2012 Otto Rauch SP/CSAR

A 2012 "1930 Hauser" model by Otto Rauch, with an aged Italian spruce top from the Dolomites and figured CSA rosewood back and sides.

In the video above, Taso Comanescu plays two Irish hornpipes, "Kildare Fancy" and "Whiskey, You're the Devil", arranged by David Russell, on this guitar.

Spruce from the Rosengarten

The top comes from the Rosengarten in the Dolomites. Otto's "1930 Hauser" follows the Hauser I he has studied since the late 1990s, paying close attention to the angle and thickness of the bridge.

Snakewood and Burl

Bindings are snakewood, and striking burl accents appear in the tie block, heel cap, the strip at the foot and the back of the head; Alessi tuners have snakewood buttons. The tone is firm and open, with excellent balance and separation – a fantastic take on the classic Hauser guitar.

Otto Rauch: From Rock Guitarist to Master Luthier

Otto Rauch was born in Mainz, Germany, in 1954 and began playing classical guitar at nine. A rock guitarist and singer in the 1970s, he copied his own John Birch electric guitar in 1977, and in Ibiza, in 1979, he drew a plan of an old Ramírez found in a farmhouse; by 1980 he was making classical guitars. He apprenticed with Klaus Roder from 1985 to 1987, passed his journeyman's examination with Dieter Hopf in 1987 and later became a master luthier.

Hauser Models and More

Besides his own model, Otto builds guitars after a 1930 Hauser I, an 1885 Torres and others, and even violins and electric guitars. His guitars have been played by Angel Romero, Frank Bungarten, Stefan Hladek, Benjamin Scheck and members of the Barrios Guitar Quartet.