1936 Ignacio Fleta SP/MP

This 1936 Ignacio Fleta is a classical guitar with a spruce top and flamed maple back and sides, built in Barcelona after Fleta restored Francisco Tárrega's 1864 Torres – one of the rarest Fletas we have ever handled.

A 1936 Fleta Inspired by Torres FE 17

The guitars built by Ignacio Fleta before 1955 rarely appear on the market, primarily because very few were made during the initial phase of his professional career, from the late 1920s until 1955. At that time he was primarily a builder of instruments in the violin family, only building guitars on occasion.

This very unique and intriguing instrument was built in 1936, after Fleta had seen and done some restoration work on an 1864 Torres (FE 17) – which happens to have been the very first of three Torres owned by Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909). This Fleta "replica" is actually a structural copy of FE 17 only: apart from the use of the same materials (flamed maple for back and sides, spruce for the top), it bears very little aesthetic resemblance to the original.

Herringbone, Mosaic and a Carved Head

What is striking about the visuals is that they show elements not normally associated with the more familiar Fleta guitars built after 1955, which are typically simple and understated by contrast. It has the standard Fleta mosaic in the rosette (still used today by his grandson Gabriel Fleta and countless others), but it is flanked on either side by full herringbone inlay, which also outlines the top in the outer purfling. Additionally, the back and sides have extensive half-herringbone purfling along every edge of the maple. To top it off, there is a delicate and beautiful floral relief carved into the head veneer.

In a certain sense this guitar is a "missing link" in the Barcelona school, unifying the highly ornate and intricate guitars of the late Enrique García and Simplicio/Sanfeliu with the later, more conservatively built instruments of Coll and Fleta.

Sound

Sound-wise the guitar is absolutely stunning. It has an old-world sound with a dark and mysterious character. Despite the smaller body size it has enormous volume, even by modern standards, and could easily fill any sized hall. In the videos below you can hear it side by side with FE 17 itself, played by Scott Tennant and Bill Kanengiser.

This guitar later inspired Italian luthier Ennio Giovanetti's 2020 "1936 Fleta" – see our blog post Timeless designs: See how Torres inspired Fleta, who inspired Ennio Giovanetti. Overall this is truly a one-of-a-kind instrument, one of the most unique we've ever seen.

Ignacio Fleta: Master Guitar Maker of Barcelona

For performers and collectors alike, the name Ignacio Fleta (1897–1977) ranks among the elite handful of 20th-century luthiers. Trained in Barcelona as a maker of violins and cellos, he built mainly bowed instruments from the late 1920s until 1955, when he decided to devote himself to the guitar. Countless scores of the finest players in the world have played his instruments – among them Andrés Segovia, John Williams, Angel Romero, Turibio Santos, Alirio Díaz and Marcelo Kayath.

Ignacio Fleta e Hijos: Three Generations

By the mid-1960s Fleta's sons, Francisco (1925–2003) and Gabriel (1929–2013), had become his partners in the workshop – which is why the labels from then on read "Ignacio Fleta e hijos" (Ignacio Fleta and sons). After Ignacio's death in 1977 the brothers carried on, and today Gabriel's son, Gabriel Fleta Jr., continues the family workshop in its third generation. Many dozens of Fletas have passed through our doors over the years.