Adolfo Toyoda Timuat

“The great guitar luthier Arcangel once told renowned guitarist John Williams, ‘I still don’t know how to build guitars.’ To which John replied, ‘Maestro, don’t worry. We don’t know how to play them either.”

“A guitarist spends money to buy new strings because he practices often and the strings wear fast. He listens to the beauty of the sound rather than look for small scratches caused by his playing or minute imperfections which actually are signs of handmade craftsmanship. He does not spend money on gadgets or cosmetics. He respects his guitar but never becomes a slave to it. Rather, he takes  command and pulls out his guitar from its case whenever he desires to practise and enjoy it more. He checks his fingernails to see if it needs trimming, but not at the guitar.

While on the other hand, a luthier builds and gives life to the instrument. He leaves behind his fingerprint as he touches and fine tunes the instrument. He aims for “zero flaw”  before it leaves his small shop and does not mind the countless hours he spent to meet perfection.  A great luthier will possess an elephant’s ear, a hawk’s eye,  a golden touch, and St Francis’ heart. These thoughts and insights handed down from my Maestros so long ago, remains my  criterion to this day.”

“A renowned guitar researcher once said to the legendary Spanish maker Arcangel Fernandez, ‘After 40 years, I have made a milestone discovery.  The guitar has 6 strings!’ Arcangel goes to double-check and counts the strings one by one on his guitar and exclaims, “You are right!“

• Adolfo Toyoda Timuat

This is how Maestro Adolfo remains philosophical about it all. The humility of the guitar masters he’s had the privilege of meeting whether they be the supreme craftsman or the paramount performer.

He is a Filipino-Japanese descendant living in Madrid and a much sought after flamenco guitarist not just in Spain but around Europe and Southeast Asia. He is recognized by guitar masters of Spain as “guitarista de concierto, compositor, professor, e investigador”. Born in Okinawa, Japan of a Filipino father and Okinawan mother. They moved to Manila when he was 6 years old. His passion in  painting and woodworking led him to collect sketches of Filipino masters Luna and Hidalgo in Spain and has put up his own guitar shops both in Madrid and Cebu. Based in Madrid, Spain, for 25 years now, Adolfo comes home to the Philippines about once or twice a year to perform and promote the Spanish guitar.

His research and investigations took him to museums, private collectors and builders all over the world. He studied guitars built by the old masters from Antonio Torres, the father of classical guitars to today’s impeccable builder Manuel Caceres of Madrid. He has traveled and toured around Europe, the United States, South America, the Middle East and Asia giving performances, lectures, teaching guitar playing and construction.

He has studied with some of the greatest flamenco guitarists and guitar builders in Spain such as Sabicas, the legendary gypsy Juan Maya Marote and Archangel Fernandez. He also took masterclasses at La Conservatorio Superior de Musica de Madrid. For four years he would accompany dancers at Amor De Dios, the best flamenco school in Spain, including Joaquin Cortes before Cortes became a star. He also played alongside top flamenco guitarist Rafael Riqueni. He eventually got a master’s in Classical Guitar from the Real Conservatorio Superior de Musica de Madrid, and the title of Luthier of Stringed Instruments from Castilla-La Mancha in Spain, which comes with an actual license to build concert classical and flamenco guitars.

Adolfo teaches at Runnymede College in Madrid and builds guitars in his shop. His guitar building school is the International Musicraft of Asia with a branch in Malaysia. To date, Adolfo has hand built more than 500 guitars. Adolfo is the only Filipino recognized with the Carnet de Artisano from Castilla La Mancha as a builder of string instruments in Spain. He is an expert on tonewoods and exports and imports wood from all over the world.

(Ref:  SinagTala Management for Filipino Performing Artists; CULTURE VULTURE By Therese Jamora-Garceau)

He has given solo concerts throughout the world with special mention Carnegie Hall, and twice at the Lincoln Center, New York. Currently, he is conducting workshops on Guitar and Ukulele construction in the following countries: Philippines, Malaysia, Spain, and Taiwan.  And just recently chosen as one of the judges in the XXIII CONCURSO INTERNACIONAL DE GUITARRA CIUDAD DE LINARES ‘ANDRÉS SEGOVIA, an international Andres Segovia guitar competition in Linares, Spain.

He collaborates and experiments the use of thermaly modified wood (TMW) together with the forestry of the state university of Yilan,  in conjunction with Acoustic Scientists, Guitar/Ukulele String makers and the TMW Company in Taiwan.

(Thermally modified wood (TMW) is wood that has been modified by a controlled pyrolysis process of wood being heated (> 180 °C) in absence of oxygen inducing some chemical changes to the chemical structures of cell wall components (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose) in the wood in order to increase its durability. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermally_modified_wood) )

He is also one of the organizers of Yilan Music festivals, inviting musicians from all over the world to perform in Taiwan every year.

His constant travels to other countries has brought him access to different types of wood which he exports to fellow luthiers.

His works, his journeys, his laughter, and his  love for music and the guitar has brought joy and satisfaction to aficionados all over the globe.  The hope that future generations continue to appreciate  the music that he advocates constantly remain to be his ultimate dream.

– GTJ