Workshop Tour at Pimentel & Sons Guitarmakers
Every year at Zoukology in Albuquerque, NM, we take a little field trip to the legendary Pimentel & Sons Guitarmakers workshop! My friend and the host of our bouzouki weekend, Ken Gilman, has a long-running relationship with Rick Pimentel and his brothers, owning multiple instruments handcrafted or restored in their workshop. Rick generously takes a little time out of his day to walk our group through the building process, showing off woods that will be made into instruments and the turquoise, abalone and coral that will be inlayed into them.
Rick Pimentel checks the tap tone of a soundboard
I love a guitar workshop - the smell of wood and lacquer, the clutter of many instruments in progress, beautiful natural materials in every state from raw to polished. It’s inspiring to see how master craftsmen work. Plus it makes for fun photography!
Oregon myrtle
Innovative new honeycomb bracing
The Pimentel family has been building guitars since their father Lorenzo first set up shop in 1951. Today, the brothers continue his legacy, combining old world tradition and technique, painstaking handcraftsmanship and modern innovation. In addition to building sonically masterful classical and steel-string guitars, mandolins and ukuleles, their instruments are also a celebration of their New Mexico heritage. Locally sourced and inlayed turquoise is one of their signatures, along with their trademarked rosette patterns and inlay designs inspired by Southwest culture and history.
Rosette in progress
Thank you to the Pimentels for once again giving us a peek at the magic behind the scenes!
If you’re even in Albuquerque, be sure to stop in and visit.
