Very rare and collectible guitar by Manuel de Soto y Solares from Seville, made around 1870.
This guitar comes as close as possible to an Antonio de Torres guitar.
Manuel de Soto y Solares (1839-1906) was born in Seville as the son of guitar maker Manuel de Soto Castañón (born 1818-1878); his grandfathers were also guitar makers. Manuel seems to have started making guitars around 1860 and his store was located in the Cerragería near Antonio de Torres' workshop. In his book, Romanillos says of Torres that Soto y Solares and Torres did business together.
Makers were constantly buying from or trading with each other - woods, parts, etc. - and it was also common for established workshops to contract or buy guitars from other makers and sell them under their own label. Between 1865 and 1870, Torres found it difficult to make a living building quality guitars and so, like almost every other guitar maker in the 19th century, he had to make „bread and butter“ guitars to survive. The intriguing possibility is that a whole series of Antonio de Torres guitars made during his time in Seville could bear a Manuel de Soto y Solares label.
What is certain is that Manuel de Soto y Solares enthusiastically adopted Torres' construction style. When Torres temporarily retired in 1870 and moved to Almeria, guitarists who wanted a Torres-style guitar turned to Manuel de Soto y Solares, and he attracted important clients such as Juan Breva (1844-1918), who is known to have used a guitar made by Manuel de Soto y Solares between 1870 and 1890. Manuel de Soto y Solares' guitars show that he was a highly skilled craftsman.
This beautiful guitar has a spruce top and mahogany sides. The back is made of maple with a mahogany strip in the middle. It has a nut width of 50 mm and a scale length of 610 mm.
Although this guitar is not dated, it was most likely made between 1865 and 1880. It has been professionally restored by Domenico Pizzonia and is in excellent condition.
The sound and projection of this guitar are exceptional. It has consistently well-defined tones and a surprisingly large volume. The old woods give this guitar an extra dose of vintage warmth and dynamics and allow the timbres to shine.
We particularly like the cypress/spruce combination on this guitar, because it gives the sound that mystical touch and you immediately feel transported to another time.
Truly a fantastic instrument for authentically reviving the music of the great old composers.
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