Markneukirchen Germany
Karlheinz Götz has always been proud of his musical heritage. His grandfather, Conrad August Götz, was the founder of the C.A. Götz Company back in 1884. The company, which was located near Markneukrichen, Germany handcrafted violin parts such as tuning pegs and later the manufacturing of strings....
Otto Werner grew up surrounded by music. His dad, a violin maker in Schönbach, produced violins at home and sold them in Markneukirchen while his aunt worked at Junger Company, the main producer of strings in Schönbach. After 1946, she resettled first in Tennenlohe, then in Bubenreuth once the...
Richard Grünke of Richard Grünke & Söhne GmbH which is located close to Bubenreuth produces high quality bows. Richard’s sons, Klaus and Thomas, run the business today but their father is still active in the workshop. Richard learned the craft of bow making in Markneukirchen at H.R....
Florence Wilfer was born in France and was working for a musical distribution company when she met HP Wilfer, her future husband. The two have been working together at HP's Warwick Company since getting married in 1991. Florence has been critical in the operations, marketing and book keeping side...
Kate Riessland was born in England in the years following World War II and soon found she had an interest in learning all she could about the German culture. While in Germany, in 1969, she answered an ad for a job with the Götz Company. The company was looking for someone with perfect English and...
Enrico Weller is a historian of the musical traditions of Markneukirken Germany. In fact, Dr. Weller wrote an informative volume outlining the many important contributions and innovations by the music industry located in Markneukirken. The book is called “Der Blasinstrumentenbau im Vogtland von den...
Ernst Roth is a guitar luthier who over the last 40 years of his career has dedicated himself to training younger craftsman in the art of violin and guitar making. He was born in the musical instrument capital of the world, Markneukirchen, Germany. After his training he opened up his own shop in...
Christian Hoyer wrote the book on the history of the Framus Guitar Company and became the director of the museum for the famed guitar company in Germany. His research brought to light many forgotten elements of the guitar maker's history, the key innovators and the product line that has been known...
Joachim Schneider proudly continues in the family tradition of hand crafted instrument making. His great grandfather was a violin builder as was his grandfather. His grandfather and father also became guitar luthiers. Joachim was taught by his grandfather and specialized in building professional...
H. P. Wilfer inherited the passion and drive of his father who formed the Framus Guitar Company. After hard times and his father’s retirement, H. P. bought back the company to bring the many innovative and popular products back to market. H. P. did so through the success of his Warwick Bass Company...