2021 Angela Waltner "Anima" SP/IN

A 2021 "Anima" classical guitar by Angela Waltner, with a thermally treated spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides – our first guitar from Angela.

In the videos above, Daniel Rodríguez plays Jorge Alejandro Medellín Becerra's "Déjate (Pasillo)" and his own "Mulato, Porro" on this guitar.

Tunneled Bridge Bar

The "Anima" uses a Spanish-inspired five-fan bracing with a bridge bar set slightly back for a precise but smoother sound; on this guitar the outer parts of that bar are "tunneled", which Angela believes gives a more dimensional sound.

Thermally Treated Spruce

Angela chose a thermally treated spruce top, which she feels sounds somewhere between spruce and cedar – not as sparkling as native spruce, but rich – and is less sensitive to climate changes. The wood-chipped rosette and lute-shaped bridge with her FABS system make it unmistakable. Includes a white BAM case.

Read more: Orfeo Magazine No. 14 – Markneukirchen Special (with a feature on Angela Waltner)

Angela Waltner: Scholar and Guitar Maker in Berlin

Angela Waltner was born in Oberstaufen, in southern Germany, in 1970. She studied at the violin-making school in Mittenwald from 1992 to 1995, spent two years restoring 19th-century French guitars, earned a degree in musical instrument making in Markneukirchen (Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau) and a Master Craftsman diploma in Chemnitz, and was a research assistant at the Institute for Musical Instrument Making (IfM) in Zwota. She works in Berlin and is one of the "Berlin Luthiers".

Three Models and the FABS Bridge

Her research has been distilled into three guitar models with their own structural and aesthetic specifications, and into her "FABS" (Free Adjustable Bridge System), a saddle in three pieces that can be adjusted even under string tension for precise intonation. She builds only about four guitars a year and was featured in Orfeo Magazine No. 14, the "Markneukirchen Special".