I have been known to criticize dealers both in general and specifically but let the record show that I know how important they are and the better ones can be very good for the artisan’s visibility. In general those who do what I do are not especially good at self-promotion. The guitars might be fantastic but these days marketing, visibility and who is playing your guitars is sometimes more important than how they sound. You might think that with cheap flights and no borders within European countries that it might be no more difficult to find clients in other countries than it is here. Well, actually, there are an incredible number of guitarists who will only visit the guitar shops in their region and might never buy a guitar from the person who made it. Therefore I am happy to report that my guitars are now available in France thanks to Jean-Marc de Beys at Guitarreria.eu He travels around a lot especially within France and Belgium so getting a chance to try the guitars he carries shouldn’t be too hard. He has just received a concert guitar of mine in spruce and indian which sounds sweet and strong.
Category Archives: Guitar making
herringbone
One of the most time-consuming things in my Torres copy is the herringbone in the rosette. First you have to make it, ensure that all of the points come together and then be sure that the centreline conincides with the middle of the top. Unless you are willing to accept imperfect “arrowheads” the way this guitar-maker was (see the way the interior herringbone is completely shifted and asymmetric) or you are willing to throw a lot of strips away after glue-up then you are stuck with doing it the only way that guarantees results: 
one strip at a time. The trick is to work with your final rosette depth (say 2mm), cut off a strip, flip it and then glue it back on to the larger piece after lining it up perfectly. Then you cut it off again and thickness it to the point where both sides are equal.
Now prior to this you have to glue up alternating veneers and then cut them at an angle to get the half herringbone stock in the first place. Some lutherie texts suggest you work with full height like what you see in the last photo and then slice off the full herringbone strips but I can guarantee you that your points will not all line up. Actually, having a thin white strip in the middle allows for a bit of imperfection because it is not quite so visible.
Manuel Reyes
This week we lost another great of the guitar, Manuel Reyes of Córdoba. Recognized by most as the greatest builder of flamenco guitars, his talent and popularity was another stone in the monument to the traditional spanish guitar. When I met him he seemed to be a very intuitive builder (as opposed to the scientific trends we see nowadays) and was very clear that his place was with the flamenco guitar. He even went so far as to ask himself what he needed to change to make a great classical. This conversation took place in Granada when he travelled here with his daughter Manuela to buy wood from my teacher Rolf Eichinger. We all had lunch together that day and I I remember Manuela being very excited and passionate about the craft she was learning from her father. I met Manuel once more in Córdoba on the occasion of the Festival in 2007 when we were both asked to exhibit a guitar for the hommage to Torrres. If you search “Reyes” one of the first photos to come up is of Reyes with Romanillos and Andrés Dominguez and was taken at the opening of that exhibition.
I am sad to see him go and I wish all the best to his son Manuel and his daughter Manuela.
Original Torres
If any of you are looking for a guitar and feeling flush then this is the instrument for you. It seems that it surfaced quite recently and is in relatively good shape it seems. See the auction here.
The video below shows an earlier Torres.
Granada to Award Medal to Antonio Marín Montero
Guitar-makers and makers of other instruments are not often in the news and when they are it is often due to the rare talent that one or two have for backroom politicking more than a testament to their professionalism. Not the case however with Antonio. November 3rd will see a deserving guitar-maker receive a medal from the Provincial government. Other recipients include a university professor and a poet. The ceremony will be held at the Manuel de Falla auditorium and with a little luck it will be an excuse for the guitar-makers of Granada to get out of their workshops. After all, I am sure that we all feel honoured by the recognition of our craft. Newspaper article in Spanish
I can’t find a video of Antonio anywhere so here is one of one of his guitars along with other guitars being played.