Coming Soon: Evan Kingma Guitar with Bamboo Back and Sides

We’re sharing a first look at a new classical guitar from Canadian luthier Evan Kingma, arriving soon at GSI.

This guitar features a Western red cedar top with traditional fan bracing, bamboo back and sides, a 650 mm scale length, a 52 mm nut width, an African rosewood bridge, an ebony fingerboard, and Perona machine heads.  Built in 2024 for a client who was unable to finalize the purchase, it remains a brand-new instrument which we are excited to feature at GSI.

What makes this instrument stand out is Kingma’s use of bamboo for the back and sides. Because bamboo shoots are not wide enough to be used directly, the material is crafted by compressing and heat-treating many pieces of wood and fusing them together. These sheets are then shaped into a single-piece back and sides, which differ slightly from one another but maintain a consistent overall look. Evan shared with us that unlike what some might expect, bamboo is very dense. To achieve the right balance, Kingma builds the sides and back with laminations of lightweight mahogany, creating a structure that is stiffer, heavier, more durable, and highly resistant to cracking while still maximizing tonal response.

We’ll be sharing full details, sound samples, and a closer look once the guitar officially arrives. For now, here are some sneak peek photos.