2025 Carlos Juan Busquiel CD/AR

This 2025 Carlos Juan Busquiel is a new Spanish classical guitar with a cedar top and African rosewood back and sides, made in Petrer (Alicante) by a maker who completed his training with José Luis Romanillos.

A Cedar and African Rosewood Classical Guitar from Petrer

Another beautifully made classical guitar from Carlos Juan Busquiel, with cedar for the soundboard and a set of nicely figured African rosewood for the back and sides. It also features his newest rosette design, influenced largely by the work of Enrique García. Lightly braced with only 5 fans and a thin bridge plate, it also has ample volume for the player seeking added power combined with a lush, traditional sound.

Sound: Firm, Weighty Notes and Crystalline Clarity

The sound is just as solid as the build – as with all of Carlos' guitars, it has a very compelling firmness in each note: the trebles are thick and weighty, as are the basses. Its fullness of sound still leaves plenty of room for a crystalline clarity across all registers. This is an instrument which lends itself beautifully to virtually any style of music, from the Renaissance to the present. We are very pleased to be offering this fine instrument by this very talented maker.

Photos taken during this guitar's construction

Carlos Juan Busquiel: From Violin to Guitar

Carlos Juan Busquiel was born in 1980 and started playing the guitar at age 12, although his formal music studies at the conservatory were done on the violin. His interest in lutherie began when, self-taught, he embarked on the construction of an electric violin for personal use. It was a very simple instrument, but it helped him to enter the world of violin making. The next step was the construction of an acoustic violin, based on the "Kruse" Stradivari.

Trained by Rafael López Porras and José Luis Romanillos

It was at this time that he had the good fortune to meet luthier Rafael López Porras, who formally introduced him to the art of guitar making. Rafael was his first teacher and impressed upon Carlos the passion for building guitars in the Spanish method. From that moment on, Carlos became committed exclusively to building guitars. He completed his training with none other than the great José Luis Romanillos, in a course on the construction of a vihuela de mano directed by Jaume Bosser and assisted by Joan Pellisa. Meeting Romanillos and listening to his advice was a decisive step for Carlos in developing his concept of the Spanish guitar and its traditional construction features, based on the designs of Antonio de Torres. Later, José Luis Romanillos also gave advice to Carlos during the construction of a Torres replica.

Influences and Workshop in Petrer, Alicante

Carlos has had the good fortune to evaluate many other master guitars from the likes of Vicente Arias, José and Manuel Ramírez, Santos Hernández, Enrique García, Francisco Simplicio and others, which has also been decisive in the development of his personal style. Carlos works in Petrer, a town in the province of Alicante in eastern Spain, where he lives with his wife and two children.