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Guitar Maker

Music: Delgado Guitars, Nashville, TN
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Do you love working with your hands? Have you always wanted to combine your desire to be a true craftsman with your love and passion for music?

If so, then it’s time to spend two days in Nashville, Tennessee with guitar maker Manuel Delgado.  Manuel will share with you his passion for building unique and handcrafted guitars.

It’s rare in today’s world of mass production to be part of a true craft that has been passed down from generation to generation and still remains true to the core values and integrity from which it was originally built. For Manuel Delgado, however, this is his life. His vocation. He is a skilled guitar maker. A luthier. And he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Living in Mexico in the early 1900's, Manuel’s grandfather (a cabinet maker) and his great uncle (a singer and guitar player) combined their talents and began building guitars together in their home. Years later they opened their own shop in Los Angeles, California where Manuel’s dad grew up immersed in the trade that he would, in turn, pass on to Manuel and his brother. A natural, Manuel was helping with repairs at age seven and by the time he was twelve years old he had already built his first guitar.

Today, in Nashville, Tennessee, Manuel handcrafts each and every guitar himself, using the same methods that his grandfather, great uncle, and father taught him years ago. Manuel has great respect for those that honored the craft before him and the few true luthiers, like himself, that exist today. Manuel shares, “I have always had the desire to build in a traditional manner. I want my life to be about something.”

Several of Manuel’s guitars are modeled and named after the ladies in his life. His mother (Marta), wife (Julie), and grandmother (Rosario) are among those that have unique instruments fashioned in their namesakes. For example, he describes the characteristics of the Monica guitar (named after his sister) as “classy and traditional...yet strong.”

“People tell me time and time again that my instruments don’t sound the way they expect them to. They sound much better”, Manuel proudly admits. The individual attention he gives to each and every build, most consuming nearly 200 hours of his time, is clearly what makes the difference. While his guitars cost more than those being thrown together on an assembly line, true music lovers that appreciate his high-end instruments keep him busier than ever.

No stranger to celebrity clients, Manuel makes a point to treat all his patrons with equal respect and consideration. Giving something back is also part of the value system that was instilled in him as a little boy. After 9/11, he hand-crafted The Unity Guitar which he fashioned after the United States flag. After getting top entertainers to sign the instrument, it was auctioned off at nearly $40,000.  The proceeds went to victims’ families.  Besides the guitar his father made for his mother in 1971 (the year he was born), The Unity Guitar is the creation that means the most to Manuel.

Will Manuel pass on the family craft to future generations? There is nothing he wants more.  He loves to share his passion for building guitars with those that truly appreciate it. Manuel explains, “I want to teach people who want to learn the craft. I want to show them the difference between handmade and mass production. There is power in that education. And my hope is that they would then share that knowledge.”

Manuel doesn’t just make string instruments. He puts his heart and soul into his craft. He sums it up best when saying, “I could teach you how to build a guitar...but if you aren’t offering something of yourself to it...if you are not emotional or passionate about it...it won’t add up.” He reflectively adds, “I think that is true of life.”


Manuel will mentor you in some or all of the following activities:
  • Learn the craft of guitar making in a traditional manner
  • Understand what materials are recommended and used to accomplish certain tones
  • Build standard bracing techniques for a classical guitar and steel string guitar
  • Experience the benefits of a handmade guitar vs. a machine made model
  • Work with mentor on the book-match of a top while learning how to inlay a rosette and brace a top
  • Review websites and marketing plan
  • Outline business start-up costs and tools required to begin a small shop operation
The Guitar Maker VocationVacations® Dream Job Holiday includes:
  • Two days of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job as a Guitar Maker
  • The ability to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®), an online personality assessment designed to identify interests and skill sets
  • The opportunity to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post-VocationVacation career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
  • A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job becoming a reality
  • Light lunches with your mentor

Available: All year based on mentor's availability with the exception of holiday weekends

Price: $949 Per Person

Book this dream job vacation

Watch a great video about Delgado Guitars!


Suggested Accommodations

Hotel Preston

Sheraton Music City
(Not included in the price of your VocationVacation holiday)

Other activities and tourist destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:

Reservation, Cancellation and Rescheduling Rules and Conditions:

Full payment of the VocationVacations dream job holiday is required to make a reservation. A $100 non-refundable fee is assessed if a VocationVacations experience is cancelled or rescheduled prior to 14-days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday, based on the approved availability of the mentor to reschedule. A VocationVacations adventure cannot be rescheduled and is non-refundable if cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday. Written notification of cancellation or rescheduling is required in all cases. In the US, Grounded Nomads, LLC and VocationVacations holidays encourage all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling. In the UK, Grounded Nomads, Ltd and VocationVacations holidays must require all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling and provide verification of such travel insurance to