| Upper bout | 279mm | |
| Waist | 240mm | |
| Lower bout | 365mm | |
| Body length | 485mm |
I have built more of this model than any other. It is a standard sized ‘concert’ guitar, but still ‘small-bodied’, of similar dimensions to some of Torres’ guitars from his second building epoch. The shape evolved from several earlier designs I’d made inspired by Hermann Hauser, Domingo Esteso, and Torres – in fact, Model 12’s immediate predecessor in its size category was my Model 10, based on Torres’ S.E 83 (1885).
I’ve used a range of scale-lengths successfully with this body, including 655mm, 653mm, 650mm, 645mm and 640mm.
This body shape has worked well with all my bracing patterns. For the fan-braced versions I usually use my 6-fan asymmetric pattern, but of course a traditional Torres style 7-fan can be employed too. The X-brace design can be used with no other changes, while the Long-bar pattern requires an elliptical sound-hole to allow correct placement of the long braces.
The photographs below show a 2020 cedar/Honduras rosewood 655mm scale fan-braced Model 12 made for a customer in the UK. Tuning machines are Nicolo Alessi Hauser 7.
