2017 Eric Sahlin SP/CSAR

Eric Sahlin made this European spruce and CSA rosewood classical guitar in 2017 – the year Orfeo Magazine visited his workshop for its West Coast issue.

Spruce and CSA Rosewood: Woods and Sound

The woods are first-rate: aged and gorgeous CSA rosewood for the back and sides and European spruce for the top. There is great depth and balance across all registers, and the sound is bright and punchy – full-bodied, and extremely clear at the same time.

Building Details

Phenomenal workmanship throughout – the perfection of the craftsmanship really has to be seen up close, almost under a microscope. Note the elegant, minimal mother-of-pearl work in the headstock, rosette and tie-block – unique and beautiful. The tuning machines are Rodgers.

A "Twist" for Comfort

A slight "twist" in the neck profile – a Sahlin signature – eases the strain on the left-hand wrist in the lower positions. The player can keep a straighter, less "bent" wrist even while barring; ergonomically, few designs we've seen are as well thought-out.

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).