Thomas Friedrich completed his training at the violin-making school in Mittenwald in 2007. He subsequently gained extensive experience in new guitar construction and repair work before receiving his master craftsman’s title as a plucked instrument maker in 2014. Beyond the technical demands of the craft, he has always been deeply interested in design and formal expression.
For Thomas Friedrich, the sound and acoustic qualities of a guitar are directly connected to the choice of tonewood as well as to the imagination and experience of the guitar maker. This interaction forms the foundation of his individual approach to guitar building.
The Craft
Thomas Friedrich works in the tradition of the German master-craftsman tradition — a tradition that prizes hand work, careful wood selection, and the pursuit of tonal balance across the instrument's full range. Classical guitar construction at this level requires deep knowledge of wood acoustics, the ability to read and shape individual pieces of timber rather than treating them as interchangeable, and a patience that cannot be hurried. A concert guitar typically demands several hundred hours of work from raw materials to the finished instrument.
