Aaron Green, 2014

Few American makers work as deeply inside the Spanish tradition as Aaron Green, and this 2014 example is one of the most attractive traditional guitars we have seen in a long while. It comes from his Presentation Series, the tier where Green reserves the absolute finest woods available, and the choices here are striking: a European spruce top over back and sides of very old birdseye figured Brazilian rosewood, with birdseye maple appointments to echo that rare figure. It is Green's 145th guitar, which says a lot about how small his output is. He is not a maker building dozens of instruments a year.

Part of what makes Green's building so informed is his other life as one of the most respected restorers of fine classical guitars, with instruments by Friederich, Romanillos, Simplicio, and Hauser having passed across his bench. That intimate knowledge shows in this guitar, which Green describes as inspired by Hauser and Romanillos, and it shows in the voice. Green considers the projection on this instrument to be among the greatest he has yet achieved, and having played it alongside some very fine Hausers and Romanillos guitars, we can say it is a step above them in sheer volume.

Surround this guitar with a room full of traditional instruments and it will stand out from the first chord. The most seductive quality is volume. This is a super loud guitar, one that screams when you ask it to, and like the great traditional instruments it simply sounds better and better the harder you push. It never gets nasty. Every note comes out as a little jewel.

The first string is to die for, with a sea of overtones chasing every note. It recalled for us a particular 1980s Romanillos with a spectacular first string that we still think about, and this guitar brought that melody right back. The second string is equally overtone rich and colorful, and the third string is unusually clear and forward, the kind of definition you sometimes only get from a touch of lattice bracing. A look inside with the mirror confirms there is no lattice here, which makes that forward third all the more interesting.

In the basses the Hauser inspiration comes through: long sustain paired with a crispness and clarity that is the trademark Hauser sound, though every time you think you have the influences figured out you hear a bit more of Green's own voice. The fourth and fifth share a similar character, and the sixth has a wonderfully full, round, chubby quality. Notes like the D in a B minor chord have a profound character, developing overtones that stay even while other notes are played over them.

Playability is effortless. The 650 mm scale and 53 mm nut are standard, the frets are nice and wide and tall, the action is very low, and at 1,485 g the guitar is a feather in the hands. Everything flows on it. It is easy to play and easy to make special sounds.

Under the spruce top is a simple, lightweight seven fan bracing with two closing braces. The rosette carries a central motif in the manner of Garcia and Torres, flanked inside and out by a beautiful wheat pattern, and that same motif runs around the body as purfling. From two feet away it reads as a plain black line; up close the details reveal themselves, which is exactly the charm of this kind of work.

The back and sides are ancient birdseye Brazilian rosewood, a figure you very seldom see in Brazilian, and it is set off by a center strip of birdseye maple that shares the same pattern. A small heel cap in an amber, reddish tone finishes the back. The neck meets the head with a clean V joint, and the distinctive headstock is veneered in the same birdseye Brazilian with a birdseye maple center strip. Tuners are Rodgers, super smooth, with ebony buttons and engraved base plates.

Specifications

Number: 145

Model: Presentation Series

Top: European Spruce

Back & Sides: Ancient Birdseye Figured Brazilian Rosewood

Construction: Traditional, seven fan bracing with two closing braces, Hauser/Romanillos inspired

Condition: Mint, no marks anywhere on the guitar

Aaron Green is an American luthier who builds in the Spanish tradition, with the Romanillos and Hauser lineage at the center of his thinking. Alongside his building he is a very well known restorer of the finest classical guitars, and that hands on knowledge of the masters informs every instrument he makes. His output is very small, and his guitars are in the hands of some exceptional players, among them João Luiz, professor at the Yale School of Music, and young competition winners like Adrian Montero. Fittingly, the photographer behind this guitar's album, Asmund Eriksen, plays an Aaron Green himself.

This guitar is in mint condition, with no marks anywhere on the guitar. Now twelve years old, it has a beautifully open, colorful sound and will surely continue to develop.