The Spanish luthier Paulino Bernabé Roman (born in 1960) is a world class maker as was his father, Paulino Bernabé Almendariz (1932-2007). Although he literally grew up in his father’s shop, formally began he working with his father in the early 1980s, and they worked side by side for 30 years. Like his father, Paulino Jr. is a not only a superb craftsman, but also an experimenter constantly seeking to improve both construction methods and various sound qualities of the guitar. The model 15 is constructed entirely by hand in his Madrid shop in collaboration with qualified luthiers who work with him using the tools and techniques that traditional luthiers have long used.

Although the model 15 is not at the top of Bernabé's line of models, it is a fully professional concert guitar, and has the volume, projection, and quality of sound to prove it. As Paulino explained his approach to me, "it takes almost as much time to build an estudio model as it does a top concert model (artistic decorations aside), so why waste time building a guitar of inferior materials."  As one goes up his line of models what changes is quality of materials becomes ever finer, ever rarer, and at the top heirloom woods that may be up to a century or more old-- woods with spectacular grain or unique figures. Nonetheless, the model 15 has the same instantly recognizable Bernabé character--a bold, firm Spanish sound, great volume, projection, presence, evenness of tone, balance, and wide palate of color.