Torres FE-18 Update

I first made copies of Torres FE 18 (1864) about a year and a half ago, hoping to make a small but concert-quality guitar for gifted kids to play. Frank Longay was pushing me to come up with something for his Suzuki prodigies. I looked through the Torres archives and picked the smallest one I could find. Using the Torres design relieved me of a lot of responsibility in coming up with a body shape etc., and Torres' eye for shape is perfect.

I found the dimensions in Romanillos' book, as well as a very tiny photograph. I blew up the photo until it matched the dimensions, cut it out with scissors, made the necessary assembly forms and built the guitars. I did four instruments in a variety of string lengths, all Indian rosewood and spruce, and I used the rosette and purfling from my preexisting 1856 Torres, a guitar and model that I have loved since first sight.

The resulting guitars were very fine musically and esthetically, credit which should go straight to Torres. The body is not much different in size from a Panormo, but the overall sound is very complete, not at all an "antique" sound. The guitars didn't turn out to be ideal proportions for kid students, but more suited for any person who wants a smaller instrument, easy to play and hold, with a full, rich concert sound, to spare.

About a year ago James Westbrook, a guitar historian, author and collector from England stopped by the shop for a visit, and he asked me "What's new?" I pointed out the FE 18 copy,"That's new", and he was looking at it saying "Well, maybe, but it's a little small and some details are not quite right."

I started to explain to him that yes, it was really correct because I had researched this and that, and James said, "Well, I own the FE 18". So that shut me right up, and I had to rewind the whole conversation and ask HIM to tell me what was up, not the other way around.


The long and short of it is, he went home to England and took an exact body tracing, detailed photos, xrays and even took a CAT scan of the guitar, and sent all of this information to me. He even offered to send the original Torres to me to study. This just seemed like a too much liability. Better I work on it here for awhile, then go to England and visit it to get more nuance.


I set about getting the rosette and purflings made according to to the photos. I didn't want to do this work myself because it is too time consuming, and I was guessing that I would want to make many of these guitars, so I sent the pictures and measurements to Japan to have them made. This took a while, but when they finally arrived they were excellent, and it was time to proceed.



I made another batch of four with the new information I'd gotten from Jimmy, the refined shape and the new decorations, but each guitar with little differences; 640 mm, 630 mm, 650 mm, maple, Indian rosewood, Brazilian rosewood. The Brazilian rosewood one was made with wood salvaged from an 18th or 19th century desk. I also used some Spanish cedar that I had salvaged from a gold rush era central California bar top, worn down where the beer glasses had been slid over the years, complete with bullet holes. I also had a hundred-year-old German spruce top, so with these old, old materials this guitar echoes with ghosts from two centuries.

All of these guitars are fantastic. The original Torres was maple, and my maple version is really adorable. They are all adorable. They look great, the Torres body shape is- as expected - perfectly proportioned. The sound that comes out of this guitar is amazing, it completely defies expectations because of it's size.

The Brazilian FE 18 sold right away, but I still have the maple and the Indian rosewood instruments. I haven't showed them much yet, but I will soon, and I don't think they will last long. I'll probably make more, sooner or later, when these are gone, but it may take a while. It's hard to imagine getting better results.

Kenny Hill
August 31, 2009

FE-18 in the Showroom

Kenny's made a flamed maple FE-18. You can seem more photos in the SHOWROOM.

This sweet little thing now features reproductions of the original guitar's purflings and rosette.

Tiny but full of wonderful responsive sound that cannot be believed, another testament to a master design.

This one-of-a-kind instrument is available only from us.

Flamenco model added to New World PLAYER line

Here's a new addition to our PLAYER line up - this beautiful Flamenco model made with superior all-solid materials: Spanish cypress and European spruce, it is feather-light, super-responsive and sounds great.

650mm string length
tap plates
lightweight truss rod
high gloss finish

We have only two of these at the moment. So, if you're interested, you'll need to contact us quickly as we won't have any more until mid-winter.

The really attractive price-point $1595 includes our arched New World case.

More photos of this guitar in our SHOWROOM.

PERFORMER Prototype for sale [SOLD]

Here's a new PERFORMER - more photos are available to see in the Showroom section of our website.

It is the new lattice-braced double top design Kenny's developed at a significantly lower cost than the SIGNATURE line.

These feature the same double-top design as the SIGNATURE model with European spruce/Nomex/Western red cedar as the soundboard components.

The PERFORMER also features sound ports found on the SIGNATURE.

Play one of these, and you will be pleased with the power and sweetness of this new model.

These will only be available directly from us.

Muriel Anderson's House Concert Update

Recently Hill Guitar, along with The Darling House and Waterbird Entertainment sponsored a house concert featuring guitarist Muriel Anderson.

Muriel is a versatile guitarist well known to Santa Cruz audiences. I saw her first here nearly 20 years ago. This time she was coming to town on a mission to help her 99 year old dear friend

Velzo catch up with her expansive garden, and she suggested that while she’s in town she should do a house concert. I agreed to try it out, especially if she could play on my guitars, and she graciously agreed. I hadn’t put on a concert like this before, but it was a good opportunity to try it out.

The Darling House is a 100 year old landmark home and bed and breakfast lovingly owned and operated by Darrel and Karen Darling, perched on the cliffs above the Monterey Bay, at the epicenter of our amazing

Santa Cruz. The setting couldn’t be more beautiful, and the great room of the Darling House is a perfect place for a guitar concert.

Muriel is a natural entertainer. She is a fine classical guitarist, but her taste in music is a completely eclectic romp through styles including Spanish masterpieces, Chet style picking, Japanese music, Brazilian music, a Souza march and several of her own compositions including one that was just days old, untitled, with the audience being solicited for suggestions. We’ll see if any of these suggestions stick.

I loved the way the guitars and the music sounded. I’m playing them every day, so I’m in close contact, but it’s gratifying to hear others really making them sing. It’s sentimental.

Muriel was joined by singer Rebecca Sayre at the end of the first set and beginning of the second, and Darrel Darling read a poem in tribute to his wife and their special life together at this magic place over the past 25 years.

The audience wasn’t a typical classical guitar audience, but rather a mixed group who came to simply enjoy the music and the cool opportunity to be close to the performance and really

experience it personally.

I must recognize Steve Palazzo for the hand he played in getting the word out, not to mention providing the chairs. In the future I hope to bring in more artists who are playing my guitars, and others too. Darrel Darling is a natural big thinker, and he imagines musicians and poets and artists of many types coming through there year round. It’s a grand idea and a fresh reminder that for some of us anyway, the music is what it’s all about, and this is where it’s best, right in the middle of our lives.

Hill Prototype PERFORMANCE Model

Earlier this year I began experimenting with lattice bracing as an alternate to the modest fan bracing that I have been using on my Signature Guitars for years. This came about after playing a guitar made with lattice by a dear friend, and I really liked it. I am far, far from finishing my experiment with this, but I want to offer an update of my reactions thus far, and those of the clients who are now playing these guitars every day.

It’s interesting. The first three experiments were simple re-tops of existing guitars — I just pulled the old tops off and replaced them with double-tops braced with lattice. The results were intriguing. The first thing they had in common is a big bass, and a mysterious sustain to them, but also my first impression was the sound was a little edgy. I kept these guitars around while I built a from-the-ground-up Signature, in which I also modified several other features, increased the fingerboard elevation, and made the body bigger in particular.
This new Signature Guitar right away was impressive. It has a huge sound, a kind of explosive attack and very quick response. And it sounds lovely besides. In the mid range, like around the second and third strings first position, it is more hollow sounding than I’m accustomed to liking, but I wound up playing this guitar as my personal instrument for a couple of months, and I learned to work with this character in a pleasing way, and I must say, when I sold this guitar, I really missed it.

In the mean time I went back to the original re-tops, and they had changed dramatically. I’ve experienced this before, when a guitar hangs around for a while without being even played much, and it goes through a metamorphosis. These re-tops were surprising. The edginess was gone, and the expressiveness was excellent, and they played very quick. Each of these guitars has now been sold, and the players are reporting back with great reviews, and their friends are calling and asking where they can get them. I heard Rob Weller play one in a concert at Longay Conservatory of Guitar a few weeks ago, and the sound jumped off the stage. Any questions about its “guitar sound” vanished, because it sounded beautiful and fully present. It was used in an ensemble, and there was no doubt in it’s ability to stand out.

Let’s get something clear though; lattice does not mean “Smallman Copy”. I had a conversation

with someone recently who said “I don’t like lattice guitars because they are so heavy”. That’s

not it. Lattice is just a bracing design. In itself it doesn’t weigh any more than fan bracing. This

inaccurate impression came about because Smallman and his followers popularized this bracing, but those guitars also have many other very heavy features, with an enormous cabinet-like plywood framing structure and a very thick arched back. Smallman guitars are indeed very heavy, something that characterizes them in a world apart.

Nor does lattice mean carbon fiber. Balsa wood lattice capped with carbon fiber is the common application, but I can’t stand the carbon or the epoxy used to build this. I’ve just used light weight red cedar for the bracing, and it feels and smells wonderful.

I am putting the lattice on a double top. Some other guitar makers have critiqued the idea as redundant, and I too thought that to begin with. A double top is in a way an extension of the lattice engineering, using a thin skin, a lightweight geometric support (nomex) and a lightweight stiffener. But regardless of how you — or I — think about it, I am getting good results, and that's what counts.

Some players are attracted to the idea of both double-top and lattice because they want it all. It’s like having an amp that “goes to eleven” , or a “sandwich with both French and rye”, and maybe it’s true. Double Top and Lattice are like two brands, sometimes competing for position as THE “modern” design. In my experience this dual combo is a sporty variation that has a real kick to it. I still won’t say it is going to replace my fan bracing, but I will say I like it — a lot.

At the moment I’m finishing up another set of instruments that have double-top and lattice, but with a traditional body, that is, without the elevated fingerboard, laminated sides etc. It’s just a traditional classical guitar body and look but with double-top braced with cedar lattice. I do include the sound ports. These guitars are aimed at making a somewhat simplified, and somewhat more affordable guitar, so that I can get them into the hands of more active players, and see how they do in the real world. This model has the potential to go into production and become more generally available, but these things do take time.

The Signature Model continues to be my baby, and even seems to be getting better. It’s not too much trouble to simply alternate the bracing and get alternate results. My Signature Guitar is still a work in progress, and I kind of hope it always will be. I’m still not sure how far this will go, but it’s still going.

So the update on lattice bracing and Hill Guitars is — the jury may still be out, but they are smiling.

Only a few seats left Muriel Anderson June 25

One of America's finest guitarists, Muriel Anderson returns to Santa Cruz for an intimate evening concert at the landmark Darling House. Muriel will be playing one of Kenny Hill's Signature model guitars. Limited seating.

$18 advance, $20 at door. Students and seniors $15.

House concert sponsored by Kenny Hill Guitar Company, The Darling House and Waterbird Entertainment.

Thursday June 25 at 7:30 - 9:30 pm.
The Darling House B&B,

314 West Cliff Dr.
Santa Cruz, CA
Ticket Info: 831-336-9317

From Muriel's website:

Muriel Anderson's music encompasses many genres on both guitar and harp guitar. She was the first woman to win the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship and was also awarded a bronze level for classical in the 2009 Acoustic Guitar Magazine's Players Choice poll. Her audiences are delighted with a range of music from international, folk, classical, jazz, pop, and bluegrass. She has been composing since the age of six and has published works for guitar and orchestra, voice, and solo guitar. Muriel has published several instructional books and videos and tours extensively. She is also the founder and director of Music for Life Alliance charity, and is the host of Muriel Anderson’s All STAR GUITAR NIGHT.