Built by Chinese luthier Gao Yi, this is the actual flamenco guitar that won First Prize at the seventh Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in July/August, 2024 and we are extremely thrilled to have it here.
Gao has been building for many years and is a seasoned and well-trained luthier building largely in the Granada style, having studied there with two of city's top names: Antonio Marin and Rene Baarslag. He also studied in Beijing years before with Juan Labella, also a Granada luthier. This is Gao's 111th guitar which is built as a traditional, old-school flamenco. Unlike his classical model which uses the Bouchet-inspired 5-fan with under-bridge brace, this flamenco uses a traditional 7 fan system that Gao learned from Rene Baarslag, and is otherwise very influenced by the Granada School in general. The resulting sound is overwhelmingly and convincingly very "flamenco" with a bullet-like attack, raspy voice, and dry "bark" - this guitar could be used in solo or ensemble playing, it's extremely versatile for any flamenco setting. It's absolutely incredible how different in sound and feel this guitar is from his classical counterpart. This is truly a fantastic "Spanish" blanca!
Materials selected for this guitar are incredibly well-sourced - the soundboard is made of high-quality spruce from the Fiemme Valley at an altitude of 1500 meters in the northern Alps, which is the same location that sourced the woods for Stradivarius' violins. The back and sides are constructed of "cypress" from "Cyprus" in the Mediterranean Sea. Snakewood is used in the binding, head veneer and inlays througout including the back, foot (where the sides come together at the bottom) and in the back of the headstock. Overall this produces a very unified look, very classy and tasteful all around. For the headstock shape, Gao takes inspiration from Antonio Marin and Antonio de Torres to create his own, tasteful design. The striking rosette borrows from traditional geometric decorative patterns of Chinese window grilles and also integrates Japanese Hakone Yosegi Zaiku (marquetry wood mosaics) to create a distinctive, elegant and very unique look. His plantilla is his own - he seeks the produce the curvature that follows the waistline of the human body, done both for the gentle aesthetic as well as improved ergonomics when playing the guitar. For playability and maximal flamenco response, Gao has implemented a low string-to-soundboard distance, enabling guitarists to easily balance playing and tapping. Additionally, Gao has supplied two nuts, allowing the player to select the appropriate height according to their playing habits.
Overall, this guitar beautifully combines the charm of Gao's local Chinese influences, a dab of Japanese design and of course the modified but very traditional Spanish influences that make this a unique but very traditional Spanish guitar. All in, this an exceptional instrument by any standard.
