2018 Florian Blöchinger SP/CSAR

These are among the most impressive guitars we have seen from a maker this early in their career. It is built to an incredibly high standard, in terms of materials, craftsmanship, playability and sound quality. Woods selected are stunning - the perfect quarter-sawn spruce top, with its velvety cross-grain silk, beautifully compliments the CSA Rosewood used for the back and sides with its lighter sapwood contrasted with the darker heartwood. Tuners are by Klaus Scheller fitted with ebony buttons. Soundwise, it is the sonic fusion of Miguel Rodriguez guitars and those of Pepe Romero Jr, with a fast, aggressive attack much like a flamenco and an extremely quick string reset, which offers the right hand freedom to play as quickly as possible. Florian achieves this through the use of a 5 fan bracing system, very similar to Miguel Rodriguez of the 1970s and later. The basses are thick, powerful and dense. This is balanced beautifully by the singing, vibrant, and fully-resonating treble strings. Also impressive is the amount of volume above the 12th fret, in part achieved by the use of a thicker fingerboard connected to a section of the soundboard with extra doming in it, allowing for unfettered tone and resonance in the higher registers. The projection is excellent with a warm, robust tone and a dense core to the note, providing plenty of clarity for each note amid the wide sound. A first-rate guitar by any standards and we look forward to seeing more of these top-level instruments in the future. Although a used instrument, it is in excellent condition with only slight signs of wear in a couple of spots, otherwise virtually like-new. Like with his father, GSI is proud to be the US representative of Florian Blochinger.