Description
Roy Fankhänel’s runs his workshop in Oelsnitz, Germany, where he builds guitars in the German tradition. He shows a very high level of craftmanship that can be seen in features such as the V-joint, the details of the rosette, the design of the head and the quality of the construction in general. His guitars are powerful instruments with a generous rich sound. They are very easy to play and feature a slightly radiused elevated fingerboard.
This guitar was inspired by the work of Antonio de Torres and follows the idea of a modern interpretation of the traditional Spanish guitar. It is therefore an instrument with a fine colourful tone, very sensitive to the stroke and with an expressing and charming timbre. Nevertheless, some details remind us that this guitar is a contemporary concert instrument that can fill concert halls and some elements as the elevated fingerboard and the waxed neck were built in order to optimise the playability. Roy is also known for building custom instruments. The classical guitarist Heike Matthiesen, for example, plays a guitar by Roy Fankhänel. And also outside the classical guitar scene, guitarists such as the left-handed “Kuddel” from the “Toten Hosen” or the guitarist from Max Raabe’s Palastorchester are among his customers.
This instrument has all the characteristics of a great guitar built in the German tradition. It has a very clear sound with a fine harmonic range and a subtle separation of voices. The polyphonic clarity of this guitar is a great advantage for performance in concert halls since all musical details remain appreciable even at a great distance.
The back and sides made of a very beautiful Katalox (Swartzia cubensis) give this guitar both a massive volume and a great finesse and lightness in the treble. The top made of bear claw spruce, also of high elegance, has a generous resonance and offers great potential for further development. Wonderful Alessi tuner, inspired by those of a Manuel Ramirez guitar from 1912, ensure the tuning. This guitar is CITES free.
Luthier: | Roy Fankhänel |
Construction year: | 2019 |
Top: | Spruce |
Back and sides: | Katalox |
Scale: | 650 mm |
Nut: | 52 mm |