Edgar Mönch – 1959
Overview
Overview
Luthier Edgar Mönch, born in Leipzig on October 29, 1907, descended from a family of musicians. His Russian mother was a pianist, his father a violinist and bandmaster. Edgar Mönch spent his childhood in Russia, attended school there and later studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University in Gdansk. He worked as a technical interpreter at the Skoda Works in Prague. There he also studied violin at the conservatory. It was while he was a German prisoner of war in an English POW camp that he got involved in guitar making. There he met a Wroclaw luthier who showed him how to make a guitar. Released from captivity in 1947, Edgar Mönch began working as a luthier. He perfected his knowledge of guitar making by studying in Spain with guitar maker friend Marcelo Barbero in Madrid. Edgar Mönch’s skill and drive for perfection earned him worldwide recognition. He worked very precisely and self-critically like rarely any other German luthier before. Edgar willingly passed on his knowledge to his students, and world-renowned luthiers such as John Larrivee, Kolya Panhuyzen, Ken Bowen and Joseph Kurek grew out of his workshop. Two months after his son’s passing, Edgar Mönch himself died on February 16, 1977. Segovia, Julian Bream, John Williams, Vicente Gomez and many other guitarists around the world played and still play a Mönch guitar.
Guitars from the “Munich Epoch,” a brief but intensely creative period, are exceedingly rare and highly coveted by collectors and musicians alike. This particular guitar features a distinctive bracing pattern, with a central five-fan system flanked by two vertical V-bars, echoing the designs of Marcello Barbero. Its construction and sound quality often draw comparisons to the instruments of Hermann Hauser II, known for their brilliant and crystal-clear trebles. Despite its age, this guitar has been well-preserved with only a few professionally repaired cracks on the soundboard and the striking Brazilian rosewood back and sides. These careful restorations ensure that the guitar not only maintains its historical value but also remains in excellent playing condition, ready to deliver its exceptional sound to new generations of musicians.
| Luthier: | Edgar Mönch |
| Construction year: | 1959 |
| Top: | Spruce |
| Back and sides: | Brazilian rosewood (CITES certified) |
| Scale: | 650 mm |
| Nut: | 50 mm |
| Weight: | 1420 grams |
| Air body frequency: | F/F# |
| Tuners: | Rubner |
| Strings: | Knobloch EDC 34.0 |
| Case: | Gator |
| Condition: | Good |
Video overview
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