1997 Greg Smallman CD/CSAR (ex Marcelo Kayath)

This 1997 Greg Smallman is a cedar and CSA rosewood lattice classical guitar previously owned by the great Brazilian guitarist Marcelo Kayath.

Ex Marcelo Kayath

It was previously owned by Marcelo Kayath, and it is very similar to the guitar John Williams used for many of his post-1980 recordings. Included is the original wooden hardshell case.

Condition

This guitar is in excellent condition with no damage or repairs, only some signs of minor playing wear. Connie Sheu plays Gubaidulina’s “Serenade” on it in the video above.

Greg Smallman and the Lattice Guitar

Australian maker Greg Smallman (born 1947) is the builder behind the lattice-braced concert guitar, which he first built in 1974. His cedar soundboards are very thinly built and reinforced internally not with any kind of traditional fan system but with a unique and intricate lattice of balsa wood, reinforced with carbon fiber, while a heavily domed and very thick back makes the body a very rigid and stiff outer shell, forcing all the vibration to the soundboard. These instruments are known for their great power and piano-like sustain.

John Williams and Other Players

Smallman’s instruments have been played for years most famously by John Williams, who recorded on them from the 1980s on, but also by several other concert artists, including Xuefei Yang, Ben Verdery, Craig Ogden, Tim Kain, Nicola Hall, Carlos Bonell, Miloš Karadaglić and even Paul McCartney. His sons Damon (from 1993) and Kym (from 1996) build with him, and from 1999 the labels read “Greg Smallman & Sons Damon & Kym”.