2001 Otto Vowinkel "640" SP/CSAR

This 2001 Otto Vowinkel “640” is a concert classical guitar with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, made by hand in his workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with a shorter 640mm string length.

A Lightweight Concert Guitar from Amsterdam

This is a fantastic concert instrument by Otto, made in 2001. His instruments are among the most lightweight of anything in our inventory, likely the result of a slightly more compact body size and efficient use of materials. The result is a guitar that is incredibly easy to play, ultra-responsive and very powerful.

Caramel-Colored CSA Rosewood

The silky, caramel-colored rosewood used on this classical guitar is a wonderful complement to the great workmanship. Thanks to the shorter scale – 640mm on this one – it is especially easy to play.

Rosette, Headstock and the “Winch”

Otto’s unique rosette design features herringbone in the purfling surrounding the mosaic (the motif found in the flag of the city of Amsterdam). Its headstock is carved in the style of the canal house in Amsterdam where his workshop is, and the MOP dot at the top represents a “winch” – the hook-and-pulley system seen on Amsterdam’s canal houses, used to hoist furniture and goods through the large windows because the staircases inside are narrow and steep (see photo). These details are purely aesthetic, but they are charming, and they give the guitar a sense of where it comes from.

Sound and Condition

A traditional French polish of shellac, done with great care, gives the instrument a beautiful luster. The compact body gives huge volume production with little right-hand effort and a plump, lively quality of tone – very lyrical, and beautiful at the same time. Although a used guitar, it has only modest wear in the finish and two dings behind the bridge, but no cracks or repairs.

Concert Artists and Competition Winners

Among the concert and recording artists who have played Otto’s guitars are Denis Azabagic, Esther Steenbergen and the Amsterdam Guitar Trio. Ben Verdery has played a baritone Vowinkel in concert. Competition winners have chosen them too: Tariq Harb, 1st prize winner of both the 2011 Barrios World Wide Web Competition and the 2011 Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition; the Taiwanese guitarist Chia-Wei Lin, 1st prize at the Singapore International Guitar Competition; and the young Bosnian guitarist Sanel Redzic, who won the Vienna and Oberhausen competitions on a cedar Vowinkel.

Otto Vowinkel: Classical Guitar Maker in Amsterdam

Otto Vowinkel grew up in a family of tailors in the old center of Amsterdam. He came to the guitar as a player, and in 1984 – with no teacher, a few basic tools and Irving Sloane’s book Classical Guitar Construction – he built his first guitar in the attic of his house. He learned by showing each new guitar to every guitarist he could find and building the next one with their comments in mind.

Traditional Spanish Building and French Polish

In 1989 Otto met his future wife, the Dutch guitarist Esther Steenbergen, and the Andalusia-based Dutch maker Alex van der Horst (“Alejandro”, 1959–2009), with whom he worked regularly and shared his ideas about the ideal guitar: a flexible tone, a quick response, and quality of sound as the carrier of volume. Otto builds in the traditional way and is a specialist in French polish, on which he now gives lectures and workshops. His rosettes carry the colors of the flag of Amsterdam.

Concert Guitars and Student Models

Besides his concert classical guitars, Otto makes flamenco guitars, quart guitars and fifth-bass (baritone) guitars. He has also designed student models that are handmade in small workshops in Spain under his supervision. You can read more in our article on Otto Vowinkel.