2022 Eric Sahlin "640" CD/CSAR

Eric Sahlin built this "640" classical guitar in 2022 – a slightly shorter-scale model with a Western red cedar soundboard and CSA rosewood back and sides, made in Washington State.

Irina Kulikova plays the third movement (Allegro Solemne) of Agustín Barrios Mangoré's "La Catedral" on this guitar in the video above.

Sound of the 2022 Sahlin

Eric chose aged and gorgeous CSA rosewood for the back and sides, paired with a Western red cedar soundboard. Tonally it is bright and punchy, with great depth and an even balance from the basses to the trebles – full-bodied and extremely clear. The 640 mm string length makes for a slightly more compact guitar and an easier stretch for the left hand.

Workmanship Worth a Closer Look

The workmanship is phenomenal; you almost need a microscope to truly appreciate how perfect the craftsmanship is. Mother-of-pearl is used elegantly and minimally – in the headstock, rosette and tie-block – for a unique and beautiful look. The tuners are by Rodgers.

An Ergonomic Neck Design

The neck profile has Eric's famous slight "twist": in the lower positions it eases the stress on the left-hand wrist, so the player can keep a straighter, less "bent" wrist even in barre chords – one of the most ergonomically well thought-out designs we've seen.

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).