Historians of the Spanish guitar have generally considered the tornavoz to be little more than a “failed experiment” of Torres. While we can’t say for sure that Torres invented the tornavoz, the earliest existing examples are of his work, and he is known to have made extensive use of it in his first epoch of guitar making. 

In 1869 Torres sold his personal instrument to Francisco Tárrega, a guitar Emilio Pujol later stated was the best instrument he’d ever heard. This guitar was made of maple and spruce, and it had a tornavoz. Tárrega, an influential guitarist and composer, used this guitar for the next 20 years. Pujol described the guitar in his biography of Tárrega:
 

“In addition to the spontaneity of sound, perhaps due to its tornavoz, there was a clear, warm timbre as if it were of gold. The balance between bass and treble was proportionally exact in volume and the duration of its vibrations equally generous throughout the fingerboard. It sufficed to finger a perfect chord in order that, by plucking only the three bass notes one could clearly perceive the harmonics of the other strings.” (quoted from Antonio de Torres: Guitar Maker – His Life & Work – Jose Romanillos, pages 181-182)

I consider it a significant oversight to dismiss the tornavoz as a “failure” simply because it fell out of favor with guitar makers after the Second World War, or was rarely a successful endeavor save for Torres. After all, it was not Torres that seemed have bad luck with the feature, but rather those who sought to imitate his work. Indeed, it would seem those who’ve attempted to make guitars with a tornavoz since, met the task with difficulty or frustration, never reaching the same quality of sound. Many guitars have been said to become better instruments once their tornavoz was removed.... a Torres however, is a much different story.
 

My interest in making tornavoz guitars begins in a place called Siguenza in 2002. Siguenza is a quiet and beautiful town northeast of Madrid that seems to capture the spirit of Spain in an almost quintessential way. A year earlier I had found myself staying in the same monastery expanding my guitar making experiences learning how to make guitars in the method and style of Jose Romanillos. But this time I was there to celebrate Jose’s 70th birthday. It was a surprise party organized by Pepe Romero, and the guitar makers Gerhard Oldiges, Tobias Braun and Edmund Blochlinger.

After a very enjoyable concert consisting of many great players including Antigoni Goni and Pepe Romero, we descended to the basement of the monastery for an exhibition of guitars made by students and friends of Jose. This exhibition included many celebrated guitar makers, and the quality of instrument seen there was second to none. One by one, we were each called up to the front of the room to sit by Jose and Pepe Romero, while Jose looked at the guitar the respective maker had brought and explained not only the attributes of the guitar, but his affiliation and friendship with the maker. Pepe Romero then played each guitar for all to hear.

During this exhibition there was one guitar that stood out for me. It was a guitar by Gerhard Oldiges, and it possessed a very beautiful and intimate sound. The projection was as though I was right in front of it, and the timber of the notes was full and beautiful – inspiring even. All the guitars that day were excellent, top notch instruments. But to me, one instrument stood out among the rest, and what made it unique was its tornavoz.

Until this point the only guitar with a tornavoz I had ever heard was actually a Romanillos one year earlier. It had a removable tornavoz made of basswood, done as an experiment to determine the effect the length of the tornavoz has on tone. The guitar that Gerhard presented to Jose during the exhibition was based on an early Torres, and was a somewhat smaller bodied instrument. As it turns out, Gerhard knows a thing or two about Torres, and was also an important contributor to Jose’s biography of Torres.

Upon returning home to Houston, I’d decided to make a guitar with the tornavoz. Gerhard’s first hand knowledge of Torres’ tornavoz guitars proved to be indispensable. While I’d originally intended to make a guitar just as I normally would, and simply add a tornavoz to it, I later found out there were important details overlooked by other makers for more than a century, and these would determine the success of such an instrument. So I went to work on it.

As I finished the first one, I could tell the tornavoz added a beautiful dimension to the sound, and was pleasantly surprised that the guitar had none of the limitations described in what I have read about the tornavoz. Rather, it seemed to balance out all the attributes I strive for in a guitar, and even added character. I was surprised that the guitar had a great clarity and power that was not limited to the audience, but also experienced by the player. Since then, I’ve made more than 20 guitars with a tornavoz [as of writing, August 2007] and have had excellent results. In fact, tornavoz guitars currently amount to 80% of my orders for future guitars.  
 

Tornavoz Q&A

How does the Tornavoz affect the sound of the guitar?

                This is an interesting – if somewhat difficult - question. Many will look at the tornavoz and attempt to define its specific function. In some ways it’s like adding a port to a bass speaker enclosure. This is the most obvious conclusion, but also a bit simplistic. The tornavoz does indeed lower the Helmholtz frequency of the box and in some ways acts in a similar manner to a speaker enclosure. But there are additional, less obvious, changes made to the guitar that have at least as much of an impact on the end result.

                On a less theoretical note, I feel I am able to utilize more of the soundboard’s potential when making a tornavoz guitar. The end result, in my experience, is the same as my non-tornavoz guitars but a little “more”. This is to say the basic characteristics of sound remain but there is an increase in responsiveness, sustain, volume and projection.

Is the sound of your tornavoz guitars “directional” – or mostly projecting to the audience, rather than the player?

                Intuitively, that is precisely the result one would expect. But in practice, while the tornavoz (at least for my guitars) does help increase the projection of the instrument there remains a great enveloping nature that is enjoyed by the player.

Is there a “metallic” sound?

                No. The tornavoz is made of metal, but there is no hint of any metallic or resonator-like sound.

Does the Tornavoz add any weight to the guitar?

                There is no discernable weight added by the inclusion of the tornavoz. The tornavoz itself is extremely light weight. Because of the different construction details, the weight of my tornavoz and non tornavoz guitars are virtually the same. All my guitars are constructed very lightly to achieve the best possible sound.

Where do you get a Tornavoz?

                As with all other aspects of my guitars (with the exception of the tuning machines and strings) I make them myself.