USA Guitar Making Course 2025

The 2025 EDITION is now ready!

It has been 6 years since my last visit to The United States. You cannot imagine how excited I am! I have been looking forward to this visit. Now it is official! In 2025 I will have the pleasure again to teach the Spanish Flamenco Guitar making course at Robert O’Brien’s workshop in Parker, Colorado

I will get to the point: this year is going to be a blast and I am working hard to make an even better edition. The bar is set high! Want to know what I have up my sleeve?

If you are interested in being part of this 2025 edition you can contact Robert at robert@obrienguitars.com or Paco at info@chorobo.com

Traditional Flamenco Guitar Making Course

In this 8 day course we will build a true Flamenco Guitar using traditional Spanish methods. We will be using a solera to assemble a traditional 5+T guitar bracing system with wooden pegs. This tradition was used on old school 1950's "tablao guitars".

This year I have some exciting news:

I will be teaching an advance rosette making course prior to the start of the guitar making course. If you would like to attend both courses, please let us know. You can pay only for attending the rosette course if you wish. Check all the details regarding the rosette making course by clicking here. It is very likely that the four students attending the guitar making course will take part in the rosette course. If you plan on attending only the rosette course, please contact us as soon as possible because there will be only be six seats available.

Six seats for the rosette making course and four seats for the guitar making course. Students attending the guitar making course will have priority to join the rosette class.

The Pre-Course

In 2025, I am going to introduce a new concept: The pre-course meetings.

The number of topics and concepts I would like to cover is a large amount. Therefore before the course starts, we will have several online meetings to cover everything we will experience in the course. You may need a few days to assimilate all this information. It is best to discuss these matters well in advance of the course. You can imagine after having made 3 editions of this course in the USA, I have a good grasp of how the course progresses for the student. In order to improve your learning experience we will take a deep dive into some areas, and we will study the topics together before the course starts. This has two benefits: 1) You will have advance knowledge of the topics and concepts. 2) The in-person part of the course will make more sense.

Let me illustrate the online contents with a few examples:

1. This year we will be making a Stepped Spanish Heel block. Instead of a single face block, this style is more detailed. We will have an online meeting to discuss the how and why of this type of construction. In these meetings we will discuss theory and then you will see me in the workshop cutting wood, glueing up and performing other operations that need special timing. Think of yourself in a private course with me live on the screen. Not just a video tutorial, but a full online real time live class. I have all the technology ready for this and believe me, it's a game changer.
2. This year I really want to take my concept of "custom" to a higher level. All of my guitars are custom made with a personal touch. Even though this is a group course, I want this to be as personal as possible. I will discuss the bracing, playing style and type of sound quality with EACH student. Yes, you heard it right. Every student is going to make a custom bracing. This approach takes a lot of planning. The online meetings held before the start of the course are critical. The number of meetings is yet to be determined. We will have both group sessions as well as private meetings to discuss those areas which are applicable to each student.
3. Also, this year we will be making custom peones. As you know, peones are the little pieces of wood that join the top and the sides together. Making peones takes a lot of time so we will prepare them together. Thanks to the internet, you will be with me in my workshop and I will explain in detail this and other parts of the instrument.

These and many other topics will be part of the pre-course meetings.

All these meetings will increase the planning and detailing of the course to really high levels. We will be productive every single minute during our time together in the workshop. If we find some areas that you may not need in such detail we have the flexibility to remodel the course content for your needs and move on to other areas. This is just one advantage of this approach. I can't wait to start having meetings with you guys and customize every guitar! Needless to say, there is no extra cost. This is part of the course.

All this meetings will increase the planning and detailing of the course to really high levels. We will squeeze every single minute during our time together in the workshop. If we detect some areas that are not as relevant as I expect, we might remodel the course content to remove time from those areas. This is just to mention a few advantages of this approach. I can't wait to start having meetings with you guys to customize every guitar! Needless to say, this has no extra cost and is part of the course.

There is nothing to compare with the "in-person" experience. Maximizing the time at the O'Brien workshop is crucial for me. We will be getting the most value possible out of each minute we spend there. This year we will glue all the critical elements for the sound quality using protein glues on the bracing, peones and bridges. There is a lot to do so be ready to work hard!

The Daily Agenda

This year I am also introducing another new feature to the course: La Libretilla. That's a Spanish word that refers to a notepad... It will be a guide that we will use during the course. All the steps, timing and sequence will be detailed in La Libretilla. I am using a suggestion from past students who wanted to have something like a spreadsheet to follow the agenda of the course. In my one on one courses in Spain, we never use guides because my courses are already highly planned and detailed. I prefer the student to be 100% focused on the process. For this course, a written guide with the agenda will be good to have. So this is the reason for “La Libretilla" . I hope you like it because it is so cool!
I will keep my personal style. You will receive digital copies of the guitar plans, and every single jig I use. Everything is included in the course.

You will learn traditional Spanish luthier techniques including using hide glue, hand carving the neck, and applying the "muñequilla” finish. All the history and cultural significance of the flamenco guitar will be covered. History is a key factor to understanding and making a good flamenco guitar. All the plans for the guitar and the jigs are included. True Spanish Cypress and the other materials are included. Madinter is a respected supplier based in Spain and Paco will personally hand select the wood.

Live the true Flamenco experience at the O’Brien Guitars workshop in this course by Paco Chorobo.

This guitar making class is limited to a maximum of 4 students and will fill quickly!

July 30th · 31st Advance Rosette Making course

Aug 1st · 8th Flamenco Guitar Making course

If you are interested in attending this course, please contact Robbie at robert@obrienguitars.com

The advance rosette course

This year for the very first time I will be offering a rosette making course. We will learn how to make the traditional Spanish rosette and I will share new techniques that I have used on my most famous rosettes: 3D printing, radial taracea, hand painting, encapsulated resin, interference ink and much more! Every student will complete 3 rosettes during this course. A traditional mosaic rosette, a radial rosette and a modern rosette using the latest digital technologies available. If you also attend the guitar making course following this one, you can use the rosette created in this course. All students, no matter if they also participate in the guitar making course, will take the three rosettes back home, one of them fully inlayed and sealed on a guitar top that can be used in future projects. I think you should check the following pictures to get the idea of they type of work I do. Hope you like it!

Guitar, culture and art

It is difficult to sum up in just a few words. This exciting project is not only for me, but also for the master O'Brien. Working with Robert is a privilege only a few have enjoyed. In 2015, I was fortunate to record with him the Flamenco Guitar Making DVD. Now a call from Robert inspires me to create this International Guitar Making Course at his workshop and humbly share my knowledge about this craft. Guitar making is my passion. I proudly share the Spanish guitar making art and my homeland culture with the rest of the world

4 flamenco guitars

4 seats available for this course. MasterO'Brien will be with us making sure everything goes smoothly.

I have a big responsibility and I want to thank everyone who made this course possible. To those who are interested in sharing and participating in this experience, I have no doubt that I will be the one who will learn the most by far!

Ubeda · SPAIN - USA · Parker

Sharing my experience making guitars is my priority. I will offer you the most complete experience and quality content. I will teach you key cultural traditions that define the iconic Spanish Flamenco Guitar. I will pack my suitcase with my daily work, my lifestyle, and the history and culture from my country. Travelling with me will be a small part of Andalucia, Spain which is my home and the world heritage city of Úbeda.