"This Maestro Blanca guitar sounds loud and very punchy with great basses and very nice balanced trebles. The quality of workmanship is excellent. Its excellent craftsmanship, good wood selection and easy playability make this full-blooded flamenco blanca guitar into a real bargain in its price class."  The Spanish luthier Valeriano Bernal, born in 1939 in Cadiz, began, at an age of eight year, learning the rudiments of woodworking  from his cousin, Francisco  Ramirez Leo.  Once he finished his civil Spanish navy, Valeriano Bernal started his own workshop near Brussels in 1962. During his time in Belgium Valeriano Bernal studied with two local acoustic engineers the designs of guitar tops.  When he returned to Spain in 1976, Valeriano set up his own workshop, working with his family, his wife, Catalina Gil and their two children, Rafael Bernal Gil (b. 1973) and Paula Bernal Gil (b. 1976). Valeriano's flamenco guitars are famous for its endearing deep, dark tonality that flamenco guitarists love. Valeriano has built flamenco guitars for Paco Cepero, Manolo SanLúcar, Victor Monge (Serranito), Parrilla or Carbonero. Great flamenco players such as Sabicas and Paco de Lucia have also used his guitars in their recordings. Bernal's stature is such that Luis F. Leal Pinar devotes an entire chapter in "Guitarreros de Andalucia" (2004) to him.