OH Taxonomy
Friedrich Mönnig started to build oboes, clarinets, and bassoons in 1955 for his dad, Willi Mönnig’s, company. Later he became head of the production of flutes at Gebrüder Mönnig and worked there until the year 2000. As did his brother, Friedrich, and Klaus, who is their cousin first removed, and...
Jochen Keilwerth’s grandfather founded the Julius Keilwerth Saxophones company in 1925 in Grasnitz. Once one of the largest saxophone producers in Europe, Keilwerth also produced trumpets and trombones, and gained a particular reputation for the Keilwerth SX90R saxophone that was introduced in...
Frank Schlegel was born in 1967 to a family of musical instrument makers in Markneukirchen. Like so many families in this region, he and his father, Klaus Schlegel, carry on the tradition of crafting violins. His grandfather made mandolins and on his mother’s side, the Stöhr family, were bow makers...
Klaus Mönnig worked for 60 years at the Gebrüder Mönnig company, where he was responsible for tuning and voicing oboes and bassoons. As well as being an accomplished musician, Klaus would also visit trade shows such as Musikmesse and the NAMM Show to represent the company. With his musical...
Manfred Gleissner is a part of Gleissner tonewoods, which is known for supplying high quality tonewood to luthiers around the world. Grandfather Anton Gleissner founded the company with his brother in 1905 sourcing the wood form Bosnia and the Carpathian Mountains. After 1945 the family resettled...
Gerhard Dotzauer has made a living selling musical instrument parts to companies worldwide. He provides bridges, exotic woods, machine heads, and specializes in necks for banjos with mother of pearl and abalone inlays for such companies as Baldwin and Gibson, among many others. He sources these...
Dieter Fischer comes from a family of luthiers and started working for Höfner in Bubenreuth when he was 14 years old. He continued working for the next 56 years for Höfner, of which 30 years were as a plant manager. Dieter learned his craft from several luthiers in the company and from his dad,...
Ernst Lang married Paula Prüller 1958 in Luby, Czech Republic, formerly named Schönbach, and both came from families involved in the production of musical instruments. Ernst Lang’s father, Rudolf, made violins and violas while Paula’s father, Andreas Prüller, owned a company producing purflings for...
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...
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...