Mijail Kharash - The Winner of the Second Prize at the 2019 Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition Builds a New Instrument for GSI.

Granada-based luthier and the 2019 winner of the second prize at the prestigious Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition, Mijail Kharash, is currently building his second guitar for GSI this year. It’s going to be a guitar with a spruce soundboard and African rosewood back and sides. Mijail shared with us a few photos. The guitar should be ready to ship to GSI by mid-August.

Mijail was born in Leningrad in 1981. He started his musical journey at a very early age playing the violin. However, it wasn’t long before he first heard the sound of classical guitar and became fascinated with its tonal possibilities, falling permanently in love with the instrument to this day. After the collapse of the USSR, Mijail’s family moved to Israel and after leaving school, he did military service, then held a variety of odd jobs including being a construction worker, cook, cabinetmaker, and fisherman!

Since 2009, Mijail has been living in Granada, Spain. Initially, he lived for six years in a cave of the Fuente del Avellano in front of Sacromonte Abbey. He has completely immersed himself in Granada’s style of guitar making and has learned a lot from the local guitar community – Felix Moya Ibarra, John Ray, and Jose Vigil. His guitars are made in the traditional manner with the use of hand tools.

See the sneak peek photos of our new instrument and let us know if you have any questions!