2020 Mijail Kharash SP/GE

A 2020 classical guitar by Mijail Kharash, with a spruce top and "green ebony" back and sides, entirely handmade in Granada – our first classical from him.

In the video above, Saro Babikian plays "Der Voghormia" by Nerses Shnorhali and Komitas on this guitar.

Green Ebony and a Torres Chain

Mijail chose some of his more exotic materials for this guitar, above all the green ebony. A second-epoch Torres "chain-link" motif runs through the inner and outer bands of the rosette and is echoed, in inverse colors, in the top purfling. Instead of a paper label, Mijail engraved a wooden plaque with the Alhambra.

Focused and Responsive

The spruce top gives a focused, responsive tone with a quick attack, and plenty of power and refinement for concert or recording. Setup and detail are impeccable.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Mijail Kharash: From Leningrad to Granada

Mijail Kharash was born in Leningrad in 1981 and began on the violin before falling in love with the classical guitar. After the collapse of the USSR his family moved to Israel, where he did military service and worked as a builder, cook, cabinetmaker and fisherman. In 2007 he came to Spain and learned from Carmelo González in Ronda; from 2009 he built guitars in Granada, living for six years in a cave facing the Sacromonte Abbey. He has since retired and still lives in Granada.

A Traditional Granada Maker

Advised by Félix Moya Ibarra, John Ray and Jose Vigil, he worked entirely in the traditional manner, with hand tools, rosettes of his own and French polish applied with a muñequilla, and engraved his labels on wooden plaques showing the Alhambra. In August 2019 he won second prize in the flamenco category of the 3rd Antonio Marín Montero Guitar Making Competition in Granada.