2021 Gabriele Lodi "Torres" SP/MP

This 2021 Gabriele Lodi "Torres" is a classical guitar from Carpi, Italy, with a spruce top and bird's-eye maple back and sides – his 100th instrument and the first of his "Expo Series", made for Roma Expo Guitars (REG) 2021.

Guitar No. 100 and the Start of the Expo Series

This instrument is a milestone for Gabriele as a builder – his 100th instrument to date – and the guitar that launched his "Expo Series". It is also his latest tribute to the great Antonio de Torres, and it was featured at Roma Expo Guitars (REG) 2021. For this occasion, Gabriele drew heavily on the 1858 "Cumbre" guitar (catalogued by José Romanillos as "FE 08") that Torres himself exhibited 163 years earlier at the Seville Expo.

Inspired by the 1858 Torres "Cumbre" (FE 08)

This can be seen above all in the quantity (and virtuosic execution) of the inlay work throughout the instrument; in the bird's-eye maple back and sides, which come from the stock of wood Gabriele's father acquired in the 1970s from a colleague who was a violin maker; in the mother-of-pearl inlays in the rosette (whose design comes not from Torres, but from the Cádiz school) and in the bridge; and in an abundance of "meander" patterning in much of the detailing.

"My Torres Interpretation"

Having said this, it is important to remember that Gabriele prefers to avoid making literal copies or replicas of any single Torres. Rather, he synthesizes his favorite elements of the various Torres instruments he has seen with his own construction details, which he believes satisfy the needs of modern players – particularly their use of nylon strings combined with a 21st-century playing technique. Hence the "My Torres Interpretation" written on the label. Although the inlay work is inspired primarily by FE 08, the body shape is modeled more closely on SE 113 from 1888, with a slightly deeper box and a larger plantilla.

Sound and Condition

Rest assured that the same attention Gabriele gives to the aesthetic details also goes into refining the tonal characteristics. His careful application of his modified Torres bracing pattern, combined with several other structural details, delivers a guitar with a warm, loose, harmonically rich, old-world quality of sound. It has a "relaxed" feel and, at the same time, great focus in each note, with excellent separation, balance and projection – in other words, an ideal modern concert instrument that pulls on the heartstrings of lovers of the traditional Spanish guitar. Although this guitar was previously owned, it is in brand-new condition, looking virtually unplayed.

Everything here is exquisitely built, with no detail overlooked. More than a century after his death, Torres would be astonished and proud to see his legacy in hands like Gabriele's. Our congratulations to Gabriele on what can only be considered nothing short of a masterpiece!

Photos of this guitar taken just after completion

Orfeo Magazine #13 – Lodi, Bottelli, Coriani, Peruffo

A Family of Guitar Makers

Italian luthier Gabriele Lodi (born 1976) comes from a family of classical guitar makers. His father was a luthier and player, and Gabriele happily spent most of his childhood in his father's workshop in Carpi, near Modena. From the age of 13 he was helping out at the bench, and by 20 he had made guitar making his profession. He still works in that same family workshop today.

From Historical Guitars to the Spanish School

The historical instruments that came through the shop for repair sparked a lasting fascination with old guitars, and because of it many of his own guitars are strongly rooted in traditional design and aesthetic. After studying the Romantic guitars of the 19th century, he turned to the Spanish school from Torres on, traveling regularly to Buenos Aires from 2004 to study great Spanish guitars. Besides his Torres models, he builds guitars inspired by the Madrid school – Manuel Ramírez, Santos Hernández and Domingo Esteso – and by the Barcelona school of Enrique García.

Carrying the Torres Tradition Forward

In the last many years, the great Antonio de Torres has become a primary driving force in Gabriele's work as a restorer, historian and, of course, as a builder. He has restored several important original Torres instruments, and along the way captured insights from the hand of Torres that have led him to explore his own ideas to carry the Torres tradition forward into the modern day. He is also a co-author of the book Antonio de Torres – Lo Stradivari della chitarra moderna. His Torres guitars carry the words "My Torres Interpretation" on the label: they are never literal copies, but combine his favorite elements of various Torres instruments with details that answer the needs of today's players.

Gabriele Lodi and GSI

Gabriele has used his own label (instead of the family label) since 2013, and in 2021 his guitar No. 100 launched his "Expo Series" of guitars made for Roma Expo Guitars (REG). His workshop has become a meeting place for players and collectors, and GSI is his only dealer in the United States.