The Torres is a small body guitar with a big voice and a shortened scale length. It features a narrower nut width and slightly narrower neck that is extremely comfortable to play. This guitar is handmade in the USA.

Materials

Beyond the beauty of the construction, one of the most amazing characteristics of an original Torres guitar is the amount of sound produced by such a small and lightweight instrument.  After examining three authentic Torres guitars, we decided to base the construction of our own Torres on an 1856 model that features a smaller body (24.8”) and shorter scale length (640mm). The Cordoba 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. A few modern refinements such as a truss rod, geared tuning machines, durable finish, and non-gut strings were added to improve on what was not available in the 1800s but are essential today.  The result is an instrument that exemplifies authentic Torres designs, voicing, and feel, and captures a rare piece of guitar making history.

The Process

The three original Torres guitars were studied inside and out and played over and over.  The mission was to understand the essence of what gives this iconic guitar such an amazing voice and feel, and then recreate an instrument that possesses these characteristics and carries the same magic in its DNA.  The process was a combination of science and feel; the wood thicknesses of the top, backs, sides, and braces were measured to the nearest hundredth of a millimeter, bracing patterns traced and mapped, and details of the materials, inlays, wood grains, and vibrations were all carefully analyzed.  The guitars were played and listened to for hours to gain an understanding of the balance between the trebles and basses, resonance of the tops, and a sense for the feel and response of each guitar when played in a variety of styles and environments. 

Why Torres?

Antonio de Torres was one of the most important guitar makers of the 19th century, building between the early 1850s and 1892.  Today, a Torres guitar is as revered and collectible among guitarists as a Stradivarius violin is among violinists.  Torres created 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 before its time.  Torres guitars are still the elite standard by which classical guitars are compared with today, and most acoustic guitars in use today are derived from his designs.

Specifications