After graduating from Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, Arizona, Michi moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for an apprenticeship with master luthier Ervin Somogyi.

Pairing traditional woodworking skills with an innovative sense of design and construction, Michi builds around ten to twelve guitars each year at his lutherie studio in Oakland California. He strives to make instruments that integrate fine materials with organic shapes and graceful lines. His guitars are unique, personal, and individual, even if it is one of his basic models.

“The guitar is the tool of the performer. Good guitars enable anybody to express themselves musically and artistically. But I start to think that guitars are not just the tool to make music, they are more than that.  In the process of making the guitar, the wood becomes a musical instrument. I am the person who puts the voice into the guitar, and with my creative visual and sonic design choices, I am expressing myself artistically as well. My custom instruments not only meet the technical needs of the player; they are also personal creative works from my imagination. It is my hope that my artistic influence will inspire guitarists to even greater creative heights.” – Michi Matsuda