Ricardo Sanchis Carpio
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The Ricardo Sanchis dynasty of guitar makers was founded in 1915 by Ricardo Sanchis Nacher (1881-1960) a talented luthier with close ties with the shops of Manuel Ramírez and Domingo Esteso. The Ricardo Sanchis factory is now headed by his grandson, Ricardo Sanchis Carpio, born (1937). Ricardo's father died when he was but 18 months old, and so he was brought up and trained by his grandfather. Aside from this informal instruction, Ricardo has a masters in guitar construction (1970). Recently, Ricardo's sons, David and Herman, have joined the firm. Although their production line guitars are still made under Ricardo's supervision, they are now marketed as "Guitarras Hermanos Sanchis Lopez," and Ricardo now dedicates most of his time to building their concert models. Although his shop employs 12 craftsmen, produces about 1200 guitars a year, much of the work is still done by hand, machinery being limited to milling wood and finishing. The Sanchis shop is modern in the sense that it is specially designed to control humidity and to provide the optimum conditions for building guitars. As his factory is located within minuets of the warehouses which supply wood to all of Spain's guitar makers, routinely he is first to select woods from new shipments. Ricardo Sanchis also has developed his own secret formula of French polish--without oils that dampen the guitar's vibrations--that gives his guitars superior acoustic characteristics and aesthetics. |
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