Tobias Braun – Guitar Maker
Tobias Braun was born in 1960 in Holzminden/Weser, Germany. In the following year his family moved to Perchtoldsdorf, a suburb of Vienna, where he grew up.
After finishing school in 1980, he began studying German and Journalism. Although he found these subjects interesting, they did not offer the creative fulfilment he was seeking.
In 1983, he built his first classical guitar as a self-taught maker. One year later he attended his first guitar-making course under José Luis Romanillos, learning in three weeks what usually requires years of apprenticeship.
In the spring of 1988, he completed a second course with Romanillos in Aalst, Belgium.
The year 1989 marked a major milestone: Braun received his Master Craftsman’s Certificate in Vienna and attended his third Romanillos course, this time in Córdoba, Spain.
In 1990, alongside his workshop activity, he contributed to the German translation of José Romanillos’ book “Antonio de Torres. Guitar Maker – His Life and Work,” published by Bochinsky.
In 1992, he returned to Córdoba for a fourth course with Romanillos.
The year 1993 played an important role in his career. It began with a week-long training at Gibson in Nashville, Tennessee, followed by his work as Romanillos’ assistant during the Guitar Makers’ Course in Córdoba. Since autumn of that year he has collaborated with Japanese guitar dealer Eisuke Ozaki in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.
In 1998, he moved to his new house and workshop in Gaaden, located near Vienna in the Vienna Woods. In autumn 2000, he travelled to Japan for a lecture tour on “The Santos Hernández Guitar of Luise Walker.”
Since 2001, Braun has been a founding member of N.I.C.E. – Neufeldner Instrumentenbauer Congress und Erlebnistage, an association dedicated to continuing education for instrument makers.
Artists Playing His Instruments
Martin Schwarz (A)
Paul Friesenbichler (A)
Prof. Leo Witoszynsyj (A)
Erich Schachtner (D)
Y. Iwanaga (JP)
Keishi Sumi and Akiko Sumi (JP)
Prof. Martin Myslivecek (CZ)
Daniele Russo (I)
Dominik Apfelthaler (A, born 1992)
Michael Hintersteininger (A)
The Craft
Classical guitar construction at concert level demands years of accumulated knowledge: how individual pieces of timber vibrate, how bracing patterns affect tonal balance, how small changes in geometry shift the character of an instrument. A finished concert guitar typically represents several hundred hours of hand work. Every decision — wood selection, arch height, brace dimensions — shapes what a player can do with the finished instrument.
