Roberto de Miranda, 2023

This is a Roberto de Miranda Limited Edition built for the 2023 Roma Guitar Expo ("REG"), the annual gathering that brings together many of the finest luthiers working in Italy and beyond. It is a traditional, Torres-inspired concert guitar with a spruce top over dramatically figured Ziricote back and sides, and it carries all the hallmarks that have made de Miranda's instruments so sought after.

De Miranda is a Torres man to his core, having studied the master's work directly under José Luis Romanillos, but his guitars are not museum pieces. Since the late 1990s he has quietly refined his own construction methods aimed at pushing volume and projection without giving up the warmth, color, and singing timbre that define the great Spanish tradition. The result is a guitar that feels historically grounded and immediately alive under the hands.

This is a traditional voice with modern power. The spruce top gives a clear, focused sound with strong projection and a quick, direct response that makes shaping dynamics effortless. The trebles sing with a round, warm clarity, and Ziricote lends the bass a dense, defined authority with shimmer and separation across the whole range. The third and fourth strings carry a particularly vocal, singing quality that is rare and instantly memorable, and the bass strings offer a striking contrast between a brassy, full-bodied ponticello sound and a deep, cello-like richness over the fingerboard.

This is not a guitar that announces itself the moment you pluck a note. It rewards the player who takes time with it: warm it up, explore the full range of the right hand, and the sound opens into something exceptional, with profound colors and sustain wherever you place your touch. The vibrato capacity is extraordinary on every string. For players willing to dig, it is genuinely hard to imagine something better.

The 650mm scale and 52.5mm nut width sit in the classic, comfortable range, and a raised fingerboard opens clean access to the upper positions. The neck is very thin and super C-shaped, a profile that will feel immediately familiar to players who love the Hauser 2, and the very low action means the instrument plays with effortless ease while still responding fully to a committed touch.

Built on traditional lines with five fan bracing, the guitar pairs a spruce soundboard with solid Ziricote back and sides, one of the most visually striking tonewoods available, prized for its dramatic figure and spider webbing. The top joins the sides via unusually large internal blocks that rise to contact the soundboard directly, a construction detail de Miranda uses to direct more vibration toward the center of the plate. A raised fingerboard gives easy reach into the upper register without compromising the instrument's traditional character.

The guitar is finished in French polish (shellac) throughout. The Manuel Ramirez-inspired headstock is beautifully proportioned, and the instrument is fitted with a set of Alessi tuning machines featuring a gorgeous flower engraving pattern, white buttons with mother of pearl inlay, and white rollers — among the finest hardware we have seen on any classical guitar, turning with flawless, silky precision.

The rosette carries an elegant central motif with wheat detailing on the inner and outer rings, and matching wheat purfling traces the entire outline of the top, giving the guitar a cohesive and refined visual identity. This is a clean, elegant, purpose-built concert instrument.

Specifications

Model: Limited Edition, Roma Guitar Expo ("REG")

Construction: Traditional, five fan bracing

Fingerboard: Raised

Finish: French Polish (shellac)

Neck Profile: Very thin, C-shaped

Frets: Medium

Action: Very low

Condition: Top in excellent condition; back has light wear to the French polish at the arm rest area

Roberto de Miranda was born in Milan in 1960 and graduated in 1984 from the School of Lutherie of Vignate. He went on to study in Spain under the renowned maestro José Luis Romanillos across 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1996, specializing in the guitars of Antonio de Torres. From 1998 he began developing construction projects of his own design intended to boost volume and projection while preserving the timbral qualities and tone that define traditional building.

In 2014 he was awarded the golden prize for lutherie at the Alessandria International Guitar Convention. His instruments are played by celebrated concert guitarists including Lorenzo Micheli, Matteo Mela, Frederic Zigante, and Drew Henderson, among many others. De Miranda works in small numbers, and his guitars are typically spoken for well in advance, which makes an available example like this one a rare opportunity.

The guitar is in very good overall condition. The top is in excellent condition. The back shows some light wear to the French polish in the area where you naturally rest your arm, which is entirely normal for an instrument that has been played. This is honest cosmetic wear that does not affect the sound or playability of the instrument in any way.