bill@gourlayguitars.comAug 5, 20193 minA new coffin case...AND a new Torres replica I had originally planned on building a case to house my FE24 Torres replica, but... I was still so bummed by the router disaster that I...
bill@gourlayguitars.comJun 4, 20194 minAnother Torres replica in the works - FE24 from 1867Having recently completed two Torres replicas...each with its own wooden coffin case, I've become inspired to build more. This time I am...
bill@gourlayguitars.comJun 4, 20192 minMaking some guitar videos with Kayla and MichaelAt the recent Orange County Classical Guitar Competition and Festival (March, 2019) I met two students from the Vanguard University...
bill@gourlayguitars.comApr 23, 20191 min"Liliana", my tiny Torres replica - ¡Completado!All done. Finished. French polished, strung up...and ready to sell! I have referred to this guitar as my tiny Torres replica. It is...
bill@gourlayguitars.comMar 15, 20193 min"Liliana", my tiny Torres replica - an open and shut case.Making this guitar was always about building the case...and that has now been completed. Building a couple of wooden coffin cases has...
bill@gourlayguitars.comMar 12, 20193 min"Liliana", my tiny Torres replica - finishing up and starting on the case.I have gotten a lot completed since my last post. The back is glued on, bindings bent and installed, fretboard and neck completed,...
bill@gourlayguitars.comMar 8, 20192 minOC Classical Guitar Competition and FestivalThis past weekend (March 2-3) I exhibited several guitars at the first ever Orange County Classical Guitar Competition and Festival held...
bill@gourlayguitars.comFeb 21, 20191 minUntitledThis has absolutely nothing to do with building guitars - just fun stuff! On President's Day we took the opportunity to spend the day in...
bill@gourlayguitars.comFeb 20, 20193 min"Liliana", my tiny Torres replica - fitting the back, the bindings, and a Torres touch for the pegs.The end block, heel and Spanish foot, and the Spanish cedar kerfed linings for the back were all sanded to a 28ft radius. The end block...
bill@gourlayguitars.comFeb 13, 20192 min"Liliana", my tiny Torres replica - bending sides and putting together "the box".After profiling all of the top braces and harmonic bars and cleaning up the side profiles of the heel, it was on to bending the sides and...
bill@gourlayguitars.comFeb 10, 20194 min"Liliana" my tiny Torres replica - bracing the top, preparing the neck and heelHaving never inspected the original SE77, upon which this instrument is based, I relied on the bracing diagrams of the nearly identical...
bill@gourlayguitars.comFeb 7, 20192 min"Liliana" my tiny Torres replica - preparing the top, rosette and solera.Using my shooting board and jointing plane to create a perfect join, I glued together the two halves of a set of European spruce and...
bill@gourlayguitars.comFeb 2, 20192 minFreefalling!! ...Feel the breeze.This has absolutely nothing to do with building classical guitars...just fun. For years I have said I would consider exiting a perfectly...
bill@gourlayguitars.comFeb 1, 20191 minOrange County Classical Guitar Festival I will be exhibiting several of my guitars at the upcoming (first ever) OC Guitar Festival and Competition at Chapman University on March...
bill@gourlayguitars.comJan 31, 20193 min"Liliana" my tiny Torres replica...the inspiration.Having recently completed a replica of an 1852 Torres for which I also built a wooden "coffin case", I was inspired to consider making...
bill@gourlayguitars.comJan 17, 20192 minBuilding my 1852 Torres replica - the finished product"La Principia". That is the name I gave to my replica. It translates in English as "The Beginning". While it appears that Torres may...
bill@gourlayguitars.comJan 10, 20196 minBuilding my 1852 Torres replica - making a custom wooden "coffin" caseI knew I needed a special case for my Torres replica, one that not only fit, but was befitting of the instrument itself. Due to it's...
bill@gourlayguitars.comJan 2, 20196 minBuilding my 1852 Torres replica - the headstock, neck, and bridgeThe scroll headstock. The moustache bridge. Those are the two elements that really grabbed my attention. Yes, the rosette was also...
bill@gourlayguitars.comDec 25, 20183 minBuilding my 1852 Torres replica - top bracing and inside the boxWorking strictly from photographs of the outside of the 1852 Torres, I had no idea as to what it looked like inside. In fact, I became...
bill@gourlayguitars.comDec 21, 20183 minBuilding my 1852 Torres replica - the back and sidesThe back of the 1852 Torres is comprised of five sections of Brazilian rosewood separated by 1.5mm wide strips of maple that are angled...