Toledo-based Manuel Rodriguez and Son is still making handmade guitars and exports 90 percent of its production to 120 countries. Many of its finest guitars have found their way into the hands of famous musicians, world leaders, Nobel Prize-winners and royalty.
Manuel Rodriguez III owns the century-old family business of the same name, heir to a tradition of guitar manufacturers which dates back to 1905 when his grandfather gave up fishing in Cadiz to dedicate his life to his musical passion.
More than 100 years later, Toledo-based Manuel Rodriguez and Son is still making handmade guitars and exports 90 percent of its production to 120 countries. Many of its finest guitars have found their way into the hands of famous musicians, world leaders, Nobel Prize-winners and royalty.
Over the years, the production process developed by Rodriguez's grandfather has undergone some changes, and while made to order and top range guitars are still totally hand-produced, the workshop now employs some mechanical processes to make production safer and more efficient.
"There used to be a lot of accidents. If you see anyone in the town missing fingers or even a hand you know he worked here," workshop manager Jose Luis Cebillo told Reuters.
Still, the workshop requires 60 percent manpower to make its guitars, and the global crisis of the last few years has forced the business to adapt to challenging market conditions.
Spain plunged into recession three years ago after a decade-long property and construction boom collapsed. Tight credit and falling demand for luxury goods forced the number of workshops down to six from 40 or 50 in just two decades.
Financing can be tricky in such conditions, even for an established company with a good balance sheet, Rodriguez said.
"If we go to a Spanish bank and say we're guitar-makers they ask if it's possible to make a living out of that."
Manuel Rodriguez and Sons has had to reduce its staff by two-thirds in under three years in a country where the number of unemployed has risen to over 4 million, leaving parts of the workshop in eerie silence.
Yet some processes, such as the gluing of parts and a laborious binding procedure remain completely manual, making it easy to understand why the manufacturing time takes a month.
"We're still using string to do the binding, there is no tool or machine to do that. We use a CNN Router to make the necks, that has helped to lower costs. Another approach has been to use machines to polish the varnish," said Rodriguez.
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