Selecting wood for instruments since 1957
Selecting wood for instruments since 1957
It all started when Rafael Barber, before heading to Germany, met a Spanish luthier who asked him for something very specific: to bring back a few tops that were hard to find in Spain at the time. Those few pieces Rafael brought back quickly caught the attention of other guitar makers, who began asking him for more and more wood. That growing demand marked the very first step of Maderas Barber: finding and supplying quality wood for people who wanted to build instruments seriously.
Over time, the project grew and took shape thanks to Luis Barber, Rafael’s brother, who led and developed the business for more than 65 years. With a forward-thinking mindset, he traveled the world searching for woods with real value for lutherie, built direct relationships at origin, and laid the foundations of a solid, honest way of working.
That legacy is what we continue today: carefully selecting our woods, offering one of the largest selections in the world—with over 90 different species—and remaining a global reference in tonewood for luthiers.
HOW DO WE WORK?
We travel to the origin country where we personally choose each piece of wood. Sometimes we buy it raw and cut it at the origin location or at our facilities back in Spain.
We stock all the wood we purchase at our headquarters. This is where we cut the raw wood and carry out a second quality control on all the pieces we buy already cut
We classify all pieces according to our own quality criteria. From AAA to C quality, we have several quality levels that we have maintained since the beginning of the company.
We choose the best unique pieces for our MB Exclusive unique pieces stock and we put aside the most suitable woods to create our MB Exclusive finished parts.
WE HELP YOU THROUGH EVERY STAGE OF YOUR PROJECT
From choosing the wood to preparing it
Choose the specific piece of wood you are going to buy.
We sand, calibrate and obtain a flat surface, almost ready to varnish.
Start building your guitar, with no waiting for the natural drying process to take place.
The ideal service for those clients who do not have their own bending machine.
Customize the size of the pieces to fit the spaces and designs you have in mind.
WE CARE FOR THE ORIGIN AND FUTURE OF WOOD
We are passionate about wood and music, but neither of them would be possible without nature. That's why we focus all our actions on respecting nature and giving it the time it needs to regenerate itself. How do we do this?
On the one hand, Maderas Barber is committed to responsible and sustainable forest management. We are FSC®-licensed and currently stock more than 10 sustainable species with 100% FSC® certification. As an FSC®-certified company, we receive an annual audit to verify our FSC® wood stock and ensure that each part of the custody chain has the appropriate FSC® license for these woods. The tracking of FSC-certified wood allows us to control its quality from the origin to the final finish.
On the other hand, we also have many CITES protected wood species. CITES is an international agreement that seeks the conservation of the most vulnerable species and regulates their trading through strict controls on the purchase, exploitation and sale of these species.
We fight against the trade of illegally obtained wood, in accordance with the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), which since 2013 aims to prevent the illegal wood trafficking in order to protect forests. To this end, every time we import wood, we make sure that it comes from legal sources and that its supplier has all the necessary certificates and licenses for export.
Our commitment also extends to the social sphere, as gender equality and the recognition of women in the lutherie sector is a key aspect that we strongly support.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND MADERAS BARBER
CLARA BARBER
President
ANTONIO MINGUEZ
CEO
LAURA TAMARIT
Customers management
PABLO MUÑOZ
Website
ANTONIO MOYA
Wood selection
ANDREEA ATOMEI
Email marketing & design
MARIO GARCÍA
Wood selection
JAVIER NAVARRO
CNC
CÉSAR ABARCA
Order Department
MARIA CRUZ OLIVER
Accounting and finance
TERESA LLABATA
Plywood department
MIGUEL GIMENO
Warehouse
ANDRÉS PARODI
Community manager
JULIO SORIANO
Cutting saws
VÍCTOR MARTÍNEZ
Cutting saws
AGUSTÍN ADDIEGO
Order Department
JORGE SALAS
Logistics and legality
ISMAEL AUÑÓN
Order Department
IÑAKI FONT
Customers management
MIGUEL M. MATALLÍN
Content creator
EVA LLABATA
Order Department
FRANCISCO SÁNCHEZ
Cutting saws
DANUT ROSU
Warehouse
LAURA BULEO
Human resources
RICARDO LIRA
Production
SAMUEL JEAN-FRANÇOIS
Customers management
ANTONI MINGUEZ
Warehouse
RAÚL HERRERO
Cutting saws
FERNANDO PUERTAZ
Order Department
GIUSEPPE SPOSATO
Order Department
COME VISIT US
Come visit our headquarters in Valencia, where you can select the pieces of wood you like best from our entire stock, with no limits or restrictions.
You will have the opportunity to touch the wood, smell it, listen to it, and compare it until you find the pieces you need for your instruments.
You will be accompanied by one of our tonewood experts, and our customer service team will be at your disposal for any questions or queries you may have during your visit, before or after.
If distance prevents you from visiting us, in our online store you can also select the products you need the most. In addition, you have many benefits such as:
Customized service
Via chat, phone, or email
Free Shipping
For Spain and UE
(for orders over 150€)
International shipping
We ship worldwide
Refunds
If you are not satisfied, we refund your money.
Maderas Barber S.L. has been a beneficiary of European Funds, whose objective is to strengthen the sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs, and thanks to which it has launched an Internationalization Plan with the aim of improving its competitive positioning abroad during 2025. To this end, it has received support from the Xpande Program of the Valencia Chamber of Commerce. #EuropaSeSiente
