2017 Ethan Deutsch SP/CY

Donated to the GSI Foundation, this 2017 spruce and cypress flamenco blanca was built in Seattle by Ethan Deutsch, who studied flamenco with Diego del Gastor.

Old-School Flamenco Sound

True to his roots as a player, it is a very traditional guitar – light in weight like the mid-century flamencos of Andalucía, with a quick, strong snap to every note. Tonally it is surprisingly lyrical for a flamenco, though it can get aggressive in a hurry if pushed.

Feel, Pegs and Verdict

Left-hand playability is extremely easy thanks to the sleek contour of the neck, and the guitar is ultra-responsive to the touch – very easy on the right hand too. If traditional wooden pegs make you nervous, relax: these are "machined" friction pegs, with the old-school look and feel but the ease of a machine. Although a used guitar, it is in excellent condition, with only some minor wear in the finish. A fantastic traditional concert flamenco – we recommend it highly to any serious flamenco player.

GSI Foundation

This guitar was donated to our non-profit charitable organization, the GSI Foundation. Guitar sales through the GSI Foundation raise money to directly benefit music education in public schools.

Ethan Deutsch: Flamenco and Classical Guitar Maker in Seattle

Ethan Deutsch builds flamenco and classical guitars in Seattle, Washington, and has done so full-time since 1997. Born in 1955, he took up the flamenco guitar as a teenager in the Boston area – and the path from there to the workbench is one of the more fascinating stories among the makers we know.

Morón de la Frontera and Diego del Gastor

In 1970, at fifteen, he went to Spain for a year and studied with the legendary Gypsy guitarist Diego del Gastor in Morón de la Frontera, near Sevilla, absorbing the music mostly by listening and watching. He came home in 1971 with a Manuel Contreras flamenco guitar, discovered Irving Sloane's book Classic Guitar Construction and began building – learning mostly on his own.

Chemist, Flamenco Guitarist, Furniture Maker

With little guidance available for an aspiring luthier, Ethan went to college instead: a chemistry degree at Antioch College, then a Ph.D. in chemistry at Princeton and five years as a research chemist. All the while he performed flamenco professionally under the stage name "Mario Amaya" and taught himself fine woodworking. In 1989 he opened a one-man furniture and cabinet shop in Chicago, moved it to Seattle in 1991, and in 1997 came full circle and returned to guitar making.

Traditional Guitars in the Andalusian Manner

Ethan builds in the old Spanish tradition, mostly flamenco blancas of cypress and spruce, along with negras and a few classical guitars. Over the years he has fitted many of his flamencos with mechanical "machined" pegs from different makers, which keep the look of wooden friction pegs. Flamenco players such as Gerardo Núñez, Jason McGuire and Kai Narezo have all played his guitars.