2026 Ariel Ameijenda "70th Anniversary" AL/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 46 years), and he decided to pull out some of his choicest materials that he's been saving for this moment. This is our 5th "70th Anniversary" from him and this time he's chosen to use some of his coveted Alerce for the top that he only very recently acquired. Although "new" to Ariel, the wood is actually quite old, it can be traced back to stock that came from the workshop of Juan Pablo Cristalino, a maker from Buenos Aires who built guitars in the 1930s. Ariel, and his father before him, consider Alerce an ideal wood for soundboards as it has very tight grains - in this particular top, Ariel has counted at least 4 years per millimeter, so it is ideal for use as a highly efficient vibrating top, also thanks to its old age. The sound is quite unique - it has its own character entirely - although it has some of the warmth and deeper resonance found in cedar, and the extreme clarity and balance found in spruce, it is unlike anything we've heard before - lush, rich with velvety overtones stacked beautifully behind the clear fundamental of every note. To complement this unique soundboard, Ariel selected a breathtaking set of CSA rosewood from his best stock fitted with his newest rosette design, trimming it out with extremely tasteful purflings in the headstock and inner and outer rings of the rosette - making this an elegant instrument in appearance. It also must be said that this instrument has considerable power and great projection, making it ideal for the concert stage, and the playability is very easy on both hands.

See the video embedded in this page which features Adrian Batista who composed, performed and dedicated his original composition “Las Campanas” to Ariel on this very guitar. It was inspired by Las Campanas in Lavalleja, Uruguay—the forest conservation project which is now the location of Ariel's workshop - both where this video was filmed and where this guitar was built. The music is rooted in the musical style of Río de la Plata. Congratulations to Ariel on his 70th year (well, now 72nd!) carrying on his family tradition, and for building such a fantastic guitar!

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

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.