Joining a half-day city tour in Cebu, we came to Alegre Guitar Factory in Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island. It was an opportunity to learn more about Filipinos’ guitar-making process and for visitors with interests in acoustic guitars to get new and good-quality ones. We started with a short tour through the factory.
Alegre Guitar Factory is a family-owned maker of high-quality handcrafted guitars in the Philippines. Known for using premium woods (like mahogany, rosewood, and other exotic woods), the instruments that they produced are exported worldwide. The guitar factory is a popular tourist stop where visitors can watch skilled artisans craft guitars, mandolins, and ukuleles.
The musical instruments are usually made using locally-sourced woods, such as mango or jackfruit wood, mahogany, etc. Imported woods, like cedar and rosewood, may also be used. The inside of a guitar may have different arrangements or “acoustic patterns” to create different sound characteristics or effects.
The guitars, and ukuleles too, are then assembled without using nails as they can affect the quality of the sounds produced.
The next step will be to paint and polish the instruments to give them beautiful, shiny finishes.
Last step is the stringing process. Guitars will usually have 6 strings and ukuleles will have 4 strings. The material of the strings can be either be metal or nylon.
And the finished instruments are showcased in the sales gallery.
If you are not into guitars or ukuleles, there are guitar miniatures and keychains in a souvenir shop in the same compound. Bring some back as souvenirs of Cebu.
If you play guitar or ukulele, visiting Alegre Guitar Factory to witness the making process and/or to buy a good-quality guitar is highly recommended. If you are a traveller who happens to chance upon the place, it can be a great way to know more about the Filipino’s traditional musical culture.
Address:
Alegre Guitar Factory
Pajac-Maribago Road, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines
Opening Hours:
8am to 6pm (Sunday: 9am to 5pm) | Daily
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