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Ignacio Fleta 
Ignacio Fleta was born in Huesca, Spain, on July 31st, 1897, into a famiy of cabinet makers - an auspicious beginning for one destined to become a fine instrument builder. In childhood, he apparently showed great aptitude for music, as there are reports that by the age of eight he was able to play both the bandurria and guitar proficiently. Formal instrument-making studies began at the age of 13, when he left home to study violin, cello and bass-viol contruction. Principles of this training remained with Fleta over the entire course of his life, and his guitars were always contructed using the "vioin" method, which utilizes teh technique of attaching the nect to the completed soundbox (as opposed to the "Spanish" method, where the neck is attached to the sides at the outset of construction).
 In 1927, after several years of being in the instrument building business with his two brothers, Ignacio opened his own workshop in Barcelona. It was there that Fleta would dabble in his first serious guitar making ventures - likely as a result of having seen and repaired the many Torres guitars which were circulating in Barcelona at the time. It is even known that in 1936 Fleta made a copy of Francisco Tarrega's 1864 maple Torres after it passed through his workshop. Another fortunate event occurred between 1939 and 1945, when Fleta was commissioned to reproduce a collection of antique instruments for the musical society "Ars Musica". The collection included the gothic harp, fiddle, lute, vihuela and other instruments (including the classical guitar). Perhaps his most pivotal moment came in 1955 - after hearing Segovia play, Fleta decided to devote the rest of his life exclusively to the art of guitar making. He built his first guitar for Segovia in 1957. By 1958, he was receiving orders from other yound artists, most notably John Williams, who would eventually become one of his largest champions.
 It was at this time that Fleta sought to more clearly define his personal style. He gradually moved away from the pure, lightweight Torres design, increasing the overall mass and stiffness of the entire instrument. This was primarily done by enlarging the proportions of the body, most notably in the bouts, as well as by adding braces internally (his tops eventually had nine fan struts and four harmonic bars - two upper and two lower, while the back had an added fourth transverse brace). These modifications are now trademark qualities that have become associated almost uniquely with Fleta. He gradually began favoring the use of cedar for his soundboards, and by the early 1970s he was working almost exclusively with cedar. Along with Jose Ramirez III, Fleta is regarded as one of the great cedar builders in history. Despite Fleta's progressive modifications to the basic Spanish guitar design, he remained positively traditional in many ways. For examples, his polish was considered very old-fashioned yet extremely sophisticated, as he utilized a formula adopted from his violin and cello training.
Ignacio Fleta died in Barcelona on August 11th, 1977. The workshop remained open, and great guitars continued to be produced by his sons Gabriel (b. 21 December 1929) and Francisco (b. 22 July 1925, now retired). To this day, a lengthy waitlist of 20 years is still tended by Gabriel's son, Gabriel Jr. The Fleta legacy lives on, now in its third generation.
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