2025 Francisco Jimenez "Torres" SP/MP

We met Spanish guitar builder Francisco Jimenez at the prestigous 6th International "Antonio Marin Montero" Guitar Building Competition in Granada, Spain in 2023, where he took first prize in the classical category and third prize for flamenco. This is Francisco's newest guitar for GSI which is absolutely breathtaking. Rather than being a strict copy, it is based on several Torres instruments, with the aesthetics (double-chain-link rosette, etc) and woods (spruce/maple) of SE 111 from 1887. He treated the woods in a UV chamber for oxidation, then applied colored shellac to achieve a warm, vintage look. In th spirit of remaining as authentic as possible, he built the guitar super-light (1250 grams) with a low body resonance (close to E), which will be welcomed by all players who value the traditional sound of Torres guitars, especially for those who like to play with gut or nyl-gut strings (of course the guitar sounds phenomenal with regular nylon as well). The guitar has a rich depth to the bottom-end and a warm, charming lyrical character to the trebles - again accomplishing very closely the style of sound of a great Torres. Francisco also paid special attention to the shape of the neck as well as the neck/head and neck/heel transition to achieve a comfortable and easy-to-play instrument. This guitar is an extremely well-built instrument with a beautiful sound and look. We are very happy to be working with this fine maker and this guitar is an absolute delight to play and listen to.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Francisco Jimenez was born in Granada, Spain in January 1997. From an early age he developed a great interest in music and crafts. At the age of 17, motivated by the desire to build a guitar for his older brother (who is a flamenco guitarist), he began his self-taught journey in guitar construction. Simultaneously, he began his musicology studies and graduated as a sound technician. Throughout these years he had the opportunity to see and study some of the most important guitars of the Spanish school, which greatly influenced his style in the tradition of the great makers of the past. He cites as his biggest influences Antonio de Torres, Santos Hernandez, and Marcelo Barbero. After several years of working at his craft, Francisco Jimenez was awarded first-prize for his classical guitar (and third prize for his flamenco) at the prestigious sixth Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in August, 2023.