Pimentel & Sons
The Story of a Guitarmaking Family

There is a buzz going on throughout the guitar world about some of the finest guitars being made today. In 1951 Lorenzo and his wife Josefina established Pimentel Guitars and for decades their instruments have received international recognition. Tracing the source of that buzz, one finds himself not in the usual haunts of Spain, Nazareth, Santa Cruz, or Austin, but in Albuquerque, N.M. It is there that Lorenzo Pimentel, the 67 year old patriarch of his guitar making family, works at the art and craft that produces instruments bearing the name of Pimentel & Sons. Perhaps the buzz started back in 1978 when the Pimentels were invited to display their guitars at the Smithsonian Institute. Or when the instruments started showing up in the hands of Pepe Romero, Johnny Smith, Ottmar Liebert, Manuel Lopez Ramos, and other luminaries. Today, the guitars grace the covers of a good many guitar books and videos produced by Mel Bay Publications. They have also been featured in many major magazines, newspaper articles, news programs and news documentaries.

Working alongside Lorenzo are four of his sons: Rick, Robert, Victor, and Agustin. Each learned their craft from their father. Rick and Robert have been dubbed "Master Luthiers" by Lorenzo, each now having apprenticed for more than twenty years. Lorenzo said he knew his sons were ready for the title "Master" when he saw "the sparkle in their eyes as they finish their guitars, the pride and love they put into it."  Gustavo, the youngest of the Pimentel's is a professional guitar player.

Work in the shop is divided according to specific areas of specialty. Building the top of the line Brazilian Rosewood Grand Concert classical, for example, is a task reserved for Lorenzo. Pimentels also build a number of nylon-string variants, including those with faster, slimmer neck profiles, cutaways, and built-in electronics-instruments ideally suited to jazz players. Those models are crafted by Robert. Rick's, whose specialty is steel-string guitars, notes that the specific details of any guitar built in the Pimentel shop are custom made-by hand-in accordance with the wishes of the customer, whether they are ordering a classical, flamenco, jazz, or steel-string acoustic guitar. An interesting case in point is a jazz-classical made for Mr. Mel Bay. The guitar features a larger but shallower body, cutaway, a slimmer neck, and the scale length of a steel-string acoustic.

For their outstanding work, Pimentel & Sons have received numerous awards, including The New Mexico's Governor's Award, special recognition from the US Chamber of Commerce, and an invitation to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and others.

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