when it effortlessly puts you there when and where “Capriche Arabé” was written, to being a castaway with The Skipper and Mary-Anne when you play the theme from Gilligan’s Island.

I do not know the model, serial #; or what it cost, all gone with time and it’s character building phase, -but I’d like to know, and the next time I’m near ValencÍa, seek out anyone I’m able to, that had anything at all to do with building this fantastic instrument, and extend them my hearty and appreciative thanks.

So... Any assistance there would be just peachy, y,all.... !

(Lawdty, The digression continues, I’ll cut him off in a minute, y’all - Editor )

That reminds me- my Mom and Dad deserve the same, for my wonderful life, which may have been set in motion by spending some pesetas for this guitar, but was surely assured by the 10,000+ other things they’ve done, and I‘ve surely needed my fair share, - to get me to cinquenta y cuatro años de edad, un músico, un Bombero para mi ciudad, un Hombre con una exposa increible, como mis cuatro niños . Uno de estos, yo espero, vas a tener una guitarra de Vicente Tatay Tomas..
( could have been worse y’all -Ed)
( I stepped away to call my Dad . Never hurts to say something to your folks, mentors, loves and such. ...As they say good bye in Hungarian; See ya - - Humble Editor) October 14, 2017

[tom g]

The missing part of '...RIAS' is 'BANDUR' as in 'BANDURRIAS'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandurria

The bandurria is tuned a major 3rd higher than the guitar and it has six doubled strings tuned in unison. The interval between the pairs is a 4th, so no major 3rd between the 3rd and 2nd string like the guitar.

"Laud" means 'lute' but the Spanish laud is not the same instrument as the European. It belongs to the same "family" as the bandurria but it looks a bit different.

http://www.funjdiaz.net/museo/ficha.php?id=14

Like the bandurria the laud has six double strings and it is tuned either a 4th lower than the guitar for solos or an octave lower when it is part of a group.

So now you know all about the label of your old guitar with so much history!

tom g