The Spanish luthier Paulino Bernabé Roman (born in 1960) is a world class maker as was his father, Paulino Bernabé Almendariz (1932-2007). The elder Bernabé had studied guitar with Daniel Fortea, one of Tarrega’s students, and was the foreman and head artisan of the José Ramirez III workshop, during the 1960s when Segovia started playing Ramirez guitars. Both guitars he made for Ramirez which bear his initials PB, and those he made under his own label are highly sought after by collectors. In 1969, Paulino left Ramirez and opened his own shop in Madrid. In 1974, he received the gold medal at the 1974 International Crafts Exhibition in Munch. In 1982, he was named artisan of the year by the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid.
Although Paulino Bernabé II, had literally grown up in his father’s shop, he formally began working with his father in the early 1980s, soon after finishing his military service in the Army’s Polytech School in Madrid. Father and son worked side by side for more than twenty-five years. Paulino Sr described his son as "his best and most faithful disciple,” and his work became indistinguishable from his father’s. Like his father, Paulino Jr. is a not only a superb craftsman, but also an experimenter constantly seeking to improve both construction methods and various sound qualities of the guitar.
The sound of Bernabé II concert classical guitars have a bold Spanish tone, with robust basses, and strong trebles. They are not only tonally rich, but uniquely powerful, clear, and focused, with great sustain, projection and punch. Because of these qualities his classical guitars are widely used by many concert guitarists.