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 a hairline crack in the back repaired by German Vázquez Rubio.

Built Light in Amsterdam

This is Otto’s concert model, made in 2011 – one of the lightest guitars he has sent us, likely the result of a slightly more compact body and an efficient use of materials. It plays incredibly easily, and it is ultra-responsive and very powerful.

“Church-Door” Rosewood

Look at the back: the aged rosewood is extremely dramatic, “church-door-like” in its figure, and it complements the great workmanship beautifully.

A Headstock Shaped Like a Canal House

Around the mosaic of the rosette – the motif of the Amsterdam flag – runs his characteristic herringbone purfling. The headstock is carved in the style of the building in Amsterdam where Otto houses his workshop, and the MOP dot at the top represents a “winch” – something seen on Amsterdam’s canal houses: a hook-and-pulley system used to hoist furniture and goods through the large windows, because the buildings have narrow, steep staircases inside (see photo).

Sound and Condition

The shellac finish, using the traditional French polish method, is done with great care and adds a beautiful luster to the finished instrument. Tuners are Graf. The slightly more compact body produces huge volume with little right-hand effort, and a plump and lively quality of tone – very lyrical and beautiful at the same time. In our opinion at the time, it was his best-sounding model so far. German Vázquez Rubio repaired a small hairline crack in the back – apart from this and some minor playing wear, the guitar is in excellent condition.

In the Hands of Concert Artists

Concert and recording artists such as Denis Azabagic, Esther Steenbergen and the Amsterdam Guitar Trio have played Vowinkel guitars. Competition winners are among the players too. Tariq Harb won 1st prize at both the 2011 Barrios World Wide Web Competition and the 2011 Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition, Chia-Wei Lin – a guitarist from Taiwan – took 1st prize at the Singapore International Guitar Competition, and the young Bosnian Sanel Redzic won the Vienna and Oberhausen competitions playing 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.