Posted on August 4, 2026August 4, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: José Luis Romanillos Guitars, The Guijosa Period, 1993-2015 Review: José Luis Romanillos Guitars, The Guijosa Period, 1993-2015 by Mónica Esparza Originally published in American Lutherie #142, 2021 José Luis Romanillos Guitars, The Guijosa Period, 1993–2015 Josep Melo i Valls ISBN 978-84-09-14184-5 Barcelona: Spain, MeloGuitars Editions, 2020 Standard edition: €350. Signed deluxe edition: €700 Available from editions.Meloguitars.com After twenty-five years in the making, José Luis Romanillos Guitars, The Guijosa Period, 1993–2015 is now available. It is an outstanding work in its visual beauty as well as the depth of explicitly detailed information presented both in photos and verbally in Spanish and English. The large book/box set (39CM H × 29CM W × 9CM T total) includes a substantial book with foldouts, plus an attractive box that contains twenty-five folded photographs of the full-scale front and back views of each instrument. Twenty guitars, four vihuelas, and one rebec are presented as well as an additional foldout that shows full-scale top and back bracing patterns and neck and fingerboard profiles from Romanillos’ Torres and Hauser models. I got involved with this project in 2011 when the author, Josep Melo, a notable instrument maker and a personal friend, called me from his shop in Barcelona. He wanted to visit California to photograph and study in great detail a guitar built by José Romanillos for Pepe Romero. Josep said that he was going to write a book about the guitars that José Romanillos built after he moved back to his native Spain from England. He asked me to contact the Romero family to try to get an appointment to see Pepe’s 1993 “La Compañera,” the first guitar José completed after his return to Spain. Needless to say, that was quite a favor to ask. He had a lot of confidence that I would be able to just pick up the phone and make this happen. Well, I did. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 30, 2026July 30, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: The Diary of Agustin Barrios Mangoré: His Concert Autograph Book by Richard Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard Review: The Diary of Agustin Barrios Mangoré: His Concert Autograph Book by Richard Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard by Bryan Johanson Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 The Diary of Agustín Barrios Mangoré: His Concert Autograph Book (1932–1939, The Diplomatic Edition) ISBN 978-8409213269 Richard Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard Leon, Spain: Asociación CaminoArtes, 2018–2019 “Agustín Barrios was an entertainer, myth maker, brilliant conversationalist, and revered houseguest.” Frederick Sheppard. Soundboard magazine, October 2019 Classical guitarist and composer Agustín Pío Barrios was born in Paraguay in 1885 and died in El Salvador in 1944. With the exception of an extended holiday in Europe, Barrios spent his entire life traveling and performing in the countries of Central and South America. It is safe to say that Barrios’ music is greatly admired, performed, and taught by the current generation of classical guitarists. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 8, 2026July 8, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: Vincente Arias (1833-1914) The Forgotten Luthier Review: Vincente Arias (1833-1914) The Forgotten Luthier by Kevin Aram Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021 Vicente Arias (1833-1914), The Forgotten Luthier Alberto Martinez, Clémentine Jouffroy, Editors (many other contributors) ISBN 979-1090267-56-5 Camino Verde, Paris France, 2021 https://caminoverde.com I first became aware of Vicente Arias in 1978 when I bought a copy of the book Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock by Tom and Mary Anne Evans. In the section entitled “The Modern Classical Guitar,” there is a listing for an Arias guitar from 1874. The entry has a short description of the guitar together with the dimensions, three photographs, and the information that he lived and worked in the town of Ciudad Real which is in the Provence of La Mancha in Spain. Fast forward to 1984 when my wife and I spent a month driving around Central, Southern, and Eastern Spain. As a part of this holiday we decided to follow the journey taken by Don Quixote in the famous book, and so, tourist brochure in hand, we visited and stayed in a number of towns in La Mancha including Ciudad Real. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 2, 2026July 2, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Antonio Marin Meet the Maker: Antonio Marin by Federico Sheppard Originally published in American Lutherie #117, 2014 The feet of the finest horse in Spain carefully worked their way over the mosaic of white and black stones, loping upward to the crest of the hill, where stood perhaps the most magnificent palace on earth. The rider, dressed in an elaborate Moorish caftan dress, her husband at her side, had just recently met with an odd Italian sailor who’s spying had helped in the conquest, and led to the day referred to at the time as, “The most distinguished and blessed day there had ever been in Spain.” On the other side of the hill, down narrow cobbled streets, the treasures of the former resident of the palace had been quietly removed at daybreak. A lone bird, high in his perch in a pomegranate tree, could have looked down upon that scene and remarked on the pattern of those white and black paving stones snaking up the hill, a mosaic of roses bordered by the most delicate herringbone along the edges of the road. The day was early January 1492; the city, Granada; the lady, Queen Isabella. She and her husband Fernando, “appeared more than mortal, as if sent by Heaven for the salvation of Spain.” The Italian, looked upon as something of a bad penny, was Christopher Columbus. For many, 1492 will be remembered more for the capture of Granada than for the discovery of the New World. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 22, 2026June 22, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Géza Burghardt Meet the Maker: Géza Burghardt by Cindy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #61, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 I met Géza and his wife and business partner, Tini, at the 1998 GAL Convention in Tacoma. I’d been hearing about him for several years and was really looking forward to our chat. Three hours whizzed by as Géza told his remarkable story, a true immigrant success story. He, Tini, and their young daughter Eszter arrived in Vancouver, B.C. in 1988 with little more than the shirts on their backs. They spoke very little English. Twelve years later they have a thriving lutherie business, a beautiful shop, and a comfortable life. What follows is Géza’s story in his own words. I was fourteen years old when I became an apprentice in a special woodworking school in Hungary for three years to become a pattern maker. This is an extremely complicated job requiring great precision. We were taught to do everything by hand. We were not allowed to use any power machines, not even a grinder to grind the chisels. After you were done with a job it was sent to a special room for checking. There was no tolerance — not even a tenth of a millimeter. They’d send it back and you’d have to fix it, and your salary went down. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
