THE WORKSHOP
MY HISTORY
My first guitar I built at the age of 12 during the woodworking lessons at primary school. Since that time I have always been interested in guitar-like instruments and the development over the centuries. During my Classical Guitar study I started to focus more and more on building all kinds of guitars, from Baroque guitar and Vihuela to the modern classical and Flamenco guitar and from Steelsstring and acoustic bass to electric solid body guitar and bass guitar. From 1999 I had the honor to be allowed to cooperate with the well-known Austrian guitar builder Theo Scharpach. From 1999 up to and including 2017, I independently built all Theo Scharpach and Scharpach Master Guitars. Mr Scharpach only occupied himself with the design and maintaining contacts with customers during this period.
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Since the end of 2017 I have been working independently again and will mainly focus on building classical and flamenco guitars although the extensive experience I have gained over the past 40 years will not stop me from building an Archtop a steelstring or a different type of guitar.
"I'M MORE OF A CREATOR THAN A REPAIRER BUT I CAN ALSO IMAGINE THAT YOU ONLY WANT TO HAVE YOUR MOST PRECIOUS INSTUMENT REPAIRED OR CUSTOMIZED BY A EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL.YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO INFORM."
- Menno Bos
MY CUSTOMERS
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My clients can be described as persons who are looking for an instrument that meets a personal sound image and / or playability that they cannot find in regular guitar shops and who have found in me the confidence that I can fulfill these personal wishes.
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A long-term consultation in which the customer makes his personal wishes known to me in terms of sound and technical dimensions precedes the start of the actual construction.On the basis of this conversation, I will discuss which materials I should use to get as close as possible to the stated wishes. The choice of wood for the Top and by combining different types of wood for the sides and / or the back, for example, I am able to control the timbre of the sound in order to get as close as possible to the personal sound ideal. In practice, I always try to let the client decide on the appearance of the chosen types of wood, insofar as this permits within the set specifications. During the construction process, there is usually frequent contact about progress.
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FROM 1990
TYPICALLY
MENNO BOS
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What makes me different from others? There are, of course, hundreds of other highly skilled luthiers. I try to distinguish myself by learning from the past, but ask myself every day whether these trusted and widely used customs are also the right ones. In other words, copying is fine, but this was once thought up by someone else and has been taken over by others indiscriminately and has become general. Stay sharp and critical!
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