2011 Sebastian Stenzel CD/ZR

This instrument was built by German maker Sebastian Stenzel and is perhaps his most impressive masterpiece to date that we have seen. It has a remarkable back story with regard to the materials and construction techniques employed in producing this unique instrument. The cedar used for the soundboard is from British Columbia, Canada, from an area of forest that had burned down sometime in the 1930s. The trunk stood dead upright in the forest, until it was felled in recent years - rarely does a luthier have a chance like this to find better seasoned wood. When Sebastian planed it, he says it felt "creamy", yet also remarked that it was the stiffest cedar he had ever worked with. Its dark brown color is all natural, Sebastian used completely paled shellac with no added color. This top is traditionally braced, in the spirit of Torres and so is the back, except for additional thin reinforcement strips to increase the stability of the ziricote back. Sebastian also doubled the sides of this guitar, mainly for the purposes of stabilizing the ziricote, however added benefits of this feature to the player yield increased sustain, and an improvement in sound radiation. The sides were made a bit thinner than most luthiers working with double sides, Sebastians are slightly less than 3mm, in total.

Its emphasis is on radiance and balance, a pure concert guitar with long sustain. It is built with the new, slightly enlarged plantilla that Sebastian has been using almost exclusively for the last two years. As is typical of Stenzel guitars, this guitar has a vast range of modulation and sound colors and very good balance. Playability is superb, with excellent intonation - Stenzel uses the fret spacing techniques developed by engineer Ernst Frisch to provide the best intonation and playability possible. Materials for this particular guitar are stunning. For aesthetic and tonal qualities, this is a first-rate concert instrument.