The Spanish luthier Paulino Bernabé was born in 1932. Like many well-known luthiers, Bernabe started out as a cabinet maker.  Unlike most guitar makers--who can not play the instruments they build-- Bernabé is an accomplished guitarist. At seventeen, he began four years of study with Daniel Fortea, one of Tarrega's pupils.  It was during these years that he developed a growing interest in guitar construction.  In 1954, he started as an apprentice in the workshop of José Ramirez. During the years that Andres Segovia started playing Ramirez guitars, Paulino was head artisan and foreman of the Jose Ramirez workshop. Ramirez guitars of the 1960s bearing PB initials are highly sought after by collectors. In 1969, he left the Ramirez  to set up his own workshop in Madrid. He is a not only a very fine craftsman, but an experimenter who has developed his own strutting system and construction methods.

The sound of Bernabé's concert classical guitars are distinct from those made while working for Ramirez, being noticeably less sweet. With robust basses, and strong trebles, his guitars are not only tonally rich, but   uniquely powerful, clear, and focused, with great sustain, projection and punch. Because of these qualities his classical guitars are widely used by many concert guitarists and recording artists, such the late Narciso Yepes. In 1974, he received the Gold Medal at the International Crafts Exhibition in Munich.  In the early, 1980s, he moved his workshop from his store to his home. Since then he has worked he has worked side by side with his son, Paulino, who he describes as his best and most faithful disciple.  Bernabé is not only one of the few living luthiers in Spain included in Summerfield's list of the finest guitar makers since 1800, his work is avidly sought after by players and collectors alike.