2026 Otto Vowinkel SP/CSAR

This 2026 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.

Otto Vowinkel’s Latest Concert Guitar

This is Otto’s latest concert guitar. His instruments are among the most lightweight of anything in our inventory, likely the result of a slightly more compact body size and efficient use of materials. It is incredibly easy to play, ultra-responsive and very powerful.

Spruce and Aged CSA Rosewood

The materials on this classical guitar are stunning, featuring a beautiful piece of spruce for the soundboard and dramatic, aged CSA rosewood with a lighter, milk-chocolate-like color throughout, as well as some yellowish sapwood elements in the sides – simply gorgeous. 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). 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 in gallery). Although purely aesthetic, these are charming, “extra” details that give the instrument a place of origin.

French Polish and Sound

The shellac finish, using the traditional French polish method, is done with great care and adds a beautiful luster to the finished instrument. Tuners are Sloane. The slightly more compact body produces what we believe to be his best-sounding model to date – huge volume with little right-hand effort, and a plump and lively quality of tone, very lyrical and beautiful at the same time.

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. Several competition winners play these instruments as well, including Tariq Harb (1st prize winner of the 2011 Barrios World Wide Web Competition and the 2011 Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition), Chia-Wei Lin (a Taiwanese guitarist who won 1st prize at the Singapore International Guitar Competition) and Sanel Redzic (a young Bosnian guitarist who won the Vienna Competition and the Oberhausen Competition using 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.