Description
Kazuo Sato sits at the very top tier of contemporary luthiers, with a pedigree that runs straight from his Japanese apprenticeship under Kuniharu Nobe in the 1960s to his time in David Rubio’s legendary English workshop alongside Paul Fischer. Since 1974, he has worked out of his own atelier in Germany, now joined by his son Hideo, continuing a lineage of instruments that blend Japanese precision with old-world European tradition.
The Prestige is Sato’s flagship model, sitting just beneath his elusive Special, and this 2022 example is the complete package: a cedar top paired with highly figured Madagascar rosewood back and sides, French polish finish, 650 mm scale and 52 mm nut. The workmanship is immaculate, the woods extraordinary. Tonally, it has what serious players chase – a concert-level voice with huge projection, lush warmth, and tonal colours that shift effortlessly under the hand. The trebles are alive and rounded, the basses deep and present, and the whole thing responds with a rare sensitivity that makes every nuance count.
This particular guitar shows some superficial playing marks, but here you have it, a well-kept Prestige, but without the multi-year wait list or the rising Euro price tag (new builds are well over 13k EUR). For anyone chasing one of Sato’s finest recent works, this is a rare chance to own a top-shelf contemporary concert guitar at a very appealing price.
Serial: S17963
Made in Germany