Erez Perelman is an Israeli classical and flamenco guitar maker, now based on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, whose guitars are represented in the USA by GSI.
At a Glance
- Born: Israel
- Workshop: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (previously Israel)
- As a guitarist: studied classical and flamenco guitar, including with Celin Romero and the Romeros, Christopher Parkening and Paul Galbraith
- Guitar making: primarily self-taught; learned from master luthier Eugene Clark
- Education: PhD, University of California, San Diego
- Style: traditional sound and playability: ultra-lightweight, fast-responding, with a big, warm, woody voice
A Guitarist Since Age 13
Born in Israel and raised among musicians and artists, Erez Perelman has had the guitar as his passion for over half of his life. He picked it up when he was 13 and never put it down. He formally studied both classical and flamenco styles of playing, and has had the opportunity to study with some incredible players such as the Romeros – he studied guitar performance under Celin Romero in San Diego, California – Christopher Parkening and Paul Galbraith. He spent many years teaching, performing professionally and collaborating with other musicians.
A Sculptor's Hands
Long before discovering the guitar, he enjoyed working with wood. Woodworking is an art that is in his blood; he learned sculpting at a young age from his grandfather. Sculpting has taught him two invaluable lessons. First, he learned how to feel the wood he works with. Wood is a complex medium, and he learned to use his hands to see more than with his eyes. This is a major reason why he prefers hand tools over power tools. Second, through sculpting he learned how to visualize the finished piece before making a single cut. Although a guitar is made of many different pieces of wood, it is important to have a vision of the finished instrument.
Lessons from GSI's Historic Guitars
His joy of woodworking eventually led him to build guitars. Primarily self-taught, he found his first guitar a challenge that took nearly a year to build, and today he still enjoys picking it up and playing it. Erez has learned a lot since making that guitar, some by trial and error and much from fellow luthiers. He owes much thanks to master luthier Eugene Clark, from whom he learned firsthand many of the nearly lost methods of the old masters. Most important, he learned from inspecting many instruments. While living for several years in Southern California, Erez was a regular visitor to GSI, where he spent many hours inspecting and playing the many great historical instruments as they were passing through – studying not only their structural and physical properties, but how they played and sounded. That grounding shows in his own instruments, which are traditional in both sound and playability: ultra-lightweight, fast-responding, with a big, warm, woody voice.
A Scientist's Rigor
In parallel, he received a PhD from the University of California, San Diego. This had a profound influence on his guitar building. Research has taught him rigor and how to objectively evaluate his creations, and he applies this perspective to every instrument he builds.
From Israel to Vancouver Island
After running his workshop in Israel for many years, Erez recently relocated to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Today he is represented in the USA by GSI.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Erez Perelman build his guitars? On Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, where he recently moved his workshop after many years in Israel.
Does Erez Perelman make classical or flamenco guitars? Both. He studied both styles as a player, and GSI has offered his classical and flamenco guitars over the years.
Who did Erez Perelman learn from? He is primarily self-taught as a maker, learned many old-master methods from luthier Eugene Clark, and spent many hours studying historical instruments at GSI.
What do Erez Perelman guitars sound like? They are traditional in sound and playability: ultra-lightweight and fast-responding, with a big, warm, woody voice.
