Johannes Kitselis

Ängelsberg, Sweden

Johannes Kitselis built his first guitar at fifteen, in 1984, and has been refining his craft ever since. The woodworking mentorship of Edvin Täubert proved formative, as did a 2009 meeting with the Greek luthier Giannis Paleodimopoulos, after which years of experimentation brought his concept of the instrument into sharp focus. He established his professional workshop in 2007 in Ängelsberg, Sweden, about 150 kilometers from Stockholm, and his guitars have since found homes with players across Europe, the United States, and Asia.

Kitselis works within the Spanish tradition while shaping it with his own innovations, most notably individual bracing patterns that make each guitar distinct. His range spans double tops, traditional builds, an Atmos Concert model, a seven string, and even a Stauffer style guitar. His double tops use extremely thin layers vacuum glued in stages over mixed spruce and cedar bracing, each material chosen intuitively for stiffness or lightness, with modern touches like raised fingerboards, sound ports, and integrated armrests. In 2017 his Guitar No. 37 won First Prize at the International Classical Guitar Festival in St. Petersburg, judged blind on playability and craftsmanship.

We are proud to be the exclusive USA dealer for Kitselis guitars. The first to reach us, No. 94, a spruce double top with Indian rosewood, greeted us with a beautifully open, natural, distinctly wooden sound, rich in overtones and deeply musical straight out of the box. It was a sustain powerhouse: notes did not simply decay, they developed, expanding through sympathetic vibrations while everything remained clear and controlled. Forgiving and easy under the hands, it rewarded the lightest touch instantly. Our expert team can discuss reserving the next Kitselis to arrive.