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Manuel Hernandez (1895-1975) and Victoriano Aguado (1897-1972) met and became friends while working together in a piano factory. They eventually formed a partnership and set up their own piano (and furniture) repair shop in Madrid. As legend has it, their great interest in the art of guitar making was secured sometime in the 1940’s when they leased out some space in their shop to Modesto Borreguero (one of the famed Manuel Ramirez workers) and became intrigued with his guitar making skills. Their instruments remain unique in the canon of great makers – they have an almost pear-like shape (or as we say, the plantilla is "pregnant at the hips"), the interior is typically varnished just like the exterior, and they are decorated with unusually thin rosettes and ornately carved headstocks.
The sound of this guitar is just as distinctive as its appearance. The initial attack of the note is crisp and "snappy", almost like a snare-drum, while the body of the note, which follows, is airy and lightweight. These qualities allow the player to achieve a high level of clarity and precision especially when playing quick, busy music - while at the same, the instrument remains very expressive and lyrical when performing slower music. Because of their reputation for being so responsive and musical, Hernandez y Aguado guitars have been played throughout the decades by such greats as Regino Sainz de la Maza, John Williams, Julian Bream, and in recent years by Graham Anthony Devine.
