Sad news from Madrid:
Paulino Bernabe, one of the world's greatest classical guitar luthiers, passed away last Friday, May 11, 2007 at 6:00am in Madrid at the age of 75. Condolences to family and friends of this great artist.
Listed below is a short bio for those of you not familiar with his work...
Paulino Bernabe was born in 1932. Like many well-known builders, he started out as a cabinet maker. Unlike most makers--who can not play the instruments they build-- Bernabe is an accomplished guitarist. At seventeen, he began four years of study with Daniel Fortea, one of Tarrega's pupils. It was during these years that he developed a growing interest in guitar construction. In 1954, he started as an apprentice in the workshop of Jose Ramirez. During the years that Segovia started playing Ramirez guitars, Paulino was head artisan and foreman of the Ramirez workshop. Ramirez guitars of the 1960s bearing PB initials are highly sought after by collectors. In 1969, he left the Ramirez to set up his own workshop. He is a not only a very fine craftsman, but an experimenter who has developed his own strutting system and construction methods. The sound of Bernabe's guitars are distinct from those made while working for Ramirez, being noticeably less sweet. With robust basses, and strong trebles, his guitars are not only tonally rich, but uniquely powerful, clear, and focused, with great sustain, projection and punch. Because of these qualities his guitars are widely used by many concert guitarists and recording artists, such the late Narciso Yepes. In 1974, he received the Gold Medal at the International Crafts Exhibition in Munich. In the early, 1980s, he moved his workshop from his store to his home. Since then he has worked he has worked side by side with his son, Paulino, who he describes as his best and most faithful disciple.
