2011 Otto Vowinkel CD/CSAR

This 2011 Otto Vowinkel is a concert classical guitar with a cedar top and CSA rosewood back and sides, made by hand in his workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with Graf tuners.

A Compact Body and an Efficient Build

When it was made, this guitar featured some new and improved design features. Otto builds light: a slightly more compact body and an efficient use of materials make his guitars some of the most lightweight we have. It is ultra-responsive, very powerful and incredibly easy to play.

Cedar and Aged CSA Rosewood

The extremely dramatic, aged rosewood used on this guitar is a wonderful complement to the great workmanship.

The Rosette and the Canal-House Headstock

Fans of Vowinkel will recognize his rosette, with herringbone in the purfling surrounding the mosaic (the motif of Amsterdam’s city flag). The headstock takes its shape from the Amsterdam building that houses Otto’s workshop. The MOP dot at the top is a “winch”, like those on the city’s canal houses – a hook and pulley for hoisting furniture and goods up through the large windows, since the staircases inside are so narrow and steep (see photo).

Shellac Finish and Tone

The shellac finish, using the traditional French polish method, is done with great care and adds a beautiful luster to the finished instrument. The tuners are by Graf. There is huge volume with little right-hand effort, and a plump, lively quality of tone that is very lyrical and beautiful at the same time – the result of the slightly more compact body. When it arrived, we considered it his best-sounding model to date.

Who Plays Vowinkel Guitars

Denis Azabagic, Esther Steenbergen and the Amsterdam Guitar Trio are among the concert and recording artists who have played Vowinkel guitars. 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.