“10° Aniversario” Model The model with a resonator proved enormously popular among professional guitarists as it gave the instrument such a sensational boost in volume. And yet some guitarists were disinclined to embrace an appendage that altered the traditional look of a classical guitar. It was because of this reluctance that father and son began looking at ways of building the resonator into the interior of the guitar, thus restoring the “25° Aniversario” model’s traditional allure. Unfortunately, Manuel Contreras passed away in 1994 without ever seeing this project, for which he felt such a passion and on which he worked to his very last days, come to fruition. From then on, Pablo Contreras was to continue working on the challenge solo, gradually reworking the entire internal structure of the “25° Aniversario” model until he found a way to accommodate the resonator. He also experimented with different bracing systems, reverting to the use of straight struts, albeit with much more complex patterns. He was aiming to make the guitar as immediately responsive as possible. These years of intense research and constant testing culminated in the launch, in 1998, of the “10° Aniversario” model. The guitar’s name refers to the tenth anniversary of Pablo’s tenure of the Contreras workshop. This model achieved international recognition in the year 2000, winning the top award from the “Convocatoria Internacional de Guitarras”, a competition for guitar-makers organised as part of the centennial commemorations of composer Joaquín Rodrigo’s birth. The “10° Aniversario” was – and remains today – a landmark model in the history of Spanish guitar construction. It is a living model which embodies all the new ideas and methods of construction developed by Pablo in his final years of work.
The “lattice” bracing pattern, developed by Pablo Contreras.
The meticulous Contreras craftsmanship can be admired even on the inside.