2023 Tobias Berg SP/MP

This 2023 Tobias Berg is a classical guitar with a spruce top and flamed maple back and sides, built in Germany from wood bought in Mittenwald in 1992.

Flamed Maple with a History

This is a spectacular guitar from Tobias Berg. Materials are gorgeous, including a stunning set of aged flamed maple for the back and sides (and headplate), which Tobias acquired in December 2000 from German luthier Björn Welsch, who himself bought the wood in Mittenwald in March 1992. Tobias selected it for its very nice sheen and tap tone, and paired it with a spruce top that has impressive sustain and a dark, rich and velvety grain pattern.

Sound and Design

The sound is as elegant as the guitar's appearance - thick and overtone-rich across all registers, with very sturdy, powerful basses and smooth, creamy trebles. The guitar has a noticeably nice response, particularly in the trebles, where the notes just seem to "pop" with the slightest touch of the right hand. It is lightweight and a bit more "compact" in body dimensions, making it very comfortable, fun and easy to play. As always with Tobias, the headshape, rosette and bridge draw on traditional Japanese architecture - its understated elegance, perfect lines and sharp edges - giving the guitar a unique and bold look that is delicately and seamlessly his own.

Mahogany-Lined Double Sides

Double sides - for this guitar, the inside wood is mahogany are part of his construction - a method he keeps refining, described in full in our blog post. They give the guitar a deep, almost "cathedral-like" sonic presence, otherwise heard mainly in the modern guitars of Daniel Friederich. The neck is reinforced with two square titanium rods and hard rock maple, hidden inside (unlike many Madrid-school guitars), for a stable neck and noticeably longer sustain. Tuners are customized Gotohs from their "Ko-Ga" line. Bold and beautiful in sound, unique and classy in appearance - a fantastic concert guitar by all standards.

Photos of this guitar being built

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.