2020 Ariel Ameijenda "Confessional" AL/CSAR

This guitar has been named "Confessional" since the back and sides were taken from wood that was once a confessional in a very old church in Rio de Janeiro that was given to Ariel by one of his friends. If this old wood hadn’t been salvaged for some kind of re-purposing, then it would most likely have ended up being burned or thrown away. But in this case, the wood was spared for a second life - its first life was to hear and absorb thousands of confessions over many years, and now, it has the chance to speak back, with beautiful, sonorous tone! Ariel has once again built this instrument with a one-piece soundboard made of "Alerce" (Larch). Ariel has had this wood in his possession for decades and has been waiting for the prime moment to use it - indeed, it was bought by his father in 1954, and he built several guitars with it, and as you can see in one of the photos above, Guido Santorsola is listening to Alirio Diaz playing on a Manuel Ameijenda guitar with the same wood! Ariel, and his father before him consider this an ideal wood for soundboards as it has very tight grains - in this particular top, Ariel has counted at least 360 years of growth, so it is also extremely well-aged. The sound is quite unique - it has its own character entirely - although it has some of the warmth and deeper resonance found in cedar, and the extreme clarity and balance found in spruce, it is unlike anything we've heard before. It has considerable power and great projection, making it ideal for the concert stage, and the playability is very easy on both hands. This is a great concert instrument by any standard, from the most respected luthier currently working out of Uruguay.