Paul Aguilera Luthier

About Me

 

 

 

I have been involved with the Spanish guitar in some way or other for 45 years. For the last 30 I have been making Classical and Flamenco guitars, firstly in the UK after spending 2 years in the workshop of Master Luthier Stephen Hill, and now in the Sierras de Cordoba in central Argentina. In between I completed my BSc Musical Instrument Tecnology studying with world reknowned guitar maker David Whiteman at London University and then studied at SOAS University of London completing a masters in Ethnomusicology in 2000.       

I have been making and repairing guitars and other plucked stringed instruments professionally since 2001.

In September 2019 I won 1st Prize in Tucumán, Argentina in the Triennial Makers Competition celebrating 75 years since the founding of the Tucumán School of Lutherie by Alfredo del Lungo, the oldest of its kind in Latin America.

In 2022 I reached the final of the Antonio Marin Montero Guitarreros Competition in Granada, Spain one of the most prestigious guitar making competitions in the world. I hope to be competing again in this years 2024 edition.

I was invited on to the jury of the Sep 2022 Triennial in Tucumán to choose the winning maker and give a series of lectures on the Spanish Guitar.

Here you can hear Ernesto Bouvier playing an original composition called Vengo del Sol on my award winning Torres FE18 model which won 1st Prize in 2019 in Tucumán, Argentina.

Receiving my finalists certificate from Manuel Cáceres at the 2022 Antonio Marin Montero Guitarreros Competition

I have been living here in Argentina with my family for 12 years and after constructing my own workshop I started building principally Classical & Flamenco guitars, whilst continuing to research historical guitars such as Torres, Simplicio, Santos Hernandez, García, Manuel Ramirez. These makers have greatly influenced my approach to making guitars. I still find a little time to develope my own ideas with some more contemporary models offering modern alternatives to the traditional Spanish guitar. 

 

I also like to experiment with new materials for the back and sides, so over the years I have made many guitars with both local woods as well as woods from other regions of Argentina. I also use recycled materials such as cedar doors for necks etc, some of my best material can come from this source.

Pepe Romero congratulating me  in Granada after the competition in 2022

Franco Amarilla playing an FE18 model made of Laurel and Spruce with a Padauk bridge.