2024 Hironori Fukuda SP/AR

We first met Japanese guitar builder Hironori Fukuda at the 3rd International "Antonio Marin Montero" Guitar Building Competition in Granada, Spain in 2019, where he took third prize. 5 years later, Hironori would return for a second attempt in Granada where he would this time take First Prize at the seventh Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in July/August, 2024. The guitar we present here is the actual winning guitar from the 2024 event and it is made with spruce for the top and a lovely set of African rosewood back and sides. Hironori builds his guitars using purely traditional Spanish methods and is very careful about the quality and selection of his materials. He only works with air-dried European spruce for his soundboards and since he wants his guitars to maximize the natural sound of the wood, he doesn't use heat processing or synthetic materials for reinforcement. He works with hide glue and polishes using shellac, and pumice powder to fill the pores, followed by French polishing with a pad. He also makes his rosettes and inlay materials using only natural colored (not dyed) woods, doing almost all the work by hand, using very few power tools. The top has a traditional 7-fan bracing system with the middle 5 bars passing through a longitudinal brace placed just in front of the bridge which maximizes the flexibility of the vibrating area in the region of the bridge while at the same time adds structural stability as well. The thinner sides are supported with a series of thin spruce braces - again to help in the service of a lightweight but structurally sound build. It has a rich variety of tonal colors, even for a new guitar which is remarkable. Hironori's aesthetic is also very elegant and subtle with refined detailing in the rosette and tasteful inlay work throughout. The bridge has squared ramps giving it a bold, almost architectural look to it. The guitar comes in a Visesnut "Active Series" Grey case. Overall a superb instrument in every way. We look forward to many more of this maker's guitars in the future!

From an early age, Hironori Fukuda working with his hands, engaging in a number of crafts and model building. He attended university in Kyoto, where he played classical guitar for the first time at the university's guitar club. While he was a student, he was passionate about playing, but it didn't take long for him to turn his attention to the construction of the guitar, thanks to his lifelong fondness for craftwork. As soon as he began collecting materials and researching construction techniques, he became aware of the challenges of securing good quality wood, especially those from the rosewood family. In 1998, he attended a concert where the player performed on a 1933 Santos Hernandez guitar made of spruce and maple. Hironori was greatly impressed by its wonderful sound. This experience inspired to build a non-rosewood guitar. After three years of studying lutherie via various textbooks and refining his woodworking skills, he completed his first guitar in late 2001 - and it was a Santos Hernandez model with spruce top, maple back and sides!

Since then, he has had the opportunity to inspect several important vintage instruments by makers such as Antonio de Torres and Santos Hernandez while gaining experience in both building and repairing/restoring guitars. In 2007, he had the opportunity to attend the famous summer course given by Jose Romanillos. This experience greatly influenced his approach to guitar making, inspiring him to build guitars with great color, a beautiful, singing melodic voice, and many of the other charming sonic qualities that he found in the old Spanish instruments. In 2019 he participated in the prestigious Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition in Granada, where he won the third prize. 5 years later, Hironori return for a second time where he took first prize at the seventh Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition. He currently lives and works in Osaka.