2023 Moonseok Choi SP/AR

Currently based in Malmö, Sweden, Moonseok Choi is a veteran guitar maker who has been building guitars for nearly 2 decades. He studied with guitar maker Om Taechang in Seoul, Korea from 2002-2005, and completed a Masters degree in Musical Instrument Making from the Westsaechsische Hochschule in Zwickau, Germany where he lived from 2006-2010. It was there where he met and befriended Dominik Wurth, another fine maker whom we represent. Moonseok builds mainly traditional instruments and prefers these to most modern designs, although he does build guitars with double backs as well - this is the result of his thesis in Zwickau where he studied the efficiency of the energy transmission of the sound as it projects from the stage to the audience. As his most influential luthiers, he cites Robert Bouchet and Daniel Friederich, and he pursues his "production approach based on their acoustic approach". He also feels a special connection to Bouchet, since his childhood dream was to become a painter (his mother loved art). In addition to building, Moonseok has done several significant repair and restoration jobs including instruments by Manuel Ramirez, Miguel Rodriguez, Domingo Esteso, and Jose Romanillos to just name a few.

For this guitar, Moonseok tells us that the overall decoration and "fish" shape in the central mosaic of the rosette (as well as the subtle use of blue for the rosette purflings) were inspired by the Baltic sea where he currently lives and works. He also added an "aquamarine" stone in the tie block which with it's blueish color and 3D relief, resembles a droplet of water. Lastly he chose some burl wood for the head veneer and tie-block as it reminds him of the living "sea oak" seaweed that is visible when looking into the depths. For sound, Moonseok is citing Torres, Manuel Ramirez, and Santos Hernandez as his primary models. He took tours of Italy and Spain over the last two years and was able to see more than 30 original instruments by these makers, and helped him to appreciate and absorb the tonal characteristics of these great masterpieces of the past. His bracing pattern is based on the Bouchet-style 5 fan system, which he has preferred for some time now. But he thicknessed the top, back, and sides based closer to some later Manuel Ramirez instruments built in the 1910's that he researched and measured. As a final acoustic set-up process, he added some additional braces to the top to add additional brightness to the sound. For the back, he followed other 19th-century examples, which are very lightly built, so he reduced the weight and thicknessing, but adding some reinforcements for structural stability.

As with previous instruments we've had in the past, this guitar is meticulously made with very clean craftsmanship. Sound is big, lush and rich. Although a spruce top, it has ample harmonic content in every note. It exceptionally lively with a lightning-fast attack and a plump, juicy quality of sound that follows immediately behind. Exceptionally balanced and clear at the same time, this is a true concert guitar ready for stage or studio. We are pleased to be representing this fine maker exclusively in the USA.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction