Biography
Rafal Turkowiak was born on 9 January 1966 in Golanice near Leszno, Poland. Raised in a family of craftsmen, he was influenced early on by his father, a carpenter, and by his grandfather, a wheel-wright, gaining a deep familiarity with woodworking and materials.
At the age of fifteen he completed a three-year classical guitar course at a primary music school in less than six months. Two years later, after dismantling an old guitar, he built his first classical instrument. This early guitar featured a sound hole and an unconventional soundboard construction with suspended bracing, an innovative concept at the time.
His enthusiasm for the instrument extended to performance, and in 1983 he reached the semifinals of the National Young Talent Show in Poznań, singing and playing his own guitar among 5000 contestants. The jury, which included composer Aleksander Maliszewski and singer Urszula Sipinska, compared him to Paul McCartney.
Innovation
Over nearly forty years of building and experimentation, Turkowiak has developed several original concepts in guitar construction. His WAVE-type resonator is incorporated into all of his instruments. He also created what he describes as the first guitar to produce sound not only from the body but also from the neck, a design based on his patented system of Acoustic Tubes inside the neck, protected by the European Patent Office (EP 3340231 (B1)).
Additional innovations include his patented Bridge with Drilled Holes and back and sides produced using a High-Tech Press. These developments reflect his ongoing search for new acoustic possibilities and have contributed to his reputation among contemporary luthiers.
Innovation and Patent
Turkowiak was born in 1966 in Gołanice, near Leszno in western Poland, into a family of craftsmen — his father a carpenter, his grandfather a wheelwright. He built his first guitar at approximately seventeen, already incorporating experimental structural features. Over nearly four decades he has developed a series of patented innovations: Acoustic Tubes in the neck (European Patent EP 3340231 B1, the world patent for this solution in guitars, extending sustain by up to 20%), a WAVE-type soundboard resonator (increasing vibrating surface area by approximately 20%), and a High-Tech Press back and sides with parabolic construction. His Opus Virtuoso line incorporates the most advanced generation of each innovation, using rare master-grade tonewoods. Two of his sons are active in the workshop: Nikodem (wood technology, structural refinements) and Tymoteusz (guitarist, inlay specialist).
