In the early 1970s Master Luthier Don Abraham Falcón García, who had already established himself as a builder of high quality and beauty guitars, began to shift his approach to guitar construction marking the beginning of an important period in Peruvian guitar building.

Falcón considered not just how a guitar should look or even how it should sound, but how it should work from within. He had a fundamental belief that structure was everything as the internal structure of a guitar allows it to withstand tension, respond to the player, and ultimately come alive.

Over the next 15 years Falcon developed his unique and unified internal system, one that considered every element of the instrument as part of a whole. The neck, sides, soundboard, back, bracing, and even the choice of glue were all treated as parts of a carefully balanced whole. What emerged was a guitar that departed from the established Torres lineage with a distinctive bracing system. The internal supports are arranged in a fan pattern, set into a central harmonic bar and extending outward toward the linings, all carefully bonded to the soundboard. The principal behind Falcón’s design was to allow vibrational energy to move freely and evenly through the structure of the guitar, enabling it to travel, expand, and project with clarity and control. The result is a responsive guitar with both power and balance.

Falcón presented his “Peruvian Model” to world at the XVII International Meeting of Luthiers in Paris. It was unlike anything seen before and earned third place in competition represented by many of the worlds top luthiers. In 2009, Falcon patented his structural design with INDECOPI entitled “Structural Innovation for the Peruvian Classical Concert Guitar”.

For those that wish to find out more about Falcon, you can visit their website here.

But most importantly, as demonstrated by Robert’s recital, like all truly great instruments, what matters isn’t just how it’s built, but how it makes you feel when the first note blooms into the room.