Torres, M. Ramirez and Santos-Discussing three Spanish Masterpieces

About the performer-https://www.christopherladd.com. Christopher's channel-    / christopherladd  . About Aaron Green and The Spanish Guitar Workshop-https://www.thespanishguitarworkshop.com. Photography and label collage by Asmund Erickson-https://asmunderickson.com

As it seems to be when I create these videos, it is impossible for me to go about it with a script. As such I am glad to expand and clarify my points in the liner notes. To speak in further detail about some of the things that came out of my mouth before my brain had the necessary time to polish them up for public consumption.

Not to imply that anything here is wildly egregious but just to paint the picture better...

I spoke of an article by R.E Brune about the 1883 Torres/Santos. Like pretty much everything he has written that I have had the great privilege to read and learn from, this article will not disappoint. For those who wish to find it, it appeared in the Sept 2011 issue of Vintage Guitar magazine.

In this article he goes into great forensic detail about the guitar and the work it had. To that end, I want to make very clear that I do not disagree with or question any of his conclusions relative to the instrument. Quite the opposite.

I will say that one thing he did mention in the article that originally made my eyebrows go up a bit (before I saw the guitar itself) was his statement that this instrument is akin a Strad with a top by del Gesu. Poetic analogies aside, this was to me a breathtaking example of salesmanship at its finest. I always regard the art of sales as putting a pretty frame around a picture so others can see what you see. And that right there was a frame fit for the Mona Lisa. :)

And then I got the guitar and I completely understood what he meant. It is that good. It would be hard to argue that there are better candidates for the comparison to those two violin legends of lutherie. The fact is, if there was one builder in history you would want to re-top a Torres, it would be Santos. For a great many reasons. And what an absolute gem of a guitar it is. And as it is, now owned by a dear friend and client whom I have great affection for. Who also did not possess either a Torres or a Santos and now has both in one!

Relative to the authorship of the Manuel Ramirez and my point of the heel. In trying to determine who did what or as is more usually the case, determining if a guitar is in fact what the label says it is...we must look to what we call the maker's hand. As you become more familiar with a particular builder and their construction style and habits, that is far more insightful and validating than the label itself. No surprise there. As I mentioned there is no way I would advocate authorship based on one particular detail but in this case I find it an interesting detail and one that speaks to the norms of workmanship and excellence from that time period. And honestly for well over a hundred years old, if it was anything less than excellent in design and execution, it would not be such a viable concert guitar.

I hope everyone enjoys or at least is amused by what they see here. I am always happy to hear from people and will take any future discussion video topic suggestions very seriously.


Thank you for listening!