2012 Otto Vowinkel SP/CSAR

This 2012 Otto Vowinkel is a concert classical guitar with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, made by hand in his workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands – spruce over silky, aged rosewood.

Light, Responsive and Powerful

This is a fantastic Vowinkel concert guitar from 2012. Like all of Otto’s instruments it is physically light, thanks to a slightly more compact body size and his efficient use of materials. It is ultra-responsive, very powerful and incredibly easy to play.

Beautiful Spruce, Silky Rosewood

The materials on this guitar are stunning, featuring a beautiful piece of spruce for the soundboard and dramatic, aged rosewood with a silky texture for the back and sides. As always, the workmanship is to the highest standards, and it gives the guitar a unique aesthetic flair.

The Rosette and the Canal-House Headstock

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). Purely aesthetic, yes – but charming “extra” details that tie the guitar to its place of origin.

French Polish and Sound

The finish is shellac, applied with great care by the traditional French polish method, for a beautiful luster. 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. We thought it was his best-sounding model to date when it came to us.

Concert Artists and Competition Winners

Concert and recording artists such as Denis Azabagic, Esther Steenbergen and the Amsterdam Guitar Trio have played Vowinkel guitars. They are also played by competition winners – Tariq Harb, who took 1st prize at the 2011 Barrios World Wide Web Competition and the 2011 Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition; Chia-Wei Lin of Taiwan, winner of the Singapore International Guitar Competition; and Sanel Redzic from Bosnia, who won in Vienna and Oberhausen with 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.