After having worked on my own for almost 23 years, I decided that it became time to find a partner to pass on the knowledge. I was quite lucky to find Menno Bos interested in working together with me. I knew he had been making guitars for eight years (some fine historical instruments showing his craftsmanship) and moreover, he graduated as a guitar-teacher as well.
It turned out that we were able to share our style of guitar-making and for one and a half year Menno has been making Scharpach Guitars together with me.
I was born near Vienna, Austria. I have been making guitars for almost 25 years. Now the workshop is in Bergeyk, the Netherlands. I followed training in the fine art of wood handcrafting. After that I also graduated as an antique furniture restorer. The guitar-shop opened in 1976.
I never had the intention to produce copies of guitars that are already on the market. I wanted to develop guitars that added something to the history of guitar-making. If I succeeded is for others to judge.
I certainly don't deny the history of guitar-making. I am very interested in the history of the guitar, simply because that is knowledge we get for free, but we should move further.
I appreciate for example the guitar of Torres, but I would not make a classical concert guitar by copying Torres to be my nowadays standard. Still I am able to value that old sound. But it's not my nature to copy, so I would not build this kind of guitar (although there is a big market for it).
I am a guitarmaker making guitars, so I do not make a difference in construction either nylon strings, archtops or steelstrings. I have never understood why other makers often narrow their productline so exterme. This is not in the tradition of the art of instrument making.
A violin-maker often makes cellos as well. Even Stradivarius made guitars and other instruments but this is often not known. The craftsmen of the 18th and 19th century were much more versatile.
In he beginning I made all kinds of instruments. A lot of these South American guitar-like instruments like: Tiple, Cavaquinho, Requinto Charango etc... I also did some cisters and mandolins .
I have been making double necks, long necks, 8-strings, 8-strings long necks, harpguitars etc...
All these experiments in the past gradually made the name of Scharpach similar to a guitar that delivers a new, recognizable and high quality, unique sound.
I am most grateful to all my clients of the past, for putting their trust into my hands.
They helped me to build up my career.
Growing up among church organ and choral singing like I did, the guitar is not the most obvious instrument you would expect I was attracted to. It took until I was about 16 years old before I got touched by the sounds of the classical guitar.
The fascination is probably due to the intimate character and the innumerable possibilities of sound colours this instrument has.
I started the study of classical guitar with full dedication and after some years of private lessons I went to the conservatorium ( Music-College) in Arnhem where I concluded my schooling successfully in 1987.
During my study I was also absorbed in the historical development and the structure of the instrument. The moment I took the chisel in my own hands and set off to work by yself might be due to the fact that my father built his own sailing boats. Because of that, my love for working with wood was not unfamiliar to me.
The type of guitars I built before I started to work together with Theo Scharpach are:
I have worked with Theo Scharpach together now for one and a half year and it has been an incredible experience for me. It has never been my intention to improve the guitar as an instrument and I always relied on the experiences of the famous builders. Theo, however, during all the years as a guitarmaker, has tried to further develop the guitar and he gave the instruments their own identity without ignoring the history and the experiences of other instrument builders.
The hundreds of instruments he has built and his consequent experience, have constituted a solid basis for the instruments we produce together now.