This is Otto Tolonen, the famous Finnish guitarist. We met in 2021 when he performed in our series Meesters op de Gitaar at Het Concertgebouw. Last week, he dropped by my workshop while visiting Amsterdam. I had just finished a spruce-top concert guitar for the Grand Salon de Guitare in Canada. I had put the strings on that morning and took advantage of Otto Tolonen’s presence to let him demonstrate how it sounds which was great.

But I am always aware of the role of the player, which is perhaps best illustrated by the famous anecdote about violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987):

After a concert a lady came backstage to congratulate Heifetz on his performance. “What a beautiful sound there is in your instrument,” she said admiringly. The violinist held his Guarneri violin up to his ear, shook it gently, and said, “I don’t hear anything.”

Otto Tolonen | Grand Salon de Guitare

Meesters op de Gitaar

A guitar is built piece by piece. But that doesn’t apply to the preparation. That can be compared to the so-called mise en place in the kitchen.

Mise en place (French for “putting in place”) is the name of the preparation process in which all ingredients are cut, chopped, measured, and set out, so that when the actual cooking begins, everything is within reach.

In these photos, you see the necks I’ve made for the coming period, including the headstock, headplate, and holes for the tuning machines. In the video’s below you can see how a headstock is made.

I rout a slot in the neck itself. In that slot I put a carbon strip to prevent warping. You won’t see any of it, because the fingerboard is glued on top.

Some people are under the impression that a guitar neck should be perfectly straight. But in reality, a guitar neck should always have a slight curve. If it didn’t, the strings would buzz against the frets. I’ve written about that before.

This is Richard Showkier, a Lebanese-American guitarist, moonlighting as an attorney, according to his own words :-)

He sent me a video performing Adelita by Frances Tarrega. I truly like his sound so I asked if I could share it on my blog. His permission was accompanied by words of praise which I gratefully, couldn’t resist repeating here.

Growing up in West Texas, I had the good fortune to study with David Brandon, James Bogle, Rade Amanovic, and Mary Jean Van Appledorn. I completed a master’s degree in music performance at Texas Tech University. 

Denis Azabagic introduced me to Vowinkel guitars, leading to my purchase of two extraordinary models through Guitar Salon International. Otto’s guitars represent the highest level of artisan engineering, perfectly blending a palate of tonality with power, projection, and ease of play.

Richard Showkier

Regular readers of my blog know that I rarely write about myself. This time, however, I’m making an exception. The Concertgebouw—the famous venue on Van Baerlestraat—has given me a great deal of attention. They published an article in their magazine Preludium, as well as a major interview on their website. Last but not least, they recorded a cheerful video in my workshop. I couldn’t resist sharing it.

The article as well as the interview are in Dutch. True die-hards are best off copying the latter and having it translated by ChatGPT or another AI agent. Luckily the video is in English.

The interview

The article

Het Concertgebouw | Preludium

This is Robin Scherpen, a Dutch guitarist in a trailer for his new album.

This is Petra Poláčková, a guitarist from the Czech Republic.

This is Het Concertgebouw, the famous venue in Amsterdam.

I don’t think it ever happened before but this Saturday, April 5, there will be two (2) solo guitar concerts concerts taking place , at almost at the same time, in the famous building at the Van Baerlestraat in Amsterdam.

Petra Poláčková will perform a solo concert in the chamber music hall in the series Meesters op de Gitaar. Robin Scherpen will play a solo concert in De Koorzaal in which he will present his second album The Verge of Light.

So to all guitar aficionados: Reserve your spot at Het Concertgebouw!

Tickets Robin Scherpen | Meesters op de Gitaar New Season | Tickets Petra Poláčková

Robin Scherpen plays a Concert model

This is Barbie Matthews playing Etude nr.1 by Giulio Regondi on a Baritone guitar.

Barbie Matthews received her Bachelor’s Degree with Academic Honors from the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), under the tutelage of Eliot Fisk and Jérôme Mouffe. She earned her Master’s Degree from the Yale School of Music (YSM), where she studied under guitarist and composer Benjamin Verdery.

Benjamin Verdery lent his Baritone guitar to his student Javier Llama Ojinaga. Javier lent it to Barbie. And Barbie liked the guitar so much that she recorded Regondi Etude on it. Javier showed the guitar to a fellow student as well. He also liked the guitar and even ordered one. Some day he’ll be featured on this blog, just like Javier.

Besides playing the guitar, Barbie Matthews is actively engaged in Music Theory education. She is passionate about new music as can be heared on her YouTube Channel.

More Baritone Guitar

Barbie Matthews’ YouTube Channel | Javier Llaca Oginaga | Benjamin Verdery

This is Keith Wong, a guitarist from Hong Kong, visiting my workshop on a sunny day last February. Keith and his fiancée were making a small round trip through Europe, including The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. They combined their visit to Amsterdam with a stop at my workshop.

Keith was particularly interested in maple guitars and even brought a 2A model home for one of his students.

Keith is a graduate of the Education University of Hong Kong and the Carinthia State Conservatory for Music and Drama in Austria, AKA the Gustav Mahler Privatuniversität für Musik. He is active as a performer, having played in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, the U.S.A., Germany, Austria, and Slovenia. He is also a sought-after teacher and is often invited to be a guest speaker or lecturer for various organizations, including Television Broadcasts Limited of Hong Kong (TVB), the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government, the Hong Kong Education Bureau, the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, the Community Engagement & Outreach Academy of Creative Arts at EdUHK, the Altamira Hong Kong International Guitar Symposium and Competition, and the Yao Yueh Chinese Music Association of Hong Kong.

Keith’s major titles include victories in the Tarrega Malaysia International Classical Guitar Competition, the China Zhuhai Guitar Competition, the China National Guitar Invitational Tournament, and the Hermoupolis International Guitar Competition in Greece.

Keith is a Savarez concert artist.

In the video above Keith is playing a concert model,
with a spruce top and coco bolo back and sides.

Keith also tried a 2A model with a spruce top and maple back and sides.

Keith Wong Savarez

This is Alen Garagic, a guitarist from Bosnia and Herzegovina. On his website he defines himself as a “musician, teacher and entrepreneur.” Our paths first crossed in 2001 when he was studying at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague under the mentorship of Zoran Dukić.  Alen continued his studies with Alex Garrobe, Fernando Rodriguez, Franz Halasz, and Tomaz Rajteric. In 2004, he won the prestigious Guerrero International Guitar Competition in Madrid.

For a long time, Alen was plagued by stage fright. He dedicated years to researching performance anxiety, culminating in a master’s thesis on the subject. This led to the development of Dealing with Performance Anxiety, a program that has since helped many students and teachers build confidence and refine their stage presence.

Alen has always remained active as a performer, both in concert halls and on intimate club stages. However, his passion for the guitar extends far beyond the stage. In 2019, he took on a new role as the director of Guitar Salon Vadya, a premier showroom for classical and flamenco guitars in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

my instruments on website Vadya | website Alen Garagic

Alan plays a concert model

This is me with the great Benjamin Verdery in Central Park. Last April Esther and I visited Benjamin in his hometown New York and after a great lunch we had a beautiful walk in a blossoming Central Park.

Last week I received his latest newsletter which happend to be such a perfect follow up on my previous blogpost that I couldn’t help (partly) reposting it.

WEBSITE BENJAMIN VERDERY

This is a photo of a 2a model of my baritone or fitfh bass guitar. The photo was taken by Guitar Salon International, my dealer in the United States.

Years ago, I asked Esther if she would like to try a guitar I had just made. It was a fifth bass. She instantly fell in love with the instrument and soon after, she recorded a CD with it that received high acclaim.

Later, she used the fifth bass guitar for another recording: Die schöne Müllerin by Franz Schubert. Because besides solo music, the fifth bass also, and perhaps especially, proves to be very suitable for duos and ensembles.

If you listen closely to the accompaniment in this recording, you can clearly hear how the fifth bass, played here by Olga Franssen, and the ‘normal’ guitar, played by Esther, blend incredibly well.

They sound like one instrument. This often happens with two guitars of course, but in this combination, there is a much greater range and a richer sound than would be the case with two regular guitars.

Due to this greater range, the recording, beautifully sung by Maarten Koningsberger, does more justice to the original than would be the case with two regular guitars as well.

Tuning

A quint bass , fifth bass guitar or baritone, sounds as the name suggests, a fifth lower than a regular guitar. For clarification:

The tuning of a classical guitar is E A d g b e’
The tuning of this fifth bass guitar is A D G c e a

Despite it’s scale length of 72 cm, is not difficult for guitarists to play a fifth bass guitar. The proportions, I’m talking intervals here, are exactly like you’re used to on your regular guitar.

New member of the 2A family

Over the years, I’ve often been approached by guitarists who were interested in a fifth bass guitar. Unfortunately, they were sometimes taken aback by the price, which is comparable to a concert guitar.

For them it is good to know that the fifth bass guitar is now also available as a 2A model.

Guitar Salon International | Esther Steenbergen | Olga Franssen | Maarten Koningsberger