2026 Brian Itzkin "635" No. 63 SP/CSAR

This 2026 Brian Itzkin “635” No. 63 is a compact, Torres-style classical guitar of Italian spruce and CSA rosewood, made in New York – the fourth Itzkin to come to GSI, his only dealer in the USA.

An Exciting Young American Luthier

Here we have another spectacular guitar from Brian, one of the most exciting young American luthiers we’ve encountered in recent years. We’ve been enormously impressed with Brian’s work since receiving his first guitar, and each new instrument further confirms our enthusiasm for this exceptionally talented maker. What makes his guitars so compelling is not simply the quality of his craftsmanship, which is outstanding, but his deep understanding of and devotion to the great Spanish guitar-making tradition, particularly the work of Antonio de Torres. Brian is clearly a builder who has immersed himself in the history of the instrument, and yet his guitars are not simply copies of the past. Rather, they are his own interpretations of the ideas and principles that made these historical instruments so extraordinary.

Inspired by Torres’ FE-05 of 1857

This particular guitar takes much of its inspiration from Torres’ famous FE-05 of 1857, especially in the body shape, rosette and striking four-piece back, with the individual sections separated by thin strips of holly. The result is a beautifully proportioned instrument with an unmistakably old-world Spanish aesthetic, but with enough of Brian’s own personal touches to give it a distinct identity.

Italian Alpine Spruce and Old CSA Rosewood

The materials are simply gorgeous. For the soundboard, Brian selected a fine set of Italian Alpine spruce, while the back and sides are made from an exceptional set of old CSA rosewood. Interestingly, this wood was given to Brian by a local Long Island guitar maker who has since retired, making it not only a beautiful and increasingly scarce material, but one with a lovely personal history as well. It’s wonderful to see wood that has been carefully preserved by one generation of builders find its way into the hands of another.

Mother-of-Pearl Details and French Polish

The attention to detail throughout is remarkable. The bridge is also fashioned from CSA rosewood and features a mother-of-pearl tie block facing, while the nut is likewise made from mother-of-pearl, a particularly elegant and unusual touch. The entire instrument is finished in traditional French polish, allowing the natural beauty of the materials to shine through. The craftsmanship is exceptionally clean and precise, yet the overall aesthetic remains wonderfully organic and traditional, very much in keeping with the spirit of the original Torres guitars that inspired it.

A Compact, Lightweight Torres-Style Classical Guitar

Structurally, Brian has remained faithful to the traditional Spanish approach, employing fan bracing in the spirit of Torres. Like his previous “635” model, this guitar has a slightly smaller body and shorter scale, making it an especially comfortable instrument to hold and play. It is also an impressively light build, and its body resonance sits relatively low – an interesting characteristic given the compact dimensions of the guitar.

Sound

As with Brian’s earlier guitars, the voice here is dark, deep and old-world. Each note is saturated with rich overtones, yet the fundamental stays clean – never muddied or distorted – helped along by that low resonance. The sound is clear and focused but also rich and beautiful, with a wide palette of tonal colors to draw on: the proverbial “symphony in a box”. Brand-new and “modern” as it is, it captures the character of the old Spanish guitars that players, audiences and music lovers have treasured for the last 150 years. Simply put, a sensitive guitarist will find here everything needed to express any musical idea in the repertoire.

A Craftsman and a Student of History

What we find especially exciting about Brian’s work is the way he approaches the guitar as both a craftsman and a student of its history. His reverence for Torres is obvious, but so is his willingness to explore, experiment and develop his own voice as a maker. This guitar is a wonderful example of that philosophy, combining a historically inspired design, superb old materials and the kind of thoughtful, meticulous workmanship that makes us so enthusiastic about Brian’s future. We are delighted to have another of his instruments here at GSI and look forward to seeing where his remarkable talent takes him.

Photos of this guitar taken during and after construction.

A Classical Guitarist from Long Island

Brian Itzkin was born in 1996 just outside of New York City, on the north shore of Long Island. He began guitar lessons at the local music store at age 8, originally wanting to learn his favorite rock and roll riffs, but found himself with a classical teacher who was at the time a DMA candidate at Stony Brook University. Brian remained with this teacher for 10 years, learning to read music and play in the classical style. His childhood teacher, Jason Priset, is now the director of the Lute Society of America’s “Lute Fest” and an adjunct professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Brian has recently been working on his playing again and is doing quite well.

First Guitars and Ervin Somogyi

His introduction to guitar making came when he built his first guitar at the age of 13 from a C.F. Martin kit in his father’s poorly equipped basement workshop. Brian says that it was somewhat playable, but it inspired him to build another. After that second guitar, Brian began a correspondence with the highly regarded steel-string maker Ervin Somogyi, which lasted from the ages of 14 to 18. During this time Somogyi sent Brian assignments by mail and email, and the two met yearly at the Woodstock Invitational Luthier Showcase. Their correspondence focused on guitar design, and although Somogyi is a steel-string maker, the ideas he taught and shared with Brian were a major catalyst for Brian’s switch to classical guitars.

Training in Spain with Stephen Hill

At 20 years old, in 2016, Brian took a “semester” off from college after his sophomore year to attend Stephen Hill’s guitar making course in Spain. This proved to be a revelatory experience, and Brian decided to postpone his university studies in favor of studying guitar making. The following year he spent 3 months studying with Daniele Chiesa in the south of Spain and further immersed himself in the Granada guitar making tradition. Back at home, from the end of 2017 until the first months of 2020, he equipped his workshop, collected materials and independently studied the life and work of makers like Antonio de Torres (his chief influence – those of you familiar with Brian will know that he even has a Torres headstock design tattooed on his forearm!), Robert Bouchet, Santos Hernández and Hermann Hauser, before returning to Stephen’s shop in March 2020.

The Granada Tradition

Brian stayed in Spain throughout the Covid lockdown until early September, and in that time built and sold 3 guitars. He learned enormously from this opportunity to spend so much extra time with Stephen, Evan Kingma and Alessandro Perciaccante, who at that time was taking over the role of Stephen’s apprentice as Evan prepared to return to Canada. Brian has since returned to Spain for at least 3 months every year, and has befriended and (in a very informal sense) learned more about the Granada tradition from Rafael Moreno Rodríguez, the varnisher Javier Campos and many others. He also assisted Stephen Hill in teaching his guitar making course in 2022 and in May 2025.

Recognition

Brian has been featured in an article in Acoustic Guitar magazine, and in videos by Brandon Acker after building him an homage to Torres’ FE-13. He also built the first-prize guitar for the High School Classical Guitar Competition held in association with the Long Island Guitar Festival. GSI is proud to be Brian’s only dealer in the USA.