2024 Elias Bonet CD/AR

This is a fantastic guitar from this talented young maker - beautifully built with select materials including cedar for the soundboard and an elegant set of African rosewood for the back and sides. This is his traditional model, which is built with a five-fan bracing pattern and built from solid, well-aged woods, using templates designed according to guidelines provided by one of his teachers, Juan A. Reyes. Basically this is the Spanish system of 'closing the sound box from behind' which draws greatly from two of Elias' historical points of reference: Antonio de Torres and Alex van der Horst (aka "Alejandro"). Elias works the seasoned wood to deliver a deep richness of timbre, providing a wide range of tonal colors and nuances to be heard along the length of the strings in the right-hand area, resulting in an intimate and moving expressiveness. The guitar also has ample volume to satisfy any professional need in the studio or concert stage. Fingerboard has extension providing, not just a 19th fret for the e and b strings but also a 20th for a high c natural. The guitar has bold, modern look with geometrical patterns in the rosette and head veneer - inspired by seventh-century Persian carvings - all executed with a high level of precision. We are happy to be the exclusive US dealer for Elias Bonet and look forward to seeing many more guitars in the future!

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Elias Bonet has a very eclectic background. He graduated with a degree in industrial design from the EINA Centre for Art and Design in Barcelona and then studied classical and flamenco guitar at the Liceu Conservatory in the same city. He was also the world trial bike champion several times. In the year 2000, Elias co-founded Lacreativa.com, a design studio, but in 2009 he left the world of industrial design to dedicate himself professionally to guitar-making. It was by a chance meeting with the Yagüe brothers which provided Elias the opportunity to build his first guitar in their workshop after he tried to order one from them. From the first cut of wood, Elias was spellbound by this new, mysterious world of lutherie. In addition to learning from the Yagüe brothers, Elias also befriended Juan Antonio Reyes Torres, another excellent guitar-maker who opened his doors to Elias. After several years of apprenticing, Elias finally opened his own workshop in March of 2009 and has been building professionally on his own as an independent maker since then.