Carlos Ortiz builds electric guitars and basses that he describes as “minimalist instruments but with traditional influence” under the name Paragram Guitars in his shop in Ocatlán, in the province of Jalisco, Mexico. He utilizes modern and traditional techniques in his builds, as he tells us, “I like to work with hand tools and do some processes the old-fashioned way. My approach is mixing the best of both worlds, using the CNC machine to get precise and consistent shapes but doing all the contour shaping with a rasp, i.e. neck profile, belly cut, etc.” It’s an approach echoed in his body shapes, as well. We dig the simplicity of his original designs and the cool tweaks he’s made to what at first glance is “just a Strat.”

Carlos shared some nice shots of some recent instruments and works in progress as well. You can find finished available instruments in his Reverb store, follow his work on Instagram and Facebook and find demos of his instruments on his YouTube channel, as well.

#FJFest is the Fretboard Journal‘s way of staying connected during these difficult times: Expect to see never-before-seen shop tours from guitarmakers, unique music performances and a ton of beautiful instruments on a daily basis throughout March 2020 and beyond.

See our ever-growing #FJFest posts here.

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