Legend of the Spanish Guitar
Spain is renowned for its flamenco and bullfighting, but it is equally famous for its unparalleled guitar playing and craftsmanship. Renowned luthiers Manuel Caceres and Adolfo Timuat Toyoda, in addition to crafting guitars, have also toured the world, dedicated to promoting guitar-making techniques, and are heavyweight figures in the Spanish luthier community. Both of them serve as advisors and production directors for Li De Lundi. Advisor Manuel Caceres has been a judge for international guitar competitions since the 1980s and enjoys a prestigious reputation. He is also a well-known guitar-making professor with disciples scattered all over the world. Many guitar enthusiasts eagerly order his guitars, often having to wait for over a year to make a purchase.
Production director Adolfo is one of the few masters in the world who possesses both guitar-making and performance talents. His performances have taken him to venues worldwide, including the Lincoln Center in the United States, Carnegie Hall, the United Nations Headquarters, and the sought-after Athenaeum in Madrid for guitarists. He has taught at institutions such as the American Guitar Academy and the Spanish La Ramie Academy, lecturing at various universities in Spain, the United States, Germany, Malaysia, and the Philippines. His specially designed patented bridge enriches resonance and produces a sweet, distinctive tone, earning him acclaim worldwide. His research and creations are treasured by the Spanish National Music Museum and collectors around the world. Liderante was established with the aim of enabling more people to own high-quality ukuleles and bestowing greater artistic value upon the ukulele, making playing more effortless and enjoyable.
Centuries-old Spanish Traditional Craftsmanship
The Linderante Ukulele, founded in 2018, is a workshop initiated by Vincent Li, the Artistic Director of Yilan International Art Festival, who invited Adolfo T.T., a recipient of the Spanish National Art Medal, to join. Adolfo is a rare combination of a musician and a luthier, making his ukuleles tailored to the needs of performers. His guitars are also preserved in the National Library of Spain, attesting to their quality. Linderante’s goal is to utilize the centuries-old traditional craftsmanship of Spain to create professional-grade ukuleles, allowing enthusiasts to own a world-class instrument. To achieve this, they also enlisted the renowned Spanish luthier Manuel Caceres as an advisor. Caceres has been a judge at international guitar competitions since the early 1980s, making him one of the most authoritative luthiers today. His collaboration has made these instruments even more perfect. Through traditional Spanish craftsmanship, meticulous material selection and production, exclusive world patents for the bridge design, special sound board design, and the inheritance of centuries-old French polishing techniques, a perfect ukulele is presented before you.
Stringent Material Selection and Craftsmanship
Usually, only a few top-quality materials can be chosen from a large forest. This is why fine materials are often costly, and it's what makes every master luthier deeply passionate about wood. The materials required for the sides, back, soundboard, fingerboard, and neck of a guitar are all different, and we follow a meticulous process in crafting ukuleles. Crafting a high-quality instrument is truly a rare achievement. During the crafting process, the cutting, drying methods, and craftsmanship of the wood must be of the highest standard, with drying alone taking several years. Stringent handcrafting involves using saws, polishing, and grinding to feel the changes in the wood's texture, followed by fine-tuning the intricate structure to ensure the entire instrument resonates harmoniously. This is the enduring value of handmade instruments.
World Patent-Quality Bridge and Special Resonance Design
Adolfo also holds two exclusive world patents for bridge designs, WO2014142683A1 and US6166309A, which enrich the resonance, create a sweet and distinctive tone, and ensure smooth and beautiful playing. Additionally, special attention is paid to the design of the resonance chamber to ensure consistent volume for all strings, preventing irregular fluctuations in resonance. Precise calculations are made for internal sound beams, balancing the symmetry of the backboard and soundboard, fingerboard recess, and more, to ensure outstanding performance for each instrument.
French Polishing Preserves Wood for Centuries
French polishing is a complex finishing technique that utilizes natural substances such as shellac, resin, pumice, as well as alcohol and plant oils, sourced from insects, trees, and volcanic rocks, among others. This art form plays a crucial role in preserving the life of wood for centuries. Natural French polishing involves applying layers of finish, often more than 40 times, making it a labor-intensive and time-consuming process that does not turn wood into plastic. The results are markedly different from conventional spray painting techniques.
Through the study of renowned violin makers such as Stradivarius and Guarneri, who have passed down their craftsmanship for centuries, we have come to understand the significance of natural French polishing. Natural polish repeatedly penetrates the wood, and once it dries, it is nearly impossible to remove. Typically, this technique can extend the lifespan of violins to over five hundred years or more, producing instruments with rich overtones, elastic tones, and exceptionally beautiful sound quality. Instruments finished with chemically made paints cannot compare.
