Where sound is born.

• Author: Bach, Caleb
• Position: Argentine luthier Jose Yacupi

ARGENTINE JOSE YACOPI HAS FINE-TUNED THE ART OF THE LUTHIER, PRODUCING HIGH QUALITY INSTRUMENTS FOR THE WORLD'S VIRTUOSI

WHEN WE LISTEN TO MUSIC, it is all too easy to be dazzled by the performer's artistry or captivated by the composer's brilliant conceptual ideas while completely ignoring that third critical individual, the artist who crafts the instruments which actually produces the sounds we enjoy. In the case of a guitar, for example, how does one preserve every nuance of delicate sound from this ancient instrument yet generate sufficient volume so that, unamplified, it can be heard over an orchestra or in the far reaches of a concert hall? Fortunately, in a world where technology and mass production dominate, there survive a few dedicated souls who continue practicing the art of the luthier, the patient hand construction of one-of-a-kind stringed instruments of the highest quality. Argentina's Jose Yacopi is such a man. Author of over a thousand concert grade instruments, master guitar builder to virtuosi like Julian Bream, Narciso Yepes, Eduardo Falu, and Edmundo Rivera (to mention a few of his famous clients), Maestro Yacopi ranks among the world's great luthiers.

A visit to Yacopi's workshop means a long drive from downtown Buenos Aires upriver through the sprawling neighborhoods of Palermo, Nunez, Olivos, and San Isidro before finally arriving at the suburb of San Fernando. The Maestro's comfortable but nondescript house on Calle San Gines boasts no sign, indeed there is not the slightest hint of the treasures within. Even as one walks down the long path to the back of the property, there are only a few clues: horizontally cut billets of hardwood laid up to dry, the aroma of fresh cut cedar hanging in the air, the distant whine of power equipment emanating from what proves to be his workshop. Yacopi greets his guests at the door, his eyes sparkling with a ready smile, his voice cheerful as he declares, "I make musical instruments here, not furniture!" The point is well taken because the place looks like a cabinet shop and only after a tour of the premises does the identity of the true product gradually reveal itself. Many of the would-be guitars are merely parts, i.e., necks, fretted fingerboards, soundboards, and elements that make up the instrument's body, all at various stages of formation and finishing. Other fledging instruments are just taking shape within clamped forms or matrices, soon to be glued up, then wrapped with wide rubber bands cut from inner tubes to hold the parts in place while the adhesive sets. Instruments nearing completion are most likely to be out of view. They inhabit a special drying chamber that maintains a constant temperature within and combats the excessive humidity typical of the Rio de la Plata Region. Once the instruments have been carefully sanded and finished with "French" polish or lustre a muneca (a mix of shellac and pure alcohol applied with a pad), they are rigorously tested from the bass through the treble register, then housed in their respective leather cases ready for shipment. The guitars do not languish in the workshop very long because this...