Felipe Conde

Guitars with passion, heart and soul

• This family business started in 1915
• Felipe’s workshop has always been an artists’ hub
• His guitars are personalised for each musician

If Felipe Conde’s studio walls could talk, they would probably tell us mesmerising stories about the many artists who have dropped by. Paco de Lucía, Leonard Cohen, Pepe Habichuela, David Byrne, Tomatito, Bob Dylan… All of them have fallen in love with a Conde guitar. For Felipe Conde, becoming a luthier was just a natural progression. The family workshop was set up by Domingo Esteso in 1915; his uncle and father, Faustino and Mariano Conde, joined it in the late 20s. Felipe started as an apprentice when he was only 14. "Our family life only made sense around a guitar," he maintains. It must be true: nowadays, he works together with his daughter, María, and his son, Felipe, the heirs of this passion.

Interview

©Victor Torres

©Victor Torres

Do you remember the first guitar you made?

A small-scale one, with a fir top, cypress back and rosette, cedar neck and ebony fingerboard, dedicated to my mother, according to the family tradition. I made my first regular-size guitar for Paco de Lucía, who was a family friend, two years later. His family still keeps it.

Is there a link between your work and the area you live in?

The guitar is a symbol of Spain. Since the end of the 19th century, the so-called Madrid School, of which my family is part, has always been a paradigm of expertise. Guitars made in Madrid have a special aura, based on their supreme quality and their 100 percent handcrafted production.

How do you balance tradition and innovation?

My inspiration comes from the artists’ music played through my guitars, and from the superb skills of my ancestors. We continue this tradition of outstanding craftsmanship. However, we never stop learning; I have always encouraged my daughter and son to be open to new ideas.

What might people not know about your craft?

Many people are surprised to know that making a guitar takes two or three months of work. They are amazed, too, that we use wood that is naturally dried for 30 or 50 years.

Felipe Conde is a master artisan: he began his career in 1971 and he started teaching in 2012

Works

©Maria Conde

©Maria Conde

©Maria Conde

Where