It is always an honor to feature one of Keisuke Nishi’s guitars in our store. Formerly one of Mario Beauregard’s apprentices, Keisuke’s work is absorbed by muscular voicing and 3-dimensionality–and the 2015 SJ we have here showcases both. From Keisuke’s furrowed rosette (made of Amboyna Burl with a narrow channel routed through the center), to his painstakingly sculpted cutaway and heel block, whereby the profile of the heel continues down and into the Florentine Cutaway, this guitar is as much a work of art as it is an instrument. When you stumble across the smaller details–the magnetic bone truss rod cover or the gracefully mitered Brazilian Rosewood fretboard–it’s almost enough to take your breath away. But you’ll want to keep your wits about you, because once you actually strum a chord on this SJ, you will be overwhelmed by the immensity of the voice, how the middle registers expand and hang on the air, and the trebles murmur with airy overtones. This guitar has heaps of headroom! Clear and focused, the SJ has excellent balance. Keisuke knew what he was doing when he paired Cocobolo Rosewood back and sides with German Moon Spruce, and we’re grateful to have this inspiring instrument in our midst.

We love getting in guitars from builders we haven’t had in the shop before. It is at once a fun and inspiring experience to see what new ideas luthiers are coming up with. Keisuke Nishi, the man behind Keystone guitars, was an apprentice of Mario Beauregard, who trained under insdustry legend Ervin Somogyi himself. The fact that Nishi worked under such a capable master was a major indicator for us that Keisuke has incredible skill and talent for building guitars, so we were already excited to see his work. Then we heard and played it and couldn’t be happier!

This Keystone Mod-D in Granadillo and Adirondack (Red) Spruce has the build quality and voice we have come to expect from a builder coming out of the Somogyi school of building. This Mod-D sings as sweet as a bird when fingerpicked and has a full, resonant bass that seems to jump at a player’s touch. Pick it lightly and it will resonate with warmth and brilliance. Pick it a little bit harder and it will shine and shimmer. This is a guitar that has a mastery of all things fingerstyle and will surely bring you to new heights as a player.

Here we have a John Kinnaird “East” model in Honduran Rosewood and Adirondack (Red) Spruce. This is a sweet and elegant little guitar, just right for playing on your couch or by the fire on a cold winters night. The voice is warm and smooth, with a notable roundness to the treble strings. This is a perfect fingerstyle guitar, the set up is just right for the left hand. This is a guitar you could play endlessly.

While exploring somewhere deep into the cavernous recesses of the Luthier’s Mercantile lumber supply, Stephen Kinnaird discovered an incredible set of Bubinga that he just had to have. Once he paired it with a delicious Sinker Redwood top, the guitar practically built itself. This 2014 P-1 is brand new, and already the voice is absurd. Use whichever words you prefer–huge, fat, grand, rich, enveloping, sonorous–and they will all come up a bit short to describe the complexity of this instrument. Notes might actually sustain for days. Give it a strum and start counting, and while you wait for those sweet, rich notes to expire, explore the depths of the whorls in the Bubinga back and sides, and the panoply of colors in the Sinker Redwood top. You might find yourself caught between staring and playing. Stephen knows how to build a Parlor guitar, that much is certain.