I like the simplicity of the book-matched back with nothing in the middle on my guitars but when I am making copies I tend to follow the original. There are two ways to do this, one is to glue the strips between the pieces of wood and the other is to inlay them half of the depth. In this case I chose the latter for no special reason. This purfling will be mitered and will continue around the edge of the guitar but only on the back. I listened to and examined another Simplicio this weekend and I feel like I am getting a sense of what they are like. Quite important when you are making a copy. The one I saw was earlier with a Torres-style head and simpler purfling.

The winners of the Segovia competition are:

First prize: Álvaro Toscano Román
Second prize: Yuki Saito
Third prize: Fan Shilong

Today and tomorrow the following participants will pass on to the semifinals: Shenghao Liu  (China). Belmin Okanovic  (Bosnia Herzegovina), Álvaro Toscano  Román  (Córdoba) y Ausias  Parejo Calabuig (Valencia), Javier García Verdugo (Madrid), Fan Shilong (China) , Yokomura Nene (Japan)  y Yuki Saito (Japan).

El polaco Jan Markowski abre el XXXVIII Certamen Internacional de Guitarra Clásica “Andrés Segovia”

This is the only reference I could find that included the names of the participants in this year’s “Certamen”. Good luck to all! I suppose that tomorrow those who advance to the second round will be announced.

Francisco Simplicio made elegant, modernist guitars which were different from those made by his contemporaries. His rosettes, his head carvings and the distinctive bridge decorations set his guitars apart and add to the difficulty in making a true copy. Here is one more aspect that makes his instruments easily recognizable. The linings used on the top and back to the sides are carved to be concave allowing them to support the wide purfling but at the same time to reduce weight.