2022 Luis Fernández de Córdoba "Tricolor" CD/WE

A 2022 "Tricolor" classical guitar by Luis Fernández de Córdoba, with a cedar top he harvested himself in Alaska and wenge back and sides – No. 62, made in Alexandria, Virginia.

Cedar from Bakewell Lake

The dark-chocolate wenge is complemented by a cedar top from wood Luis harvested twelve years earlier near Bakewell Lake, while he was living in Alaska. This is the first guitar he built from it, and to mark the occasion he inlaid red, white and blue – the colors of the flags of his two countries, Panama and the United States – in the purflings of the sides and back, the tie block and the bands of the rosette. Hence the name "Tricolor".

Bracing and Sound

Three braces sit on a bridge patch, enclosed by four diagonal braces running from the soundhole to the foot. This light design gives a responsive sound with a plumpness to each note that lets the cedar's overtones add layers of richness. The French polish is mirror-like, the craftsmanship ultra-precise, and the fingerboard slightly raised with a 20th fret.

Photos of this guitar being built

Luis Fernández de Córdoba: From Panama to Alexandria

Luis Fernández de Córdoba is a Panamanian-born luthier who works in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. He began building in 2000, opened his workshop in 2001 and, after years of building and repairing all kinds of acoustic guitars, has devoted himself exclusively to classical and flamenco guitars since 2009. He apprenticed in the USA and in Granada, Spain, and has worked alongside makers in Spain, Mexico and Argentina.

Inspired by the Spanish Masters

He has studied the great makers of the past – Antonio de Torres, Santos Hernández, Hermann Hauser I, Manuel Velázquez, José Romanillos and Robert Bouchet – and visited the workshops of Richard and Marshall Brune and of Jeffrey Elliott, another of his inspirations. He is a member of the Guild of American Luthiers.