Over the years, Antonio Picado guitars have gained a faithful following of customers who swear by their instruments for their tonal excellence and high quality. In this review we take a look at one of the most affordable guitars Antonio Picado have to offer; the Model 53.

Nestled in the shadow of the Serra de Queralt in the Spanish Pyrenees, Antonio Picado’s workshop is not a large facility that churns out hundreds of guitars a day. In fact, if it were not for the tiny plaque above the door, you’d walk right past it.

In contrast to larger powerhouse workshops such as Raimundo or Carrillo, Antonio Picado is a small operation which, since the master himself retired, has been headed by his long time senior assistants Ángel Genis and Carlos Part.

Despite forming their own company to take on the Antonio Picado workshop in 2015, they have maintained their master’s name inside all guitars until now. This is despite developing the line of guitars on offer and continuing to improve the instruments they produce. Maintaining a small operation gives Genis and Prat granular control over the quality of the instruments they produce, which is perhaps just one of the reasons they have gained such popularity within the classical guitar community.

Read through our review of the Model 53 or watch the video to hear examples of this fine guitar.

Despite being one of Antonio Picado’s entry level guitars, the Model 53 comes with plenty of decorative detail that players will find appealing. The rosette is a vibrant theme of red and green, set off by natural wooden undertones that take on a pale gold hue in the right light (possibly maple?).

This theme is continued around the edge of the guitar in the purfling. The sides and back scale this theme down a little, dropping the red and green tones for a more simplistic cream/black so as to compliment rather than distract from the beautiful Indian Rosewood.

The headstock features some nice detailing in a theme identical to the back/sides. This decoration is sandwiched between an Indian Rosewood headstock veneer and the Honduran cedar neck.

A simple but perfectly formed tie block of what looks like bone/rosewood offer one last little flourish to the design of this the Model 53.

The Model 53 is finished in a high gloss lacquer. I can’t spot any noticeable fills in the wood, and the lacquer has been neatly applied around the bridge and neck joints.

The neck and fretwork are both tidy with a decent amount of neck relief, striking a balance between good playability whilst giving the player enough room to lower the saddle should they need it. The standard action is set at around 4mm/3mm (bass/treble) from the workshop. Some players will want a lower action, but these figures are perfectly acceptable for a classical guitar action. Remember that the lower the action, the less dynamic range you will have before the strings bottom out and buzz. You can find details of the exact action for each Antonio Picado guitar we stock on our product pages.

Frets on both Model 53 guitars in this review are level as you would expect from a workshop that prides itself on high quality, yet affordably priced guitars.

Musically is where the Antonio Picado Model 53 really grabs your attention. If you’re familiar with classical guitars at this price point, you’ll also be familiar with a tonally lacklustre G string. It’s not uncommon for guitars around this price to suffer from significant quackiness on the G string; a sort of plastic sound that is distinctly different from the other treble strings. Sometimes it’s subtle, other times it’s more pronounced. With the Antonio Picado Model 53, it’s practically non existent.

Tonally there is a lovely balance across all treble strings, which is incredibly welcome when it comes to phrasing or depicting voices/characters in your playing. The Model 53 presents notes in a rounded and pleasing sort of way.

Fullness is the word that springs to mind when describing the tone of these instruments. There is a lovely springy quality to the response of each note, with no dull or dead sounding spots.

The thing that perhaps sets this guitar apart from it’s competitors is the body of each note. It’s no secret that classical guitars generally struggle with sustain. I was very pleased to hear and feel the presence of the note continuing to sing long after the initial ‘punch’ created by the release of the string from the fingertip.

Another notable tonal feature is the superb clarity of the Model 53. My pupils will be no strangers to my seemingly constant request (or demand!) for a clear melody that sings above the harmony. The melody is an essential part of any piece of music, it’s therefore essential that your guitar is capable of sustaining this in separation to the bass and harmony voices.

In general, the tone of the Model 53 is superb, but how do the cedar and spruce versions stack up against each other?

There are definitely differences. Whilst both guitars are clear voiced and separate the voices well, the cedar version is a shade more bold in character. Maybe a touch more excitable and actually presents melodies with a more crystal clear tone than the spruce.

The spruce top exceeds in being full voiced and warm bodied. Possibly a touch more dynamic range but there’s really not much between them in that department. It seems to carry the fullness of tone for slightly longer which is a nice trait to have.

The Antonio Picado Model 53 offers superb value for money and ticks all of the boxes for a studio level classical guitar.

It’s an instrument capable of handling complex voicings with a good degree of musicality. The dynamic range is ample for exploring phrasing, with easily enough headroom to play pieces expressively at Grade 8 standard. There is good variability of tonal palette on the Model 53, with the option of cedar/spruce allowing the player to select a guitar that is geared more to their specific musical tastes.

Nitpickers might argue that the standard action of 4mm/3mm is higher than they would like, but the opposite problem would exist if this were set up low right out of the workshop. You can always lower a saddle to dial in your preferred action, but you can’t make it higher… I personally adjust the action of every classical guitar that comes through the CGA studio if I believe the playability could be better, so do check out the product page of the specific guitar you have your eye on for an exact measurement.

The Antonio Picado Model 53 is perfectly suited to the developing guitarist; someone working at beginner/intermediate level who needs an instrument that is versatile, musical and highly enjoyable to play. Whilst a better guitar doesn’t immediately make for a better player, working with an instrument of this calibre is sure to encourage growth by offering the necessary scope for future improvements.

There’s genuinely not a single area where I can say this guitar is lacking, given it’s exceedingly good price tag. Pound for pound, this is one of the best classical guitars on the market.