2024 Ariel Ameijenda "70th Anniversary" CD/CSAR

Ariel has been deciding on how to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Ameijenda guitars (his father started building guitars in 1954 - opening his own shop 3 years later, and Ariel has been building for 45 years), so when Alberto Martinez came to visit Ariel earlier this year to do his profile of South American luthiers for the 23rd edition of Orfeo magazine, Alberto brought a special gift to Ariel from Paris - a cedar top from Daniel Friederich's private stock that dates from 1980 and some of the very last of Friederich's shellac flakes. Ariel immediately knew this was the wood and French-polishing material for this special occasion! To complement this unique soundboard, Ariel selected a breathtaking set of CSA rosewood from his best stock, designed a gorgeous new rosette and trimmed it out with extremely tasteful purflings in the headstock and inner and outer rings of the rosette - making this an elegant and tasteful instrument in appearance. And for sound - Ariel decided not to try and emulate Friederich in any exacting way other than to nuance the top and brace it in his own personal way to allow the top to resonate freely and release its sonorous potential. And what a sound this is - lush, rich with velvety overtones stacked beautifully behind the clear fundamental of every note. Ariel really figured out how to allow this cedar to sing beautifully and in addition, it has substantial power to satisfy the needs of a modern concert guitarist. Ariel also tells us he spent extra attention working the trebles to make sure they had great presence and clarity since cedar by nature tends to be strong in the mid-range and lower frequencies. And a resounding success this is - a great concert instrument by any standard, from the most respected luthier currently working out of Uruguay. Congratulations to Ariel on his 70th year carrying on his family tradition, and for building such a fantastic guitar!

Photos of this guitar taken during construction with Alberto Martinez delivering the cedar top from Daniel Friederich's private stock!

Ariel Ameijenda was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1963 as the son of one of that country’s most famous guitar makers, Manuel Ameijenda. Manuel had learned the craft from Juan Carlos Santurion, a pupil of Ignacio Fleta from the early 1950′s. The elder Ameijenda opened his own shop in 1957, and shared it for several years with Jose Lopez Cubillo, who had been the lead craftsman at the workshop of Jose Ramirez II. Ariel is currently the only 2nd generation builder from Uruguay and his foundation is clearly solid from the training he received from his father, starting at age 14. The Ameijenda workshop both then and now has also been a repair facility for the finer instruments that have passed through South America over the years, so Ariel has seen, inspected and repaired some of the finest instruments from the great masters such as Hauser I, Simplicio, Santos, Garcia and others. When he was 19, Ariel entered university where he studied Musicology. During those four years, he paid special attention to the subjects of Acoustics and Music History. These were very useful studies which have greatly influenced his approach to the construction of guitars and ancient instruments. In 1997 Ariel opened his own workshop in Montevideo where he builds not only guitars, but also period string instruments including baroque guitars, vihuelas, lutes and theorbos. In 2014, he moved to the heavenly settings of the Cerro de los Burros near the city or Piriapolis on the East Coast of Uruguay in order to respond to his growing list of orders and fully commit to the construction of the finest guitars.