Music Manufacturing
Ewald Sommer’s grandfather, Ignatz Sommer, started building machine heads for stringed instruments in 1911. Early on, he supplied Höfner with his products for basses, guitars, mandolins, and zithers. Once the company resettled in Bubenreuth after World War II, Höfner’s successful Beatles bass...
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....
Wolfgang Schnabl is a luthier in Bubenreuth, Germany and has been particularly successful in creating cellos. After learning the craft at the state vocational school for instrument making in Mittenwald, Bavaria, he spent time in the atelier of renown luthier Premysl Spidlen in Prag and in Ottawa...
Max Junger is the director of Pyramid Junger GmbH. He carries on the family tradition of string making in the 6th generation. Founded in 1850 as A. Osmanek Musikinstrumenten & Saitenfabrik, the company has its origins in Schönbach, which is today known as Luby, Czech Republic. After 1945, the...
Carlo Lucarelli graduated with an electronics engineering degree in 1963 and after three years with GTE in Milano, he joined the music products industry first working with Farfisa Organs. Farfisa was located in the Ancona area of Italy and Carlo worked there until 1976. At that time, he joined...
Luigi Bruti was an accordion champion as a teenager and was asked by the Siel Musical Instrument Company to demonstrate their latest products. It was the beginning of his life long career in the music products industry. Luigi became a product engineer helping with several noted instruments,...
Claudio Capponi is a musical instrument technician with a passion for the Farfisa Organ, after all he worked for the company for many years. His interest and dedication to the instrument and its history led him on a fascinating journey to create the Farfisa Museum in Camerano, Italy. Along the way...
Giuseppe Vecchietti, known throughout his career as Beppe, primarily worked for three companies over his long career. All three were located in the same Italian Marche region by the Adriatic Sea, the first being Farfisa, then Siel, and finally Roland Europe. Along the way, as Marketing and Sales...
Dana Bourgeois formed Bourgeois Guitars in 1993, having already worked as a luthier on several projects including those with Paul Reed Smith and Eric Schoenberg. His passion for guitar building began in college when he read Classic Guitar Construction by Irving Stone. His first repair shop was...
Gerry Labelle’s first musical instrument was the alto saxophone; later the tenor and soprano saxophone remained his main instruments, and he later played C Flute, piccolo & Alto flute. Gerry studied music with Frank Mella in Montreal, Canada. He has traveled across Canada and the United States...