2011 Thomas Norwood "1935 Santos" SP/IN

This 2011 Thomas Norwood “1935 Santos” is a spruce and Indian rosewood replica of a 1935 guitar by Santos Hernández – the first Norwood we offered.

The Model Friederich Liked Best

When we visited Tom in Paris in 2010 he was making three models, replicas of the guitars that had made the strongest impression on him: a 1910 Manuel Ramírez, a 1932 Domingo Esteso and a 1935 Santos. We ordered all three, and began with the one that had impressed Daniel Friederich the most – the Santos. The label reads “Thomas Norwood, Luthier à Paris, Année 2011”.

Sound

It captures the charm, feel and appearance of the original: although built in 2011, the sound was old, warm and very loose – the most successful Santos replica we had seen. Robert Wetzel plays it in the video above.

Read more: Orfeo Magazine No. 7 – An American in Paris: Thomas Norwood – also available in print in the collected edition Orfeo Magazine 6–10:

Orfeo Magazine 6-10 (print)

Thomas Norwood: An American in Paris

Thomas Norwood (died 2021) was born in Pasadena, California, and taught himself guitar making from Irving Sloane’s book “Classic Guitar Construction”. He fell in love with Paris on a bicycle tour of Europe and settled there in the mid-1970s, visiting the workshops of Daniel Friederich and Daniel Lesueur; Friederich became a close friend and recommended Tom’s guitars to GSI. He built in his atelier in the heart of Paris for over 40 years.

Replicas of the Spanish Golden Age

Besides lutes, Baroque guitars and hurdy-gurdies – he was considered one of the best balalaika makers outside Russia – Norwood made a model of his own and four replicas of the Spanish golden age: Antonio de Torres, Manuel Ramírez, Domingo Esteso and Santos Hernández. Each began as an exact copy of one original, built to sound as it would have when new; only later did he make small changes to the bracing to improve the occasional weaker note.