1995 Eric Sahlin CD/IN

A cedar and Indian rosewood classical guitar from 1995 by Eric Sahlin, with a French-polished top and lacquered back and sides.

Eric Sahlin's Work in the Mid-1990s

This 1995 is an absolutely stunning example of Sahlin's finest work from this period. The tone is rich, clean and incredibly powerful, projecting with great separation and color, and the guitar is lightly but solidly built, which gives it a lively character. As the aesthetic details show, his craftsmanship is second to none – the inlay work is beautiful and perfectly executed.

Finish and Neck

The top is French polished but the back and sides are lacquered – a finish combination Eric has long favored for his cedar-topped instruments. It also features his famous slight "twist" in the neck profile: in the lower positions it eases the stress on the left-hand wrist, so the wrist stays straighter and less "bent" even when barring. One of the most ergonomically well thought-out designs we've seen.

Condition

Condition is excellent, with no cracks or repairs – only some wear in the finish, including a spot on the lower bout where a strap from its previous case left a mark, but this is aesthetic only. Overall, a solid concert instrument in every regard.

Read more: Orfeo Magazine No. 10 – West Coast Luthiers

Eric Sahlin: American Classical Guitar Maker

Eric Sahlin is one of the great American luthiers who has achieved world-class status, with a waiting list of over a decade and significant demand in the US, Europe and Japan. Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, he is self-taught and builds in Valleyford, just outside the city.

From UC Santa Barbara to a Full-Time Workshop

His first exposure to the classical guitar came in his teens, when his brother took up the instrument – and with it came the great guitar recordings on his brother's Musical Heritage Society LPs. At UC Santa Barbara, with its strong classical guitar program, Eric decided in 1975, his first year, to build a guitar of his own: a love of woodworking since early childhood and an interest in acoustical physics made it seem like a wonderful adventure. He studied the books, bought his first woods that spring and finished the guitar that summer. By the time a second one was done, his career was decided.

He set up shop building custom furniture while honing his guitar making on the side, and by 1978/79 he was building guitars full-time – helped by a chance connection with George Dauphinais of the Dauphin Company, a mail-order business that marketed Eric's 7-, 8- and 10-string guitars as a less expensive alternative to the multi-string instruments then on offer.

Lutes, Then Classical Guitars Only

In the early 1980s a lutenist friend asked Eric for a lute. He enjoyed the project so much that he studied these instruments in depth and built various lute models alongside his guitars. By the end of the decade, with the guitar market strengthening and his reputation established, he turned exclusively to his first love, the classical guitar.

Players and Design

Sahlin guitars have been played by Scott Tennant, Andrew York, Ottmar Liebert (flamenco), Carsten Pedersen and other top players worldwide. They are known for precise, restrained mother-of-pearl trim and for Eric's innovative "twisted" fingerboard, which he talked about when Orfeo Magazine visited his Spokane-area workshop for its West Coast issue (No. 10, 2017).