José Yacopi

Who was José Yacopi?

José Yacopi was a Spanish, and later Argentinian luthier.

Yacopi learned the art of guitar making from his father, Gamaliel Jacopi. In 1944, at the age of 27, he won first place at the Concurso Provincial de Artesanía in Barcelona and at the Concurso Nacional de Oficios Artesanos in Madrid for a Neapolitan-style mandolin.

In 1947, Yacopi and his father created, and later patented, an original internal strutting system for reinforcing the top of the guitar. This gives his guitars distinctive and special sound characteristics. In 1949, Jose Yacopi and his wife Pilar Perez-Menchaca moved to General Villegas, then moving to San Fernando in 1951, Argentina, where Yacopi remained for the rest of his life. In 1961 together with his brother in law Agustin Perez-Menchaca establish a guitar factory in San Fernando. Although he constructed various string instruments, he specialized in Spanish guitars.

Among the recognized artists who have bought his guitars are María Luisa Anido, Julian Bream, Eric Clapton, Irma Costanzo, Eduardo Falú, Edmundo Rivero, and Narciso Yepes.