The Córdoba Torres is the culmination of centuries of classical guitar making, largely inspired by the work of the great luthier Antonio de Torres but with modern design elements that make this guitar accessible to guitarists today. Original Torres guitars are know for their surprisingly huge sound, despite their small and lightweight frames. The Córdoba Torres carries on this legacy with its big voice and shortened scale length, and is based on a specific 1856 Torres with a 24.8" body size and 640mm scale length.
- Family - Traditional
- Style - Classical
- Construction - All Solid Woods
- Made in USA
Why Torres?
Antonio de Torres was one of the most important guitar makers of the 19th century, building between the early 1850s and 1892. As a Stradivarius violin is revered among violinists, a Torres guitar is prized and collected among guitarists. Torres innovated a body shape, bracing pattern, soundboard arch, and other design elements that were revolutionary for his time, transforming the guitar into a much louder and resonant instrument with more projection than any guitar that had come before it. Not only are Torres guitars the elite standard by which most classical guitars are compared to today, but most modern steel string acoustic guitar designs are traceable to the Torres lineage.
Our Approach
We embarked on designing the Córdoba Torres by examining three authentic Torres guitars from the inside out. With a goal of understanding the essence of this iconic guitar, we studied wood thickness, bracing designs, material choices, wood grains, and vibration patterns. The combination of our own luthiers’ expert hands, trained eyes, and intuitive ears lead to an examination that was part science and part feel. After listening to and playing these guitars for hours on end, we fully analyzed the balance, resonance and response of each Torres to fully inform our own design choices.
Construction
Handmade in our small, boutique workshop in California, the Torres features a narrower nut width and slightly narrower neck, making it extremely comfortable to play. The Córdoba Torres is built with a solid Engelmann spruce top and solid Indian rosewood back and sides. The neck is Spanish cedar, topped with an African ebony fingerboard. Breaking the Torres tradition, modern refinements such as a truss rod, geared tuning machines and a breathable nitrocellulose finish make this a guitar for contemporary players. A hardshell humidified archtop case is included.