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= Francisco Simplicio =

Francisco Simplicio (18 October 1874 - 14 January 1932) was a Spanish guitar maker who worked in Barcelona. He is considered to be one of the top guitar makers of his time and a prime exponent of the Barcelona school of guitar making.

Cabinetmaker
Francisco Simplicio started his working career as a cabinet-maker at the prestigious firm Casa Masriera y Vidal, in Barcelona. After serving the company for eighteen years, Simplicio lost his job. Political and social upheaval that plagued Spain at the time, created a breeding ground for animosity between workers and employers within the joinery trade. Eventually Simplicio drew the shorter end. Luckily he was soon taken on as an assistant to his long time friend and expert guitar maker Enrique Garcia (1868 - 1922); one of the greatest guitar makers of the time who is considered to be the founder of the Barcelona school of guitar making.

Guided by Enrique Garcia (1917-1922)
Garcia had been taught in Madrid by the great Manuel Ramírez (1864 - 1916), but had moved to Barcelona in the early 1890's and was already internationally famous when Simplicio joined his workshop. In 1893 Garcia's guitars won the first prize at the Chicago World Exhibition. The labels in his guitars proudly bear testament to this achievement.Simplicio worked alongside Garcia from 1917 until 1922; building guitars that, in structure, owe a great deal to guitars by Antonio de Torres.

Garcia's guitars were also being sold abroad, shipped especially to South-American. Concertising guitarists such as Domingo Prat (1886 - 1944) who played a guitar by Garcia and toured South-America, led to overseas interest in Garcia's instruments. Another famous guitarist, Francisco Tárrega (1852 - 1909) also started playing his guitars, further expanding his fame. It was since his apprenticeship with Ramirez that Garcia had been building guitars which in structure, easthetics and philosophy were heavily rooted in the principals of Antonio de Torres. In 1897 Garcia was trusted to restore the most famous Torres guitar, the one owned by Francisco Tárrega, built by Torres in 1864. Tárrega had acquired it straight from Torres, who - as the story goes - had intended not to sell this particular instrument, but changed his mind on hearing Tárrega's playing. This particular guitar, built very light, supposedly nearing the limits of what was structurally possible, had collapsed. In those days Tarrega played it all the time and the top had collapsed. Garcia had to remove the back to repair it. The clear view inside this guitar, gave Garcia front row seats and a great opportunity to study the details of Torres' mastery.

Garcia's fame for building guitars in the style of Torres had reached other countries. In France for instance, his instruments were advertised as being a worthy substitute to a Torres guitar.

All the guitar making knowledge was transferred on to Simplicio, who in 1917 became assistant to Garcia, who in turn tutored him closely and could make good use of Simplicio's already acquired experience in woodworking. In the early 1920's Garcia's health started to deteriorate which eventually lead to his death in 1922.

Simplicio taking over the workshop (1923-1932)
Francisco Simplicio was able to take over the workshop and restart production at sometime during 1923, building instruments that followed Garcia's design. In the next three years Simplicio built fifty guitars in which he still used Garcia's label's. He however signed these with his own name and added the statement that he had been the sole pupil of Enrique Garcia. Simplicio maintained the design of the headstock, with its ornate woodcarvings. In almost every guitar these carvings depict a display of acanthus-leave patterns, which featured very prominently in ancient Greek architecture and was also widely used in joinery and cabinetmaking from the Renaissance to the Louis XVI style. Today there are five Simplicio guitars in existence which bear a rare Orpheus and Lyre sculpture instead.

Simplicio is also known for a series of nine experimental guitars featuring a divided soundhole, on the upper part of the soundboard; one half situated on every side of the fretboard. The idea is that the soundboard can act as a coherent vibrating medium and that it also has a higher structural integrity. Despite winning a gold medal with this design at the 1929 World’s Fair in Barcelona, Simplicio was never able to broadly convince players of the instrument’s advantages.

Use of Cuban Mahogany, satinwood, flamed maple and rio rosewood (orfeo)

Simplicio Tornavoz (orfeo)

Francisco Simplicio passed away on 14 January, 1932. His son and pupil Miguel took over the workshop, continuing in his fathers footsteps.

The guitars of Francisco Simplicio are today much sought after by collectors and guitarists because of their woodworking mastery, their full sound, their facility of playing and the fact that, despite their age and lightweight build quality, they continue to play well and their structure holds up to the test of time.

Guitars list (incomplete)

Francisco Simplicio 1926 N.66 rosewood back and sides

Francisco Simplicio 1926 N.68 flamed maple back and sides ex Rafael Valdiz

Francisco Simplicio 1927 N.156 ex Agustín Barrios

Francisco Simplicio 1929 N.231 back / sides in mahogany feather from Cuba with tornavoz

Francisco Simplicio 1930 N.278 ex Dániel Benkö, private collection - Spruce top, Cuban mahogany back & sides

Francisco Simplicio 1929 N.3 split soundhole, Harris Guitar Collection, SFCM San Francisco Conservatory of Music - Spruce top, satinwood back & sides

Francisco Simplicio 1930 N.7 split soundhole

Francisco Simplicio 193? N.8 split soundhole, ex Martín Borda y Pagola

Francisco Simplicio 1931 N.316 model“ Esposition” ex Abel Fleury

Miguel Simplicio 1932 N.342 classical mode

Simplicio's instruments are revered for their sound and build quality and are very much sought after today.