Gary Ormond GCLCM

Classical and Electric Guitarist,
Performer and Teacher

My Guide to Guitars

Maker	Comments	Users
Kevin Aram	It was once said that English guitars were terrible instruments that no-one would want to play. At one time, this may have been true. Fortunately, this is no longer the case! Enter Kevin Aram, whose guitars are aesthetically pleasing, bold of sound, and lush in tone. I have to say that some of the most remarkable sounds I’ve ever heard have come from these English guitars.	Proof of the quality of these guitars comes from their endorsement and use by the great Sir Julian Bream.
Paulino Bernabé	Paulino Bernabé is yet another luthier to come from the ranks of the Ramirez family and is another one who has made good. What I have found with these instruments is that they have a very unusual tone which can be quickly indentified once one knows what to listen for. It would be best described as being glassy and clear, quite different from the dark, rich sounds of a Ramirez. These guitars are also visually stunning to look at, using some of the most beautiful woods.	Fans include Narciso Yepes, Norbert ‘Naxos’ Kraft and Martha Masters.
Manuel Contreras	Manuel Contreras senior (who is sadly no longer with us) spent some time working in the workshop of the Ramirez family. He absorbed much knowledge from this period, and then set up his own Madrid shop, which is now owned and run by his son, Manuel II. Their guitars are loud and have a very crisp, clear tone. Much of the Volume is courtesy of the “Double top” (see guitar glossary of terms). They are also beautiful to look at and for me, this is also important. Definately among the best guitars in the world.	Endorsed by Pepe and Angel Romero, Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo (at one time) and Agustin Maruri.
Ignacio Fleta	With Fleta, we are not only looking at yet another very expensive range of instruments (like Smallman) but we are entering the realm of rare instruments. These days, Fletas are very hard to acquire, but they are well worth the effort to find. It has been said that they have one of the most beautiful sounds of any Spanish instrument, and this is certainly true. One need only listen to the recordings of John Williams from the sixties and Seventies to hear what a marvellous sound these instruments have. It is, in my view, quite unique in its gutteral quality. Sometimes harsh, sometimes sweet but always with an unmistakeable timbre that once heard is never forgotten. The only pity is that, in addition to the rarity of these instruments, the price can be prohibitive.	John Williams, Ernesto Bitetti
Herman Hauser	Geman guitar-making dynasty, still making instruments under Herman Hauser III.	Andrès Segovia.
José Ramirez	These guitars are, in my opinion, among the best in the world. They have a beautiful, dark tone and are also extremely loud, for fan strutted instruments (for strutting see Guitar glossary of terms). There was a time when anyone who was anyone played one of these, but this has changed, mainly due to the intense competition from other fine makers. Still, they are probably the best and easily match the best that any more recent maker has produced.	Those who have enjoyed these guitars include Andrés Segovia, Enno Voorhorst, Liona Boyd, Ricardo Iznaola, Alirio Diaz, Eliot Fisk, Steven Novacek and Christopher Parkening.
Robert Ruck		Manuel Barrueco
Greg Smallman	These are among the most sought after, and may I say, expensive instruments available. They are the work of an Australian maker who is both an accomplished maker and broad thinker about what makes a great guitar. Greg is responsible for inventing the progressive lattice strutting system of bracing (see glossary of guitar terms) which is now used by so many young makers. If there is one warning I would offer about these guitars, it is this: every time I have seen them advertised for second hand sale, they have had some damage to the table, which has needed repair. This is most likely due to the fact that Greg's strutting system allows for the table to be made much thinner. This is fine in theory, but it would seem that it can be taken too far, making the table prone to being cracked and damaged.	Smallman guitars are the instruments of choice with Nicola Hall, Robin Hill and Peter Wiltschinsky, Julian Byzantine, Craig Ogden (currently advertising his for sale), and John Williams.
Antonio de Torres Jurado	What can one say about Torres that hasn’t already been said? This is the man who is almost single-handedly responsible for the way the modern classical guitar is built! The “Fan Strutting bracing system” was his great contribution to the modern instrument as it allowed such a massive increase in the guitar's volume. As the large majority of these instruments were built in the late 19th century they are as rare as a Stradivarius!	Owing to their age, these guitars are little-used today, but owners include Francisco Tàrrega y Eixea, Miguel Llobet, John Williams and Pepe Romero.

My guitars

My Repertoire
and recordings

My Guide to Guitarists (and their instruments)

My Guide to Guitars

My Guide to Strings

An Open letter to John Williams

Electric Site

Gordon Ormond
(my father)

Page last updated 2006-01-07

This site is continually being developed.

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