Cândido Jacob has always been fascinated by music and it was a guitar problem that made him dedicate himself to research into its reconstruction and repair. In 2011 he had his first contact with building instruments, went to Paris and nowadays dedicates all his time to guitars.

Cândido, how and when did your passion for music arise? What made you want to create stringed instruments?

I don’t know exactly when a passion for music arose. I believe that I have always been passionate about melody and rhythm. To complement my love for music, my father enrolled me in a music school when I was 7 years old to learn the keyboard and from that moment on music became part of my daily life.

I’ve always been curious about how acoustic guitars are built and how they work, however, I’ve never done any kind of intervention, other than changing strings every now and then. The moment I had a structural problem with my guitar and didn’t know how to solve it, I started researching guitar construction and repair, I started buying books, watching videos and taking notes about construction. The next thing I knew, I was quitting my job to dedicate myself to building guitars.

How did you learn this art? How long have you been working on creating instruments?

I started my apprenticeship at Fernando Meireles’ workshop, in Coimbra, between 2011 and 2012. It was in his workshop that I had my first contact with instrument building. Here I learned several ancestral techniques for working with materials (wood, bone, etc.) and for making my own glue and varnish, elements that in themselves help to make the instrument richer, both in terms of sound and aesthetics! Between 2012 and 2013 I went to Paris and spent four months in Luthier Ludovic Barrier’s workshop, where I learned another type of construction (Archtop guitars) that ended up complementing the initial learning. In the summer of 2013 I decided to take the plunge and follow this path alone.

There are several string instruments. Are you dedicated to any of them in particular? Why the preference?

My activity as a builder is mainly directed towards the construction of steel string acoustic guitars, guitars closely related to Blues and Folk! The preference for this type of guitar is perhaps explained by the passion and admiration I have for the sound, perhaps because it is the sound that has always captivated me, or perhaps because it is the guitar I enjoy playing the most! Within this sound, I also build Weissenborn style guitars (acoustic lapsteel) which are known for their peculiar sound and quite popularized by Ben Harper.

Occasionally I also build other types of acoustic guitars (classical guitars, cigar-box guitars), depending on the project and challenge presented to me.

Is it possible to explain the process of creating a string instrument? How long it takes?

Of course! Summarizing the process a little: it all starts with creating a drawing/plan of the instrument. Here you will stipulate its dimensions (length, width and height), the size of the scale, and some aesthetic details that will make the instrument a unique piece. Then the woods will be chosen, which differ depending on the type of sound we want in the instrument. Then it’s all a matter of dexterity, patience, symmetry, ear and aesthetic sense. The entire instrument case is “assembled”, after heat bending the sides and gluing and sculpting the harmonic bars on the top and bottom of the case! The neck, after being carved, is fitted into the box. After gluing the fingerboard and placing the frets, the entire guitar is sanded until it is flawless and smooth to the touch. It is varnished like a “doll” (artisan varnishing process, which takes a few days) with a self-made varnish, the bridge is glued, the tuners are installed, the bone lashes and strings are made. The last process is to make the guitar comfortable and smooth when played, without any type of parasitic noise, with a good timbre and good sustain.

This brief description makes the process of building a guitar seem easy, but it is much more complicated and it takes me about two months from creating the design and mold of the guitar to installing the strings and having it play!

Is there anything that identifies a piece made by Candido Jacob?

I believe that at first glance, a guitar that is built by hand stands out from one that is made in series, in a factory. Mine stand out for their shapes and sizes (small and medium format guitars), the type of finish (shellac/oil) and my signature: I sign, with a hot stamp, my logo on a wooden plate that It is glued to the bottom of the guitar, where it is visible through the soundhole. Of course, the guitar also has the date and my signature on the top (visible with a small mirror) but the result of the stamp is never the same, symbolizing the uniqueness of each guitar I build!

Who usually orders string instruments? Any work that is more special due to the work process or the person in question?

My guitars are appreciated by many musicians who pass by my workshop! However, those who end up ordering a guitar are those looking for a guitar tailored to their needs, in their style, a guitar imagined by themselves. Those are looking for a concert instrument, with a richer and more complex sound. And this is where I come in, where I try to deliver the sound and aesthetics imagined by the client, or even exceed expectations.

Generally, those who order are those who already have some knowledge about the richness of these handmade instruments, how they are constructed, and of course, want to have a unique instrument!

I don’t have any job that is more special than the other. But I always try to surpass previous work with current work… and so on! The aim is to always improve and learn over time and the construction process in order to obtain better results, both acoustic and aesthetic! That’s why they are all very special, for a variety of reasons.

Besides the fascination with this craft, what else is on this list? If you weren’t a Luthier, what would you be?

I am increasingly certain that my choice to follow this path was the right one. I wouldn’t change my profession and it’s very difficult to imagine what I would be like if I weren’t a Luthier, but if I had to imagine, I would certainly have some work related to music and instruments… I’ve always had a great admiration and fascination with the piano tuning process.

A person for whom you would like to create a stringed instrument?

It’s a little difficult to say who I would like to build a guitar for, especially because there have been many musicians who have influenced me throughout my life and there are many current musicians who continue to have a strong influence on what I do. Although impossible, I would have liked to have built a guitar for Nick Drake and Elliott Smith. I would also like to build a Weissenborn for Ben Harper since it was with him that I had my first “contact” with the sound of the Weissenborn. These, among many, are a constant influence and their music has accompanied me throughout my life and my activity as a builder.

Interview: Ana Suzel
Photographs: Rights Reserved Candido Jacob and Peter Forest