2024 Ariel Ameijenda "1885 Torres - SE 81" SP/CSAR

Note: This guitar will be featured in an upcoming issue of Orfeo magazine. See photos of the shoot here.

This is a great Torres copy with a fascinating back-story. Seven years ago, a previously "unknown" Torres surfaced when it was found in a home in Uruguay. The guitar is SE 81, from Torres' second epoch. It appeared that the guitar had not been played for decades, and was still in excellent condition for its age - it still had its original nut, machine heads, and most of its varnish - as it was later described by Italian luthier, Gabriele Lodi, who did some restoration work on it. Gabriele told us that it is one of the most well-preserved Torres guitars he has seen. Detailed plans of SE 81 had been drawn up and left with Ariel Ameijenda who immediately became inspired to build a copy for us. The only significant material difference from the original is that Torres used black locust for the back and sides, whereas Ariel chose a stunning set of CSA rosewood for this guitar, and has also done another in 2023 for us in maple. But otherwise, Ariel did his best to follow all measurements as precisely as possible, he tells us that his replica even weighs the same as the original!

The resulting sound is as fantastic as its appearance, with plenty of warmth and deeper resonance normally found in a played-in guitar but also sturdy, and brilliant trebles with the clarity of a piano. It has excellent power and great projection, making this instrument ideal for the concert stage, and the playability is very easy on both hands. This is a great concert instrument by any standard, from the most respected luthier currently working out of Uruguay. Ariel is the first luthier (that we know of) to build a copy of SE 81, and we are incredibly delighted to have it here!

Details about the original Torres and photos of this guitar being built

Ariel Ameijenda was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1963 as the son of one of that country’s most famous guitar makers, Manuel Ameijenda. Manuel had learned the craft from Juan Carlos Santurion, a pupil of Ignacio Fleta from the early 1950′s. The elder Ameijenda opened his own shop in 1957, and shared it for several years with Jose Lopez Cubillo, who had been the lead craftsman at the workshop of Jose Ramirez II. Ariel is currently the only 2nd generation builder from Uruguay and his foundation is clearly solid from the training he received from his father, starting at age 14. The Ameijenda workshop both then and now has also been a repair facility for the finer instruments that have passed through South America over the years, so Ariel has seen, inspected and repaired some of the finest instruments from the great masters such as Hauser I, Simplicio, Santos, Garcia and others. When he was 19, Ariel entered university where he studied Musicology. During those four years, he paid special attention to the subjects of Acoustics and Music History. These were very useful studies which have greatly influenced his approach to the construction of guitars and ancient instruments. In 1997 Ariel opened his own workshop in Montevideo where he builds not only guitars, but also period string instruments including baroque guitars, vihuelas, lutes and theorbos. In 2014, he moved to the heavenly settings of the Cerro de los Burros near the city or Piriapolis on the East Coast of Uruguay in order to respond to his growing list of orders and fully commit to the construction of the finest guitars.