2020 Kris Barnett CD/AR

A 2020 classical guitar by Kris Barnett, with a cedar top and African rosewood back and sides, built in Berlin – with precious-metal decoration and a 20th fret.

In the videos above, Pardy Minassian plays Parsegh Ganatchian's "Lullaby" on this guitar, and Tengyue "TY" Zhang plays it in Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Caprichos de Goya No. 18, recorded on six guitars.

Power without Boom

This guitar has a great amount of power, yet it is never boomy or bass-heavy. Its dynamic range and color palette are astounding for a cedar top: sparkling and bright near the bridge, creamy and luminous over the soundhole – an enormous range of possibilities for virtually any style of music.

Gold, Silver and Platinum Details

It is impeccably built, with a bold, unique style, including decorative elements on the headstock, rosette and bridge made of precious metals – gold, silver and platinum – elegantly executed. Kris also compensated the nut and saddle for better intonation and added an elevated fingerboard and a 20th fret for repertoire that needs a high C. Although used, it is in excellent condition. Photos taken just after completion.

Kris Barnett: An American Guitar Maker in Berlin

Kris Barnett began building guitars in 2004 as a hobby while working full-time as a mental health therapist in Atlanta, Georgia. He turned his bedroom into a workshop, and within two years he had enough commissions to become a full-time classical guitar maker. In 2014 he moved with his wife to Berlin, Germany, where he joined the "Berlin Luthiers", a small community of makers who share ideas and experience – remarkable for the diversity of their styles.

"To Continue the History, Not Simply Repeat It"

Kris began with traditional Torres-style guitars and went on to lattice, double tops and designs of his own; today his guitars combine modern and traditional ideas, built by hand without CNC machines or prefabricated parts and finished in French polish. His recent lattice bracing is based on the golden ratio of the Fibonacci sequence, and he makes his own precision tuning machines in Berlin. GSI is his only dealer in the USA.