2016 Stephan Connor "640" SP/KO "Sunflower"

This 2016 Stephan Connor “640” “Sunflower” is a spruce and reclaimed koa lattice-braced classical guitar from his Boston years.

“Sunflower”

Stephan named this guitar “Sunflower”, as the rosette design was inspired by the sunflowers of Southwest indigenous art; the name is written on the underside of the top, visible through the side sound portal. The neck, back and sides are of reclaimed koa, the fingerboard of Indian rosewood, and the top of bear-claw spruce. The label reads “Stephan Connor, Constructor, 2016, Boston”.

Sound

Lattice bracing, the elliptical sound portal, a raised fingerboard with 20 frets and a 640 mm scale make it tremendously powerful and comfortable – a real player’s instrument for any concert setting. Condition was excellent, with only playing wear.

Stephan Connor and the Sound Portal

American luthier Stephan Connor has specialized in concert classical guitars since 1994. A music graduate of the College of Wooster in Ohio, he learned guitar making at Timeless Instruments in Saskatchewan, worked for many years in Boston – the city on his labels – and now builds in Cataumet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1993 he drilled a hole in the side of a guitar so the player could hear it better, and the sound portal facing the player has been his signature ever since.

Power with a Traditional Voice

His guitars are sought by players who want maximum power while keeping a natural, traditional quality of sound. Eliot Fisk was the breakthrough artist, and Angel Romero, Sergio and Odair Assad, Scott Tennant, Marco Tamayo, Anabel Montesinos, José María Gallardo and David Tannenbaum are among the many who have played them. He builds both traditional fan-braced and lattice-braced tops, with bracing patterns of his own design.