I was born on October 1, 1951; I studied for Higher Bachelor and Commercial Expert at the University of Valencia as well as two years of Business Sciences, returning to the workshop of my father Manuel Adalid Lázaro, Francisco Esteve Calatayud and Antonio Monfort.

When I was a student, I spent summers at Francisco Esteve’s guitar factory, where I worked as one more apprentice. With my business studies, I decided to set up a guitar trading company at the age of 18, becoming in just two years one of the most important clients of Francisco Esteve Guitars.

When I was 23 years old, I decided to return to Guitarras Francisco Esteve, with full dedication to the construction of the guitar, my father and Antonio Monfort being my teachers in the trade and during these years I completed the whole of my apprenticeship as a guitar maker.

Later, when the founding partners of the company reached retirement age, they decided to appoint me manager, seeing in myself the ability to run the company, both with commercial and technical knowledge, since October 1980 my direction of Guitars has been definitive. Francisco Esteve, SA, which at that time had a workshop area of ​​2,000 m2 and 30 employees, and today the company owns an area of ​​6,000 m2 and 49 employees.

In 1998 my son Manuel Adalid Espert joined Guitarras Francisco Esteve and began learning the trade, establishing the 3rd generation Manuel Adalid III

In recent years I have given lectures talking about the Spanish construction system as well as the new technologies for the construction of the classical guitar, in Spain, France, China (Beijing and Shanghai), Turkey and Argentina.

At present I have the title of Master Craftsman, granted by the Department of Industry and Commerce of the Generalitat Valenciana with number 193, and President of the Association of Musical Instruments (AFIMA).

In the last 7 years I have carried out research tasks in New Technologies for the Construction of Classical Guitars, this being the most enriching task on a personal level that I currently enjoy.

Manuel Adalid Balbuena

Guitar Builder (Luthier)