John Ray

John grew up around Edmonton, Canada where he became interested in guitars, especially from listening to his father sing and play. As a student in Montreal, John tried to learn to play but was unsuccessful. However, being in contact with guitars only strengthened his passion for them. One day he asked his teacher about the origin and construction of his guitars to find that his teacher bought all his instruments in Spain. Thus, upon finishing his degree, John was determined to go to Granada to become a guitarmaker.

In 1989 John arrived in Granada, hoping to find a guitar maker willing to teach him. With the encouragement of Jonathan Hinves, Rafael Moreno, Germán Pérez and Antonio Marín, John went to Malaga to take a course with Jose Angel Chacon. It was there that he was able to build his first guitar. On his return to Granada, Rolf Eichinger was key in John Ray's development as a guitar maker. From Rolf, John learned techniques and styles of the Granada School of Guitarmaking, a great sense of self-criticism, and ultimately how to set up a workshop, make good guitars and run a business.