Sidebar 3

Fernando Sor (1779-1839) was the greatest guitarist of the Romantic era.

The guitars of Sor's time had a mellow but weak tone; he encouraged guitar makers to produce lighter instruments for him, with top, ribs and back made of very thin woods, supported by interior bracing that distributed the vibrations of the strings, via the bridge, to the entire top surface, rounding out the bass and enlarging the sound of the whole instrument.

After Sor's death these design principles were finally codified and perfected by the great luthier Antonio Torres.