2023 Miguel Angel Gutierrez SP/IN

Made with sitka spruce for the soundboard, and a nicely figured set of Indian rosewood for the back and sides, this is another beautifully built classical guitar from Spanish luthier Miguel Angel Gutierrez, who currently lives and works in Genoa, Italy. The first thing one notices with this guitar is the beautiful inlay work in the head veneer, rosette and tie-block. The colors are striking with natural browns, yellows and blacks blended with dyed blue and green to create several patterns including herringbone (both half and full), interlocked diamonds and in the central section of the rosette - a lovely repeated mosaic pattern of a nasrid stars (commonly seen in architectural features and tile work/flooring in southern Spain). The MOP leaf pattern in the headstock is symbolic of the leaf used in the well-known Biblical story of Adam and Eve, who covered themselves once they became aware of their "nakedness" - Miguel Angel feels that music is a very intimate and personal experience - especially for musicians who perform for live audiences which can leave them feeling "naked", which is the same feeling a luthier can have when his guitars enter the hands of the public, and for him represents a good-luck token for everyone in the music-making enterprise to fearlessly carry on! This very bold look is matched by the strong sound which is full, warm and evenly balanced. The top is braced with a light system of lattices and open harmonic bars which gives it a lovely volume boost while retaining a traditional, natural sound. Entirely French polished, this is a fantastic value for such a visually stunning and sonically rich instrument and would satisfy the recording or concertizing needs of any guitarist. Great instrument all around.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Born in Toledo, Spain in 1979, Miguel Angel Gutierrez studied architecture between universities in both Spain and Italy, and afterwards worked for several years in an architecture studio in Genoa while managing a climbing gym. It was at this time that his curiosity led him to build a guitar for himself for the purpose of playing his own music. But lightning struck with this first experience and his passion for instrument making was instantly born. For him, taking various pieces of wood, and assembling them in such a way as to make them vibrant and full of life with the magical alchemy of music was a calling that immediately took hold of him in this seminal experience.

Following this first guitar, he immersed himself in researching the art of guitar making by seeking out all the information he could find in books, the internet and by befriending and taking the advice of several luthiers who made themselves available to him. He followed this up with an online course held by luthier Carlos Juan Busquiel, later by traveling to Andalusia to do a flamenco guitar construction course with luthier Paco Chorobo, who became his first true teacher and great friend. Further studies followed after he discovered the book "The Design of the Classical Guitar" by Mario Garrone which led him to contact the author and eventually become his apprentice. Miguel Angel has learned to combine the scientific methods learned from Mario Garrone together with traditional techniques of his previous training to produce his current models.

After several years of working at his craft, Miguel Angel Gutierrez was awarded second-prize at the prestigious fifth Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in September, 2022.