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This is quite an instrument! Inspired by an 1875 Torres numbered "SE 02" that Jake referenced from the Romanillos book. Jake managed to build an enlarged version of this guitar yet stick to the original scale length of 630mm, so this is in essence an "SE 02 - XL" model! The guitar still feels a bit on the compact size compared to the larger guitars of Torres' output, but it is still very easy to play on the lap and in the hands of a modern player thanks to its very easy and comfortably shaped neck profile and effortless production of sound. At first glance, it is visually stunning, due to the unusual (but beautiful) materials used - in fact this instrument was built entirely with wood taken from a piano that was over 100 years old at the time Jake disassembled it to mine it for its materials. The dark and aged six-piece spruce top (taken from the piano soundboard) has some lovely bearclaw markings in the central pieces with darker wood at the outer sections. Tulip wood from the casing of the piano was used for the back and sides. The pine neck came from the armature which Jake "ebonized" with Indian ink. Walnut was used for the 2-piece fingerboard, bindings and bridge (which was also ebonised). Jake fitted the tuners with traditional wooden pegs using holly wood for the bearings. Ebony and bone were sourced from the piano keys for the saddle and nut. And incredibly... total weight is less than 1kg! Being this lightly-built gives it a flamenco-like response with a quick, snappy attack, followed by a rich, lush tone with plenty of "body" in each note. In fact, this guitar reminds us very much of another smaller original Torres from 1886 that we've had the opportunity to compare it to, and the similarities are startling. With the production of just a single note, the fullness, richness (and amount) of sound produced with the slightest of effort is astonishing, especially given the smaller size of these guitars. Normally "small in size" means "small in sound" but absolutely not at all here - blindfolded, any listener would insist they were hearing the sound of a powerful, full-sized guitar! So much so that we believe this would be suitable for any size auditorium - and also a wonderful recording instrument. Condition is excellent, it's practically in new condition with almost no sign of prior use. Jake really knows how to build an old-world Spanish-style guitar that satisfies the demands of a modern player - this guitar really has it all. What a treat to have here, and as far as we can tell this is a unique, one-off guitar with a compelling back story.
