2023 Hironori Fukuda SP/CSAR

This 2023 Hironori Fukuda is a classical guitar from Osaka, Japan, with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides – the same model, built to the same specs, as the guitar that won him third prize at the 2019 Antonio Marín Montero competition in Granada, and his first guitar for GSI.

Hironori Fukuda's First Guitar for GSI

We first met Japanese guitar builder Hironori in Granada in 2018, when he was a finalist in the competition, and he came back the following year to win third prize.For some reason we never got the actual prize-winning guitar – so in 2023 Hironori built us this one: the exact same model, made to the same specs as the guitar in Granada, with a spruce top and a lovely set of CSA rosewood back and sides. It has everything and more that we heard in the award-winning instrument, and it shows exactly the kind of work that earned him the prize.

Traditional Spanish Construction, All by Hand

His guitars are built using purely traditional Spanish methods. For his soundboards he works only with air-dried European spruce, and because he wants each guitar to bring out the wood's natural sound to the fullest, he avoids heat processing and synthetic reinforcing materials. He glues with hide glue and finishes with shellac, filling the pores with pumice powder before French polishing with a pad. His rosettes and inlays are made only from natural-colored (not dyed) woods, and he has no power tools – everything is done by hand.

Five-Fan Bracing with an Open Harmonic Bar

The top has a light 5-fan bracing system with one transverse brace passing just in front of the bridge (all 5 fans pass through it), which maximizes the flexibility of the vibrating area around the bridge while also adding structural stability. The lower harmonic bar is "open", which also increases the vibrating area of the top, giving the guitar a lightweight feel, with quick attack and a full, robust, beautiful sound.

Tone and Aesthetics

It has a rich variety of tonal colors, which is remarkable for a new guitar. Hironori's aesthetic is also very elegant and subtle, with refined detailing in the rosette and tasteful inlay work throughout, and the bridge has squared ramps giving it a bold, almost architectural look. Overall a superb instrument in every way – and the start of a wonderful relationship with this maker.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

An Early Love of Craft

From an early age, Hironori Fukuda loved working with his hands, taking up a variety of crafts and model building. He first played classical guitar at university in Kyoto, where he joined the university guitar club. He was passionate about playing, but thanks to his lifelong love of craftwork, it wasn't long before his attention turned to how guitars are made.

The Santos Hernández Revelation

As soon as Hironori began gathering materials and researching construction techniques, he discovered how hard it was to find good-quality tonewoods, especially those of the rosewood family. Then, in 1998, he attended a concert where the guitarist played a 1933 Santos Hernández made of spruce and maple. Hironori was deeply impressed by its wonderful sound, and the experience inspired him to build a guitar without rosewood. He spent three years studying lutherie from textbooks while refining his woodworking skills, and in late 2001 he completed his first guitar: a Santos Hernández model with a spruce top and maple back and sides.

Lessons from Torres, Santos and Romanillos

Since then, Hironori has had the opportunity to examine several important vintage instruments by makers such as Antonio de Torres and Santos Hernández, while gaining experience in building, repairing, and restoring guitars. In 2007, he attended the famous summer course given by José Romanillos. It had a profound influence on his approach, inspiring him to build guitars with great color, a beautiful, singing melodic voice, and many of the other charming qualities he found in the old Spanish instruments.

First Prize in Granada

Hironori first came to the Antonio Marín Montero Guitar Making Competition in Granada, Spain, in 2018, when he reached the finals. He returned the following year and won third prize at the 3rd edition of the competition in 2019, and in 2024 he came back once more and took First Prize for classical guitar at the seventh Antonio Marín Montero Guitar Making Competition. He lives and works in Osaka, Japan, and GSI is his exclusive dealer in the USA.