2005 John Weissenrieder "10-String" SP/IN

A 2005 10-string guitar by John Weissenrieder, with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, made in Florence – with the decorative details of his "Simplicio" model.

A 10-String with Simplicio Details

This 10-string model shares the intricate decoration of John's Simplicio model – especially the rosette, purfling and tie block – and it plays and sounds as beautifully as it looks.

For Lute Music and Transcriptions

The extra bass strings let players of Renaissance and Baroque lute music play period repertoire without transposing bass notes, and they work beautifully for transcriptions of piano and orchestral music that need a wider range. Like John's other models, it has plenty of power and projection for any concert.

John Weissenrieder: From Champion Cyclist to Florentine Guitar Maker

John Weissenrieder (1964–2017) was an American guitar maker who built his guitars in Florence, Italy. Born in Pennsylvania and later based in Boulder, Colorado, he grew up around woodworking – his father was a gifted amateur woodworker and his grandfather, who had emigrated from Switzerland, a machinist and furniture maker. He took up road cycling at 14, rode for the US Junior National Team, and became a professional mountain-bike racer, retiring in 1996 at 32. He also studied architecture for two years, and built a bouzouki with George Diamesis on the Greek island of Poros.

Apprenticeship with Andrea Tacchi and His Homages to Garcia, Simplicio and Bouchet

In September 1998 he arrived in Florence and began working with Andrea Tacchi, who became his teacher and friend. Together they studied the great makers of the past – a 1999 visit to the Barcelona music museum with Stefano Grondona, Simplicio copies, wood-buying trips in the Alps – and after a few more years in Tacchi's workshop John opened his own in Florence. He became best known for his guitars in homage to Enrique García, Francisco Simplicio and, above all, Robert Bouchet: faithful in spirit to their models, yet with a sound and look of his own. He died in 2017; read Andrea Tacchi's memories of John on our blog.