Born in Madrid / Spain in 1932, Paulino Bernabé received music lessons from Daniel Fortea, a pupil of the famous Spanish guitarist and composer Francisco Tárrega, before he learned the art of making classical guitars from José Ramirez. In 1969 he founded his own workshop and soon gained such a good reputation that he was awarded the Gold Medal at the International Crafts Exhibition in Munich in 1974.
Since the early 1980s the master began to work together with his son Paulino, born in 1960, his best and most faithful pupil. Side by side they lead the construction of classical guitars into a new dimension: They have developed an individual strutting system for the interior of their instruments and choose very special woods: apart from spruce or cedar for the cover and jacaranda for the back and the rib, one can also find old maple, pear and camphor wood in Bernabé guitars. Through their very detailed work father and son give to their instruments a unique sound which is highly esteemed by many musicians: a colourful, sweet tone, with remarkable volume and excellent resonance.
"I have deep respect for the achievement of the two masters. The strong personality of my instrument gives me all artistic possibilities of expression a guitarist can wish. Playing on a Bernabé guitar is not only a particular joy but also an honour to me."
Johanna Beisteiner
