2017 Teodoro Pérez "1884 Torres - La Emperatriz" SP/MP

This 2017 Teodoro Pérez “1884 Torres – La Emperatriz” is a spruce and bird’s-eye maple classical guitar from Madrid, Spain – a replica of the 1884 Antonio de Torres “La Emperatriz”, SE 72. Fred Lawton plays Kellner’s “Phantasia in D” on a Pérez La Emperatriz in the video above.

After the Torres “La Emperatriz”

This special-edition model is an elegant interpretation of the guitar Torres made in 1884, known as “La Emperatriz” (SE 72). It has Torres-designed decorative purfling, bridge and rosette, and gorgeous materials – bird’s-eye maple for the back and sides and for the neck.

Torres Sweetness, Pérez Power

The sound is a blend of the sweet, singing voice typical of Torres-style guitars and the bold, rich sound of Teodoro’s own guitars. It is very comfortable to play, with a smooth neck, easy action and a 51 mm nut – an instrument for collector and player alike.

The Label

A label of its own: “Réplica de D. Antonio Torres, ‘La Emperatriz’ 1884”, dated “Año de 2017” and signed “Teodoro Pérez, Luthier, Madrid-España”, framed by a printed border of Torres-style purfling. A hardshell case was included.

Trained in the José Ramírez III Workshop

Teodoro Pérez was born in 1952 in the province of Soria, Spain, but moved to Madrid while still very young. In 1966 he began his apprenticeship in the famed José Ramírez III workshop, where he built guitars, lutes, bandurrias and mandolins. During these years, he had the great honor to meet some of the great maestros of the twentieth century, including Andrés Segovia, Narciso Yepes and many others. In 1970, after passing the appropriate tests, and with the approval of José Ramírez, he qualified as First Official, and stamped the guitars he made with his initials GPM.

Tezanos-Pérez and a Family Workshop in Leganés, Madrid

In 1991, Teodoro teamed up with fellow Ramírez veteran Mariano Tezanos, and built guitars under the name "Tezanos-Pérez" until 2005. Today he builds with his family in their workshop at Calle del Perú 4 in Leganés, just south of Madrid: his son, Sergio Pérez, who has been assisting him in his work since 1998, his daughter, Beatriz, and his son-in-law, Marco Tejeda. Sergio and Marco also build guitars under their own names. GSI is proud to represent these guitars exclusively in the United States.

The Pérez Model Line

The workshop builds a complete range of models. The Estudio C-650 (from 2016), an entry-level concert guitar with its own numbering, and the Madrid (from 2012) are finished in lacquer. The Concierto is the first model finished entirely in French polish, with single sides; the Maestro sits in the middle of the line; and the Especial is the top model, with the finest materials and additional purfling and inlay – some Maestro and Especial guitars have double sides. The Antigua (from 2015) has a smaller Torres-type body, single sides and a 51 mm nut, and La Emperatriz is built after the 1884 Antonio de Torres "La Emperatriz", SE 72. For flamenco there are the Flamenco Blanca and Flamenco Negra, and the anniversary models – ten 50th Anniversary guitars in 2016 and, from 2020, the Especial Aniversario – celebrate Teodoro's half-century as a guitar maker.