2024 Eduardo Bossa SP/IN

Built by Colombian luthier Eduardo Bossa, this guitar is made with European spruce for the soundboard paired with exceptional old growth Indian rosewood back and sides. This is THE actual award-winning classical guitar that Eduardo showcased at the seventh Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in July/August, 2024 and we are extremely thrilled to have this guitar here. 

Eduardo's approach to guitar making has a firm foundation in the traditional Spanish school and seeks to honor the great masters of the past. However, he also acknowledges his own roots and culture – both European and American – to incorporate his own personal style, giving his guitars a unique and honest identity. This is evident from the very original aesthetic details, of which his rosettes stand out the most; while still maintaining a very elegant and sober quality. His rosettes pay homage to the traditional woven crafts of the Zenú native American culture in the Colombian Caribbean region – Eduardo’s birthplace. These crafts are hand made by skilled craftsmen weaving black and white straw fibers to depict pre-Columbian pastoral motifs, and have become a national symbol of Colombia (see photos in the gallery for some examples).

The construction of his guitars is traditional; however, he follows his own designs and bracing patterns to grant them their own unique voice. These guitars exhibit great power and projection; a deep and controlled bass range paired with a treble range that is full and has a singing quality with surprising sustain. At the same time, they are easy to play, remarkably comfortable and player friendly. Advanced players will find that their wide palette of available tonal colors, generous and responsive dynamic range, and outstandingly even register across all strings in terms of volume, timbre, and sustain provide the freedom they need to craft their music, especially classical music styles ranging from early and renaissance up to modern contemporary. In addition to the materials already mentioned, he also used dark Honduran mahogany for the neck and an African ebony fingerboard which make for a classic combination of woods. The final touch comes from very subtle details made from Colombian curly comino wood, which add just the right amount of sparkle to the mix. All in all, this is an elegant and refined instrument which is a joy to play and a beauty to behold.

From Eduardo Bossa:

How does a chemical engineer with years of experience in engineering projects end up as a guitar maker? There are two distinct aspects in my personality that sometimes work against each other. There is one aspect which is very rational and structured, and another aspect which is intuitive, creative, and artistic. If I need to make a career choice to allow both aspects of my personality to work together, what do I do? I became an engineer, but there is not much room for artistic freedom there. I also studied classical guitar for many years, but my rational side kept getting in the way. As a young guitarist, I was always fascinated by the mysteries of a guitar. As an engineer, I wanted to know how it worked, why it was designed the way it was, and how changes to its construction aspects affected the final result. As an artist, I was captivated by the beauty of the sounds it produced, the aesthetic charm of the instrument itself, and the sheer musicality of the entire package. I studied every guitar I could get my hands on, I listened, I observed. I read everything I could about guitar making. But I never thought I would be able to make a guitar myself. One day I met master luthier Alberto Paredes, who very calmly and matter-of-factly explained that I could build guitars, I just had to work hard at it. So together with him I built my first guitar. And suddenly I found that the rational and artistic sides of me were no longer fighting each other, but rather working together to achieve my goals in guitar making. That day I found my calling and I decided that I wanted to dedicate my life to making the best guitars I could. Since 2014 I have been building guitars in my workshop in Cartagena, Colombia, using a combination of traditional and modern methods in order to offer beautiful guitars suited for today's musicians.

After several years of working at his craft, Eduardo Bossa was awarded second-prize for his classical guitar at the prestigious seventh Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in July/August, 2024.