Otto Vowinkel

Guitar maker Amsterdam

Boi Akih Entangled

Boi Akih_Photo Krijn van Noordwijk

These are vocalist/lyricist Monica Akihary and guitarist/composer Niels Brouwer, the solid and inseparable duo BOI AKIH. The duo started in 1997. I wrote about them earlier, when, during the Covid-19 pandemic, they performed in a recorded livestream.

Since then, they have made new recordings, traveled the world, and in 2023 Monica received the Boy Edgar Prize, the most important award in Dutch jazz and improvised music. Annually awarded to a performing musician who has made an exceptional contribution to the genre.

Their latest recording, released in 2026, is called Entangled. Usually they collaborate with a wide range of musicians and poets, but this album, featuring their own lyrics, is a real duo project.

In the live stream Niels plays a 7string 2A, actually the one he’s holding in the impressive picture above. But on Entangled Niels plays his 7string Concert Model with a spruce top and maple back and sides, which I built in 2025, especially for him.

Cover Entangled. Drawing by Ade Darmawan
Carlos

Florian Amann performing Niccolo Paganini

This is Florian Amann, a young guitarist from Germany. This summer his father sent me an email to let me know that his son is playing one of my guitars since December 2025.

It also turned out that in June 2026, Florian had been awarded an Excellence Certificate as the youngest participant in his age category at the International Competition for Young Guitarists “Andres Segovia, which took place in Monheim am Rhein (Germany).

Florian is a student of Denys Melnykov who has a dedicated YouTube channel featuring recordings of his students.

I see a great future ahead for Florian and look forward to more video recordings.

The guitar was purchased from Siccas Guitars.

Niels Eikelboom performs Dutch guitar music

This is Niels Eikelboom. After he came to Amsterdam to compare his cedar guitar with a spruce top I wrote this post. Back then he concluded both types of wood have their own strengths and qualities. He decided to keep the cedar and to add the spruce top to his collection.

He has continued doing this. If I’m not mistaken, Niels Eikelboom now owns five of my guitars. Niels was once a student of Jan Bartlema, who studied with Pieter van der Staak (1930–2007) just like Annette Kruisbrink.

Van der Staak, Bartlema, and Kruisbrink were / are not only guitarists but also composers, and Niels Eikelboom recorded a CD with a number of their works. In the liner notes, he describes it as:

a portrait of Dutch guitar music from the last five decades, performed on a guitar built in, where else, Amsterdam.

Niels Eikelboom | Jan Bartlema | Annete Kruisbrink | Pieter van der Staak

Otto Vowinkel guitars on Spotify

Otto Tolonen

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

Neck and neck

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.

Richard Showkier playing Tarrega

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