Coming Soon - Ober 'La Leona'

We’re about to receive a guitar from Fritz Ober that is an exact replica of the famous ‘La Leona’ guitar by Antonio de Torres. Ober had the original in his shop for some repairs and had the chance to really study the guitar. His replica departs slightly only in two respects – the neck shape is slightly modified to appeal more to players, and he has added a saddle to the bridge, as the original La Leona was apparently one of two guitars that Torres made with a saddle-less system.

Both the original and Ober’s replica lack a lower harmonic bar and the top of the guitar gets some additional support from a tornavoz that rests on two little wooden supports that touch the back of the guitar. The top is spruce and the back and sides are cypress – it should be here any day now.

The first gallery is of Ober’s guitar, and the second gallery is of Ober with the original La Leona when he had it in the shop. The third gallery are photos of the original La Leona, courtesy of Wulfin Lieske. The videos are of Wulfin Lieske, who has recorded extensively on the original La Leona (you can check out one of his CDs here) as well as on many other great historic guitars.