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The Spanish luthier José Lopez Bellido was born in Granada in 1943.
From childhood, he was drawn to music, and formed a group that toured Spain
and other European countries for some years. Tiring of the life on the road,
he began an apprenticeship with Eduardo Ferrer
building bandurrias and guitars. He worked for Eduardo Ferrer, on and off, for 14
years, and eventually married one of Eduardo's daughters. After he left the
Casa Ferrer, he worked
for a time with
his brother Manuel, and also studied with the guitar maker Antonio Marin
Montero for a while.
In 1968, he established his own shop. Over the years, he has trained Antonio Raya Pardo
and Bernd Martin. Jose's guitars are entirely hand crafted, using the traditional system of
construction, that of Ferrer, Santos Hernandez, and Ramirez, etc. His
classical and flamenco guitars are used by many famous guitarists in Europe,
Japan, and America. |