2014 Otto Vowinkel SP/CSAR

This 2014 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, with a bearclaw spruce top and a sapwood “flourish” in the rosewood.

Built Light in Amsterdam

Otto builds light: a slightly more compact body and an efficient use of materials make his guitars some of the most lightweight we have. Incredibly easy to play, it is also ultra-responsive and very powerful.

Bearclaw Spruce and a Sapwood “Flourish”

The materials are stunning, featuring a beautiful piece of bearclaw spruce for the soundboard and extremely dramatic, aged rosewood – with an interesting sapwood “flourish” in the bass-side upper bout – for the back and sides. Workmanship is to the highest standards as always, giving this guitar a unique aesthetic flair.

Amsterdam Details: Rosette and Headstock

Otto’s unique rosette design features herringbone in the purfling surrounding the mosaic (the motif found in the flag of the city of Amsterdam). Otto carves the headstock in the style of his workshop’s building in Amsterdam, with a MOP dot at the top for the “winch” of the canal houses: a hook-and-pulley system that hoists furniture and goods through the large windows, as the stairs inside are narrow and steep (see photo). Although purely aesthetic, these are charming, “extra” details that give the instrument a place of origin.

Sound and Finish

Otto French polishes his guitars in shellac by the traditional method, with great care, and the finish gives this one a beautiful luster. Tuners are Sloane. From the slightly more compact body comes huge volume with little right-hand effort; the tone is plump and lively – very lyrical and beautiful at the same time. When it arrived, we considered it his best-sounding model to date.

Played by Concert Artists and Competition Winners

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

Photos taken during this guitar’s construction

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.