There are numerous baroque guitar models. The two featured here represent my choice. The guitar on the right is an anonymous early Italian model from a private collection, ca.1615, that I first built in 1993. This slim waisted guitar is lightly constructed throughout, with a sparsely barred soundboard. Over the last 15 years I have built models of early baroque guitars based on Oth, Koch and Sellas. But each time I hear one of my "anonymous" guitars in concert I am struck by how its transparent silvery tone embodies the spirit of the early Italian baroque.

Specifications: available with ebony ribs and holly spacers and a string length of 67 cm.

The French baroque guitar, on the left, modeled after an instrument by Jean Voboam (1690) is very different in construction. The Voboam is more heavily barred; the bouts are wider relative to length of the body and the bridge has migrated forward - all of which foreshadows the guitar's future development. This guitar favors the punteado style of playing.

Specifications: ebony sides with a cypress, curly walnut or curly mahogany six piece back. The string length is 64 cm.