We have, here in Albuquerque, an incredibly talented family of luthiers - the Pimental family… whenever I walk into their shop, a small, converted home, the president of the company drops whatever guitar he is crafting at the moment &, dusting off his hands, greets me warmly. He ushers me back into the shop & shows me his latest project - usually a mind blowing example of beauty & functionality. Their website has this to say:
At the age of 14, Lorenzo Pimentel began apprenticing at his brothers’ guitar-making shop in Mexico. His passion for the craft helped him advance quickly, and soon after he was building guitars on his own. At the age of 23, he came to the United States where he began making guitars in a violin store. In 1951, he moved to Carlsbad, NM where he opened his own shop. It wasn’t long before he’d mastered creating exquisite classical guitars. Four of his sons each embraced his legacy, and four decades later, the family name is known around the world as one of the best family guitar makers alive. They make each instrument completely by hand, tailored specifically to each customer.
The Pimentel brothers can’t imagine doing anything else. Their expertise, perfectionism and love of the art have made guitar making their calling. They are Rick Pimentel, now President of Pimentel Guitars, specializing in Acoustic guitars; Robert Pimentel, Vice President, specializing in Concert Classical guitars; Victor Pimentel and Agustin Pimentel. They have each inherited their father’s incredible talent and raised it to a whole new level, creating guitars unparalleled in craftsmanship and beauty.
They build guitars like this:
or this:
They do very intricate inlays, usually with a Southwestern US theme:
Anyway, I asked Rick a few years back if he could teach me to build my own acoustic & he simply laughed, rolled his eyes & told me that you have to sweep the sawdust for 10 years or so before he’d let me touch a chisel or bend a body!!! He, his brothers, his father & uncles have been building guitars their whole lives - “¡It’s in la sangre, mi amigo, in el corazón, in los manos!” (the blood, the heart, the hands) - but when I pressed him, he admitted that I could probably build a good instrument but not a “Craftsman-Level” guitar!!! He suggested that I find a lutherie school & go that route since he didn’t have the time to teach.
Good luck finding your path to your six-stringed soulmate!!!
Tod
Do you want to learn to play the guitar, or do you really just enjoy woodworking? Learning how to play is very difficult by itself and will require dedication and focus…
