on the foothills of sierra madre in san jose del monte, bulacan, is a busy workshop of luthiers. my wife and i have visited the shop three times since mid-year. it came along with my wife's sudden keen interest on learning to play the cello and with the revival of my violin-playing that has been in neglect for more than half of my life.
enter mr. amador tamayo, otherwise known as stradi variant on facebook, amati to close friends, as these extremely fragile instruments require a good luthier. and he has a backlog of orders from around the world. one waits three years to have a custom-made violin or cello that he personally creates. and, he takes pride in saying that, in his youth, he could make three violins a year. however, he has slowed down creating, not due to age, as he still continues to keep fit with supplements and rigorous exercise, but because of the deluge of violins, violas, and cellos in need of repairs and proper set-up.
there is an amador jr who is a clinical psychologist but has become a apprentice luthier under the father's tutelage. during our visit last september, he was busy shaving off into shape a flat piece of wood with a tiny carving tool that looked like a small pencil eraser. last week, joy developed a problem with the bridge of her cello as she tried to tune the high string; we had to visit the shop again. the flat piece of wood has assumed a more recognizable form of what the young luthier humbly calls "a violin for beginners". i am looking forward to the finished masterpiece in the next visit. i can only hope it is a social visit as the place is frequented by fellow luthiers and musicians. for now, i am content with seeing the wife again serious and happy with her cello-playing.
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| amador tamayo, jr checking on the thickness of a soundboard he was carving out. |
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| the young luthier with a violin taking fine shape. |
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| the wife with a cello fully repaired. |
