The tornvoz was a standard component of many guitars built in the second half of the 19th century but is rarely seen today.
A simple bronze conical tube attached to the inside of the guitar’s sound hole, it accentuated the instrument’s bass register and directed the sound towards the listener.
“There is no doubt that the sound of the guitar with a tornavoz acquires a darker timbre, giving the impression that it originates in a hollow or cavernous box,” José L. Romanillos wrote in his book, Antonio de Torres, Guitar Maker: His Life and Work.
Torres (1817-1892), whose classical guitar designs still set the standard for modern luthiers today, fitted many of his guitars with a tornavoz. Torres’ famous La Leona guitar, built in 1856, is the oldest surviving guitar fitted with one. You can also clearly see one in the soundhole on the 1868 Torres guitar below and hear how it highlights the bass.
Not surprisingly, the finest guitarists of the late-19th and early-20th century, such as Julián Arcas, Francisco Tárrega, and Miguel Llobet, also used them. Miguel Llobet’s surviving recordings, such as those below, were played on a Torres guitar built in 1859 with a tornavoz.
By Romanillos’ count, Torres fitted a tornavoz in almost half of the guitars he built in his first epoch (1852-1869 – FE). Yet in his second epoch, only 2 of 49 guitars were fitted with a tornavoz.
“I think that Torres reached the conclusion that the tornavoz, in the end, is not in fact necessary; that he could get the same results via a different route,” Romanillos said in a recent interview with Orfeo Magazine.
“He managed to achieve better tone in the lower tessitura by bulging the soundboard outward, thinning the pieces of wood and arranging them differently. In this way he circumvented one of the problems stemming from the presence of the tornavoz – the fact of having to remove the back for any repairs to the inside of the instrument.”
Another reason cited for the demise of the tornavoz was its effect on the guitarist. Its conical shape (tornavoz literally means “turned voice”) had the unfortunate effect of making the guitar sound particularly quiet to the player – although not the audience.
The tornavoz died out completely after the Second World War, just as another guitar innovation – the introduction of nylon strings – was beginning.
The tornavoz occassionaly resurfaces today on recreations of historic instruments. World renowned classical guitarist, Paul Galbraith, has also employed a tornavoz to help improve the bass sound on his eight-string guitars.
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