Guitars by René Lacôte, Antonio de Torres, Vicente Arias, Santos Hernández Hermann Hauser Sr., Robert Bouchet, and José Luise Romanillos.

I was privileged to visit The Harris Collection at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) in September 2025. The primary purpose of my visit was to make a detailed study of an 1888 guitar by Antonio de Torres (SE 112). However, as the collection represents a nearly complete history of the classical guitar from 1815 to the present, I also had the opportunity to play and study many important instruments across different periods.

Some excerpts from my notes in the Harris Collection Archives:

On context:
I found it interesting to study historical guitars within the context of the overall collection, as comparisons can be easily made, and a deeper insight into the development of the guitar over time becomes clearer. One can follow the development of the sound and how it changed through the quintessential makers of each period or style, and how the preferences of players have shaped that development. 

On the quality of the examples:

Notably, the guitars are not just historical examples of each maker’s instruments, but seem to be hand-picked top-tier examples of their best output. 

On my approach to the study: 

Rather than focusing solely on thickness measurements, I chose to document each guitar’s acoustic resonances by recording a frequency response curve (FRC).

Because my wood is not the same as Torres (et al), and since there is no non-destructive way to measure those wood properties in completed instruments, this approach allows me to consider the relationships of the various coupled elements (soundboard, back, sides) with the hope of achieving a similar result in my own guitars. 

A good understanding of any historic maker’s design, coupled with modal tuning of the resonances, allows a maker to attempt to copy the sound of an instrument, and the FRC allows them to check their work. Of course, there are multiple caveats with this method, such as the fact that we cannot determine how these resonances have changed over time, or what the guitars sounded like when new.

From my concluding thoughts:

I started my visit with the 1888 Torres, and ended with both it and the 1910 Arias. One can trace the history of how the traditional guitar’s sound developed from before Torres through the modern day in this collection. I found that there was a significant change in sound between the Torres and the Santos, which may represent a key transitional stage in the evolution of the modern traditional guitar. 

I am humbled and very grateful to John Harris and David Tanenbaum for their consideration in allowing me to access the collection over the course of two days. 

Colleagues and others with a serious interest in this work are welcome to contact me to discuss my full study notes.