Richard Reynoso, 2024

This 2024 Richard Reynoso is one of the most visually striking and conceptually interesting guitars we have had in the shop. Reynoso, based in California, builds fully traditional guitars inspired by the great Spanish makers of the past, but this newer model pushes the visual language of the classical guitar in a bold and highly original direction.

The look will certainly be for some players and not for others, and that is part of what makes the guitar so fascinating. It has already generated plenty of discussion online, and we completely understand why. But after playing only a few notes, the design begins to make complete sense. The sound is rich, deep, colorful, and convincing. It is not a guitar that feels different merely for the sake of being different; sound is clearly the priority.

What stands out most is the balance Reynoso has achieved here: the aesthetic is strongly Art Deco in character, with a sense of geometry, symmetry, streamlining, and architectural elegance, while the sound remains warm, expressive, and deeply musical. It has an enormous palette of colors, a wide dynamic range, and a very rare ability to feel both visually adventurous and musically familiar at the same time.

Specifications

Luthier: Richard Reynoso
Year: 2024
Country: USA
Top: Spruce
Back & Sides: Indian Rosewood
Construction: Traditional, seven fan
Scale Length: 655 mm
Nut Width: 52 mm
Finish: French polish top, oil-finished back and sides
Tuners: Mechanical peg-style
Fingerboard: Tapered above the 12th fret
Bridge: Tie-through bridge with concealed string ends and tapered wings
Rosette: Internal chandelier-style rosette functioning similarly to a small tornavoz
Strings: D’Addario XTC45FF with normal tension nylon first string
https://ddar.io/guitar-collection
Condition: Excellent

Construction & Design

This guitar has a spruce top with a traditional seven-fan bracing system underneath. The braces are quite minimal and lightly built, and the top feels extremely lively and responsive under the hands.

One of the first things you notice is the absence of a traditional full rosette around the soundhole. From straight on, the appearance is more restrained than a typical classical guitar, but from the player’s perspective, or when the guitar is tilted slightly, Reynoso’s remarkable chandelier rosette comes into view. It extends down into the soundhole by roughly three quarters of an inch and is one of the coolest design features we have seen on a guitar. This is not only decorative: the chandelier rosette also functions somewhat like a small tornavoz, lowering the guitar’s main air resonance by roughly a step. The air resonance still sits around G, but the resulting depth in the open-position chords is very noticeable, with a richness and support that can bring to mind aspects of Simplicio, while the overall density and color of the voice also suggests certain qualities of Friederich.

The tapered fingerboard above the 12th fret is another immediately recognizable feature. This idea can be seen visually in certain 19th-century Viennese and Mirecourt guitars, but here it also serves Reynoso’s broader goal of reducing unnecessary mass. Since the bass side of the fingerboard in that upper register is rarely used in normal playing, the taper removes extra material without sacrificing anything practical.

The bridge is equally fascinating. It is extremely architectural, with tapered wings and no traditional tie block. The strings pass through the bridge and are tied underneath, with the string ends largely concealed by a small raised structure beneath the bridge, creating a very clean, futuristic look. This design also creates a very dramatic break angle over the bone saddle, which likely contributes to the immediacy and power of the sound.

The back and sides are Indian rosewood with a very light oil finish, while the top is French polished. The oil finish feels wonderful to the touch and allows the natural texture of the rosewood to remain visible. Players who use suction-cup supports may want to use protective film, as is often recommended with oil-finished instruments. Another beautiful detail is the chandelier motif repeated on the heel cap, and the black bindings and purflings, black neck, and black fingerboard all blend together seamlessly for a sleek, unified appearance. The headstock continues this design language, using mechanical peg-style tuners instead of a traditional slotted head, which keep the headstock visually clean and reduce weight, with an angular, almost futuristic Art Deco character.

Sound

The sound is the real story of this guitar. It would be easy to assume the maker was primarily focused on visual novelty, but that is absolutely not the case. This is an outstanding sounding instrument, and the more time one spends with it, the more it seems to reveal. The voice is rich, deep, and extremely colorful, with a density to the sound, a strong fundamental, and a beautiful halo of overtones around it. It has darkness and depth, but also clarity, which is a very difficult combination to achieve.

One of the things this guitar does especially well is invite the player to push. When played with more force, it produces a deep and powerful character without becoming harsh or aggressive, yet it responds beautifully to gentle playing and supports a wide range of softer colors. The first string is particularly impressive, singing immediately with a beautiful presence, and across the treble register there is a real sense of vocal quality and expressive flexibility. The guitar is set up with D’Addario XTC45FF strings, with a normal-tension nylon first string, and this combination suits the instrument very well.

The color range is exceptional. Very few guitars allow such convincing tonal variation when playing far over the fingerboard; even an extreme tasto sound remains resonant, clear, and musically useful. The basses are huge, powerful, and open, but still clear. The sixth string in particular is exciting to play, and in drop D the guitar becomes especially impressive, with the low D combining beautifully with the upper voices to create an almost orchestral effect. Overall, this is one of those guitars that feels like there is always more to discover.

Playability

The playability is excellent. The guitar has a 655 mm scale length and a 52 mm nut width, which is Reynoso’s standard configuration. Despite the slightly longer scale, the instrument feels very comfortable in the hands. The neck is not especially thin, but it has a very comfortable shape that feels somewhere between a D and a C profile, and the action is set low, making the guitar very easy and enjoyable to play. Visually, the guitar feels unfamiliar and almost otherworldly at first, but once it is in the hands, it feels surprisingly natural, and that contrast is part of what makes it so compelling.

This guitar is in excellent condition.