2020 Otto Vowinkel SP/MP

This 2020 Otto Vowinkel is a concert classical guitar with a spruce top and maple back and sides, made by hand in his workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; George Sakellariou plays Tárrega on it in the video above.

A Compact Body and an Efficient Build

Otto’s guitars have always been physically light – likely the result of a slightly more compact body and an efficient use of materials – and this one is no exception. The result is a guitar that is incredibly easy to play, ultra-responsive and very powerful.

Flamed Maple with Snakewood

Its materials are stunning: a beautiful piece of bearclaw spruce for the soundboard, and dramatic, aged and flamed maple with a silky 3D texture for the back and sides. Gorgeous snakewood is used for the bindings, back center strip and heel cap, framing the maple and spruce beautifully. Otto’s workmanship – to the highest standards, as always – gives it a unique aesthetic flair.

Rosette, Headstock and the “Winch”

Around the mosaic of the rosette – the motif of the Amsterdam flag – runs his characteristic herringbone purfling. The headstock takes its shape from the Amsterdam building that houses Otto’s workshop. The MOP dot at the top is a “winch”, like those on the city’s canal houses – a hook and pulley for hoisting furniture and goods up through the large windows, since the staircases inside are so narrow and steep (see photo).

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. The compact body gives huge volume production with little right-hand effort and a plump, lively quality of tone – very lyrical, and beautiful at the same time. We thought it was his best-sounding model to date when it came to us.

Played by Concert Artists and Competition Winners

Denis Azabagic, Esther Steenbergen and the Amsterdam Guitar Trio are among the concert and recording artists who have played Vowinkel guitars. Among the competition winners who play them are Tariq Harb (1st prize, 2011 Barrios World Wide Web Competition and 2011 Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition), Taiwan’s Chia-Wei Lin (1st prize, Singapore International Guitar Competition) and the Bosnian guitarist Sanel Redzic (winner of the Vienna and Oberhausen competitions on a cedar Vowinkel).

In the Video Above

George Sakellariou plays Francisco Tárrega’s “Endecha y Oremus” on this guitar.

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.