For more than 50 years, the gorgeous, world-class Pimentel guitars have come from one place only:  the hands of a Pimentel father or son.

Lorenzo Pimentel, 76, started the shop while still working as a baker. Now, four of his sons work beside him.

"He's supposed to be retired, but you know how that goes," Rick Pimentel says.

The family makes about 15 styles of guitar; ever one hand-built and custom-made. In fact, every one is built by a single craftsman.

That's what gives it the heart and soul," Rick Pimentel says.

Customers wait anywhere from three months to three years and pay anything from $1,000 to about $40,000.

New Mexico is perfect for guitar-making, Pimentel says, because the air is "like a kiln.

"We bring in wood from all over the world, and they're air-dried from 10 to 15 years."

The shop and showroom are at 3316 Lafayette Drive N.E.