2016 Tobias Berg CD/WN (ex Eric Henderson)

This 2016 Tobias Berg is a classical guitar with a cedar top and European walnut back and sides, built in Germany and played in concert and on recordings by Eric Henderson.

Ex Eric Henderson, a Segovia Protégé

Another exceptional guitar from Tobias Berg. The previous owner was Eric Henderson (one of the protégés of Andrés Segovia), who concertized and recorded on this guitar for several years. Materials are gorgeous, including a stunning set of European walnut for the back and sides (and head veneer) with a golden, shimmery glow, and a beautifully cut, quartersawn Western red cedar top.

Sound, Design and Construction

The sound matches the looks: rich and velvety throughout, with powerful, very sturdy basses and smooth, creamy trebles. As we've said many times about this maker's work, the guitar has a unique and bold aesthetic - the headshape, rosette and bridge reveal a fondness for traditional Japanese architecture, which Tobias admires for its understated elegance and its use of perfect lines and sharp edges. He has seamlessly and delicately integrated elements of this into his unique and beautiful design. It also features his double-sided construction method. Tobias has been perfecting this method in his own guitars for some time now, and we have been very pleased with the many that have come through our doors (see our blog post for the full story). For tone, the double sides give the guitar a deeper, almost "cathedral-like" presence, a quality we've otherwise only heard in modern Friederich guitars. An ebony strip inside the neck, invisible from the outside (unlike many Madrid-school guitars), adds stiffness and noticeably enhances sustain.

Condition

Although used, the guitar is in excellent condition with only aesthetic blemishes in the finish. All in all a superb concert guitar, with a bold, beautiful sound and a unique, classy look.

Tobias Berg: From Sweden to Germany

Tobias Berg was born in 1972 in Helsingborg, Sweden, and grew up in the fishing village of Viken. After building his first classical guitar in 1995, he set out to learn the art and craft of guitar making, with courses and diplomas in Canada, England and the USA and time spent with top luthiers including Robert Ruck and Jeffrey Elliott. In 1998 he settled in Germany, where he worked for six years at Lakewood Guitars before earning the German master title (Meister) in Mittenwald in 2004 and opening his own workshop. Today he works in Kirchhain-Anzefahr, in Hesse.

Light, Compact Guitars with Double Sides

Tobias builds traditional, lightweight guitars with a slightly compact body, in the spirit of the Spanish makers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and since 2011 he has built them with double sides - a practice known from Madrid builders and from Daniel Friederich, whom he holds in very high esteem. His headstock, rosette and bridge designs reflect a fondness for traditional Japanese architecture. GSI has been working with Tobias since 2005, when he sent us his 20th guitar; in 2026 he built his 50th guitar for us.