I started out working with wood.
MANUEL CAMARGO · BIOGRAPHY
I'm Manuel Camargo Aranda. I was born in Castro del Río, Córdoba, in 1979. I started working in a carpentry shop in my town when I was twelve. Years later I built my first guitar because I wanted to learn to play.
READ MY STORYI started working with wood when I was very young.
At twelve I began spending my summers working in a carpentry shop in Castro del Río. From sixteen to twenty-one I worked there continuously.
Later I learned cabinetmaking with Pepe Rodríguez, a cabinetmaker from Córdoba. At twenty-three I opened my own workshop and began making bespoke pieces by hand.
I made the first guitar for myself.
I wanted to learn to play and needed a guitar, so I copied one that came into my hands. A few professional players tried it, liked the sound and encouraged me to carry on.
After that first guitar I wanted to understand the instrument better and improve what I had made. I started looking for information and experimenting on my own.
I learned on my own.
I have read books and papers about guitar resonance. But much of what I know comes from building instruments and listening to the professional players who visit the workshop.
Pedro Granado helped me in the beginning. Later I built a guitar on commission for Ángel Mata. That work let me hear directly what he wanted from the feel and the tone.
I listen to the people who come to the workshop.
Professional players who have played my guitars include Miguel Ángel Cortés, Juan Antonio Expósito, José Antonio Rico and Manolo Franco, among others.
Every guitarist looks for something different in sound and comfort. That's why I spend time talking to the person, listening to them and understanding what they expect from their guitar.
I don't make two guitars the same.
I look for strong basses without losing the brightness of the trebles. I want the sound to stay balanced, without one part covering another.
Every guitar comes out different, both in appearance and sound. I keep testing and learning with each one. I don't assume I already know everything about this craft.