2010 Sebastian Stenzel SP/AR

This 2010 Sebastian Stenzel is a compact classical guitar with a European spruce top and African rosewood back and sides, built in Sölden, Germany, and set up with the Frisch-Stenzel fret system for exceptionally accurate intonation.

A Compact Stenzel from Sölden

This instrument was built by German maker Sebastian Stenzel in 2010, in his more "compact" style that we have always championed. Materials are, of course, superb as always – beautiful African rosewood for the back and sides and a beautiful, quarter-sawn European spruce top. The smaller body is braced with a lighter, asymmetrical fan bracing system with a bridge patch, which gives the guitar a punchy, immediate response – very fun to play and extremely Spanish in character.

Sound

The sound is rich and layered. Up front, there is a nice, crisp quality to the attack of every note, which really gives the instrument great clarity and separation. The "body" of the note that follows the attack is thick, full and "creamy" in character. So this combined sound has both big-bodied warmth and clear definition at the same time.

Playability and the Frisch-Stenzel Method

As with all Stenzel guitars, the fingerboard features the compensated fret spacing and relief setup of the Frisch-Stenzel method, yielding the best possible intonation. For playability, Sebastian incorporates several modifications to maximize ergonomic ease for the player – including an asymmetrical neck shape for easier access to the higher frets. Extremely enjoyable to play, hear or simply gaze at.

Condition

Although a second-hand guitar, it's in excellent condition with only minor signs of prior use.

Sebastian Stenzel: German Guitar Maker in Immendingen

Sebastian Stenzel (b. 1966, Göttingen) is a German classical guitar maker and a great friend of GSI, whose guitars have won great praise from the many players who have tried them in our showroom. He made his first guitar at 13, apprenticed with a guitar maker in Göttingen from 1989 to 1991, and passed his Master of Crafts Examination in 1996, earning the Masterprize of the Bavarian Government in 1998.

From Munich to Immendingen

Sebastian opened his first workshop in Munich in 1996, moved to Sölden near Freiburg in 2004 and to the "Center of Crafts and Culture" in Emmendingen in 2011, and today builds guitars and ouds in his workshop in Immendingen, in southwest Germany. Since 2002 he has taught regularly at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, and his fingerboards use the compensated fret spacing and relief setup of the Frisch-Stenzel method for the best possible intonation.