The Acoustic Guitar
 
Anatomy of the Acoustic

In principle, there are two types of acoustic guitar.  The first is the flat top and the second, the arch-top.  Classical nylon–strung instruments together with steel-strung “folk” guitars, come under the general description of a flat-top with a round sound-hole, whereas the archtop acoustic was developed later.  The archtop acoustic style of guitar was primarily designed to increase the volume of the basic instrument.

Antonio De Torres (1817-1892)
The Guitar began to develop and become known as the “classical” guitar during the nineteenth century.  The maker mainly responsible for this development was Antonio de Torres.  The European guitar had diverted away from five courses to six single strings around the start of the 19th Century.  The majority of the early six-string instruments had relatively small bodies with transverse strutting inside the upper most part of the body, examples of which included the 1830s guitar made by Rene Lacote.  Torres then introduced a slightly bigger although not a heavier body, with bouts that were much wider, he also founded the fan-strutting pattern inside the upper most part of the body, as the most effective for the Spanish Guitar.

Torres’ strategies culminated in a more wide-ranging tonal instrument, especially in the bass, and his conceptions for an integrated guitar were expansively adopted in Spain and further beyond.
Torres was born in Spain near Almeria and worked in Seville between 1852-1869 and then Almeria from 1875-1892.  His theory that the guitar’s top was the key essence to its sound was developed through the production of his designs.  Torres’ patternised fan-strutting for the upper most part of the underside, his characteristic “doming” of the lower bout, his increased elevation of the bridge proportionately towards the upper body, and his utilization of relatively thin woods, all contributed to producing strong but non-cumbersome guitars with a responsive rounded sound and attractive simplistic visual image.

Classical And Flamenco
Torres’ influence spread throughout Spain and the remainder of Europe.  Guitar making expertise became the focal point of Madrid and some of the most renowned of these guitarreros (guitar makers), are detailed below:

Marcelo Barbero (1904-1955) was another of the great flamenco makers.
Manuel Ramirez (1864-1916) was highly regarded for both “classical and flamenco guitars.  His workshop produced many later great makers.  Early guitars were produced in the style of his brother Jose Ramirez I, but Manuel own style was soon to be defined.
Hernandez (1873-1942) was a brilliant student of Manuel Ramirez.
Domingo Esteso (1882-1937) who trained in Madrid at Manuel Ramirez’s workshop later established himself in his own right.

Twentieth-Century Classics
From a visual perspective, the majority of “classical” guitars are consistent with the shape and common characteristics of Torres’s nineteenth–century designs, however, some makers now utilise bigger bodies.  Moves for adaptation have also occurred inside the guitar, primarily in the design of the strutting under the guitar’s top, which is imperative, to its overall tone and volume.  It is the manufacturing of the latter quality, while keeping, perhaps improving upon the former, that has challenged the minds of many makers.

Classical Guitar Makers

The 1968 Rubio 
Englishman David Rubio lived and worked in Madrid, apprenticed at the workshop of Domingo Esteso (maintained by his nephews).  He built guitars in New York from 1961, and from there he started a workshop in England from 1967 (initially on Julian Bream’s farm).  Manufacturers from Rubio’s workshop such as Paul Fischer are recognised in their own right.

The 1973 Kohno
Masaru Kohno was the leading Japanese "classical" guitar maker.  He died of renal cancer on 13th December 1998.  Initially he studied guitar making in Luthier Arcángel Fernadández’s workshop in Madrid.  Kohno then moved on to establish his own facilities during the late1960s in Tokyo.

The 1985 Romanillos
 “La Buho” – José Romanillos was born in Madrid in 1932, and from 1959 has since lived in Britain.  In 1970, he established a workshop near Julian Bream’s home in England; by which time he estimated that he produced around 17 guitars per year.  From 1973, Bream played Romanillos guitars as well as others.  One of the guitars he used was sold at a London auction in 1990.

The 1987 Smallman
Greg Smallman lives and works in isolation in the rain forest of New South Wales, Australia.  The use of his guitars by John Williams in the 1980s boosted interest in Smallmans.  The lattice-like strutting produced from carbon fibre and wood, beneath a very thin, normally cedar top – with the main aim being to increase volume, was the most rare constructional feature of Greg’s guitars.  Some makers more recently have gone from using the traditional spruce top to utilising one of cedar.

The 1987 Gilbert
John Gilbert resides in California, south of San Francisco.  He originally was a tool-maker and went on to making guitars from there in 1966 where he has developed a loud, responsive instrument.  The unique aspect of Gilbert guitars is the bridge (now adopted by British makers) designed to provide strength were necessary, and John’s original pin saddles.  The rosette style, with “squared-off" areas, is also visually eye catching.

The 1990 José Ramírez 1A
The Ramírez dynasty commenced with brothers José I (1858-1923), and Manuel.  The business passed to José II (1885-1957 and José III (born 1922), the latter heading the workshop.  By 1982 with only 17 workers, 1000 guitars a year were being produced.
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