Archtop Jazz Guitars

31 Years of Sonntag Guitars

November 30, 2024 marks the 31st anniversary of the founding of Sonntag Gitarrenbau.
I took this date as an opportunity for an anniversary celebration and tried to invite as many people as possible who have been associated with my workshop and my career as a guitar maker over these decades.

I wanted to use this celebration to thank everyone who has helped get my workshop up and running, and keep it running over the course of 31 years. I can build a guitar, for shure. But there are other areas that I can't cover. I need my finisher Andi Neubauer in Vienna. I need my graphic designer Dietmar Liehr to design the advertising. Metal hardware parts are made by Erich Baum from EBM. I get the pickups mainly from Harry Häussel and Andreas Kloppmann. Wood is mainly supplied by Tonholz Berkmann in Vorarlberg. I get ornaments from Andreas Rall, Rall Guitars. Mother-of-pearl logos and inlays are made by Martin Seeliger and Moritz Sattler from Lakewood Guitars. Fellow instrument makers inspire me with tips and advice. My band members keep me happy with the music. My family helped with set-up and dismantling.

And finally, of course, the guitarists who bought Sonntag guitars and make them sound great by their art of playing. Among others Bruce Forman from San Francisco, Paulo Morello from Berlin, Wesley G. from the Palatinate, Frank Wingold from Cologne, Etienne Wittich from Berlin, Armin Bonner from Feldkirch and many more.

This celebration was also intended to give my guests from these different areas of the guitar world the opportunity to get to know each other and see who is involved in Sonntag Gitarrenbau.
They all helped to make my anniversary at the Riegele brewery a glittering ball. We were well looked after in the brewery with fine food, good drinks and attentive service.
The musicians also took the opportunity to jam hard and give the evening a varied musical framework. The celebration turned out to be very entertaining and will hopefully be remembered by all those present for a long time.

Here's to the next 31 years of Sonntag Gitarrenbau!

Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival

With the new RMAF in Denver, Colorado, Peter Henriksen from Henriksen Amps has once again put together a sensational show. The archtop world will meet there from September 13-15.

It is the Mecca for archtop guitar lovers. For three days, you can experience all the leading (US) jazz guitarists and luthiers up close. Bruce Forman, Frank Vignola, Jimmy Bruno, Rodney Jones and many more can be experienced live in concerts, jams and workshops.

Almost 30 guitar makers will be exhibiting their instruments. Each table holds around three guitars, making 90 archtops in one room. Where else do you get the opportunity to play and compare so many archtops side by side?

I will present four guitars. A J17X Standard, a J14H Elektra, a J16H Ballade and a J16H BF Flyer (with folding neck).

I'm looking forward to an exciting weekend in the Wild (Jazz) West and to seeing the Archtop family again! 

Workshop for Jazz Guitar and Vocals in South Tyrol, the 10th...

The 10th workshop for jazz guitar and vocals at Hotel Steinegger in Eppan/South Tyrol has taken place. Our instructors Paulo Morello, Bruce Forman and Jeanne Gies made sure that the week was a complete success.
 

The idea of the workshop is to spend a week together to learn from the instructors, but also to make as much music as possible besides the lessons according to your mood and desire. That's why the lessons are limited to three hours. In these three hours, enough material is taught to keep participants busy for months.

After the lessons, however, everyone should have time to try out and apply the subject matter in sessions. This offer was taken up in abundance. Throughout the day, the guitarists and singers played jazz standards and other songs in every corner of the hotel.
 

Our group is very lucky that our hosts at Hotel Steinegger, Verena and Michael, are also music enthusiasts. We are allowed to indulge our passion for music undisturbed for the whole week and they and even their staff take great pleasure in it themselves when we get the hotel swinging. Verena and Michael were usually among the last to go to bed after the evening sessions in the bar. I think that speaks for our group!
All the feedback I received from the participants was enthusiastic about the spirit and atmosphere that prevailed during the week. This good mood was certainly also due to the composition of the group. It was the most international workshop so far, with participants from Denmark, Holland, the USA, Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Germany (Poland was also supposed to take part, but unfortunately this participant had to cancel). Each nationality brought their own drive to the week. It reminded me of the good old hippie days with Love, Piece and Happiness.
 

And as far as I've heard, some of the participants have already booked their rooms for the 2025 course. It will take place from May 12-16. It looks like the 11th Workshop for Jazz Guitar and Vocals at Hotel Steinegger could once again bring together a great group of people who are passionate about making music.
 

As every year, I had great fun organizing this course. After so much positive feedback, I'm already looking forward to putting the announcement for the 2025 workshop online in late summer and then welcoming many participants from this year and hopefully also many newcomers.
 

Listen to a J17H Ballade

Thomas Wallisch-Schauer has published a new record with his duo Lila House: "Ö1 Radiosession".

A nice example how a Ballade can sound. Played through a Fender Blues Junior and recorded with a Shure SM57.

Listen to it on Spotify or YouTube.

Of course available on iTunes or Amazon

Back from RMAF 2023

It was an extraordinary weekend at the Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival in Denver, CO in September.

Guitarists, guitar builders, amplifier manufacturers, everyone who has rank and name in the archtop scene has followed the call of Peter Henriksen: Bruce Forman, Frank Vignola, Jimmy Bruno, Rodney Jones, Jocelyn Gould, Beth Marlis, Ted Ludwig, you name it....

The guitar show featured 27 manufacturers, including Zimnicky Guitars, Megan Wells, Benedetto, Sadowsky, and of course yours truly.

Dazu wurde ein umfrangreiches Rahmenprogramm für das zahlreich erschienene Publikum Angeboten. Workshops, Vorträge, Filme, Seminare. Für jeden Geschmack sollte etwas dabeigewesen sein.

Plus the opportunity to meet the best guitarists in the archtop scene person to person, chat with them at the bar, or catch up with them at jams.

Big thanks to Peter Henriksen, head of Henriksen Amps, who set up this great meeting. The new date is already set, September 12-15, 2024. A visit to this festival is worth a trip for every jazz guitar enthusiast!

Rocky Mounatain Archtop Festival 2023

The 3rd RMAF is going to happen in Denver, CO at the second weekend of September.

Peter Henriksen of Henriksen Amplifiers
has put up this show again. That weekend everybody by rank and name in the archtop scene is gathering there.

Guitarists like Bruce Forman, Frank Vignola, Jimmy Bruno, luthiers Bill Comins, Roger Sadowsky or Danny Kopp and many more are presenting their art and products.

There will be concerts, workshops and lectures. those three days are packed with everything around the archtop guitar. It's a land of milk and honey for every archtop enthusiast, don't miss it!

Sonntag Design Tailpiece

Finally arrived: The new metal Sonntag tailpiece!

As of now available with a Sonntag guitar order or for a changeover for €330,-

Workshop Bozen '23, Review

The 9th International Workshop for Jazz Guitar and Vocal, in memory of Helmut Nieberle, has successfully passed the stage.
The course took place at a new location, at Hotel Steinegger in St. Michael/Eppan near Bolzano. This house is an old traditional farm with a lot of South Tyrolean charm. Run as an agritourismo hotel by the Eisenstecken family, Verena and Michael, this house proved to be very suitable for the course.
  

We had three rooms for lessons, a cozy restaurant with excellent South Tyrolean cuisine, and an equally cozy bar that proved to be prima for jamming.
I was a little nervous because when you stay for the first time, you don't know how the hoteliers and other guests would react to this wild troupe of guitarists and singers occupying the hotel for a week. My worry was unfounded. Verena and Michael had a lot of fun with our music themselves and the guests were also well entertained during the evening jam sessions.

Hotel Steinegger is situated on a very spacious estate high above the valley with a magnificent 180° view over the Bolzano basin to the Dolomites.
On the premises is a terrace, an arbor and even the typical South Tyrolean bowling alley. Spa area, led by Renate Eisenstecken, indoor and outdoor pool in the outbuilding invite you to take a breather and relax.
Under such conditions, hardly anything can go wrong. The course participants and the instructors felt right at home and this had an effect on the mood in the course.
 

The three instructors, Paulo Morello, Bruce Forman and Jeanne Gies, conducted their lessons in a proven manner. All three are full professionals who have gathered their skills and knowledge in countless performances, which they passed on to the participants without reservation. All three are also very "sociable", outside of class they were accessible to the participants and had great fun hanging out together.

  This contact makes the course unforgettable for the participants. Because Paulo, Bruce and Jeanne play together with the best of the jazz scene and can give interesting and amusing anecdotes and experiences from this wealth of experience to the best.
A highlight of the course week is the concert on the last evening. The hotel staff (who did an excellent job, which is worth mentioning) unceremoniously transformed the restaurant into a concert hall. Everyone in the course was invited to perform a piece. No one has to, everyone is allowed, and so 15 formations, solo, duo, trio and the Steinegger Six were found, which then shaped the evening.

So, as a summary can be said: The 10th International Workshop for Jazz Guitar and Vocals will again be held at the Steinegger Hotel. We felt very well taken care of by Michael, Verena, Renate and their staff and we are very grateful for their support. Without them the course could not be held. We were accommodated with much courtesy and warmth and look forward to the 2024 course, which will return to Eppan from 6-10 May.
 

Cronkhite Cases

I am happy to offer the great bags by Glenn Cronkhite again!
Glenn Cronkhite is the founder of Reunion Blues cases. His company was based in Oakland, CA before he sold it to Torpedo Bags. (I was lucky enough to visit him there in 2004).
Torpedo Bags is now manufacturing high quality cases again in leather and Cordura based on Glenn Cronkhite's designs.  In my opinion there is nothing better to transport your precious guitar.
Torpedo Bags is offering explicitly matching cases for my guitar models, as I had them made by Glenn Cronkhite.
Custom made cases are also available on request, for an additional charge.


Cronkhite bags in leather are available from me for €620,-.
 

For orders, see measurement chart and color choices below:

A new Tailpiece for Sonntag Guitars

As of now a new tailpiece made of metal is available for my guitars:

I can offer this tailpiece as an alternative to my Ebony tailpiece for all of my models. You can choose among silver or golden ones.

I have carried this idea of introducing a metal tailpiece around with me for years. Now, after almost 30 years of Sonntag guitars it is done!

Sonntag Guitars in Colorado

Finally, after a two year break caused by the pandemic, the 2nd Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival will be held again in Arvada, Colorado, on September 9.-11. .

I will display my guitars there too and will present a big surprise! The secret will be desclosed not until the show will be opened.

A guitar exhibition will take place which exclusively presents archtop guitar builders. I'm excited to meet those 25 collegues and I'm looking forward to share experiences with them.

And of course music will be played. Many of the most renowned guitarists will perform or hold workshops. Among others are Bruce Forman, Jimmy Bruno, Howard Alden, Frank Vignola, Ted Ludwig...

It's going to be a weekend extraordinary with lots of music, instruments and everything around the archtop jazz guitar.

Sonntag Guitars on CD

Finally, Wesley G.'s CD, recorded with Bruce Forman and rhythm section, is out: "Wesley G. meets Bruce Forman".

Two of the, in my opinion, greatest jazz guitarists of our time met to put standards together in a new form.
I'm very pleased that Wesley and Bruce recorded the CD with two Sonntag J17H Elektras. It's great to hear how my guitars sound in the hands of two true masters.

The opportunity for Wesley and Bruce to meet offered through my workshops which I use to hold with Bruce Forman.
Wesley is a long-time fan of Bruce and after one of the workshops he took the chance to play a small tour with Bruce.
The two hit it off musically on the spot! It was give and take and a joy to hear the two of them play.
So Wesley then fulfilled a dream and organized the studio and spent a weekend there with Bruce recording this CD.
Lucky for all of us, their music sounds as spontaneous and live as it was played.

"Wesley G. meets Bruce Forman", CD available for €17 at

• Wesley G.: wesley.g@arcor.de
  
• Sonntag guitars: info@sonntag-guitars.com
  
  

 And available for download on iTunes and Amazon.
 

Paulo Morello, welcome to the Sonntag-Family

Since October 2021, Paulo Morello has been the happy owner of a Sunday J16H Brigit. 

Paulo has been knowing my guitars since at least 2013, since he’s been working as an instructor at my Workshop for Jazz Guitar and Vocals in Bolzano. That's where I always take my exhibition guitars, where they can be played in lessons and sessions. Of course, Paulo also took the opportunity to play my guitars. And so, I guess he caught fire over the years and finally had a Brigit built in 2021.

Why a Brigit? He likes the rich electric tone that the built in humbucker and the tick area of the top produces. And at the same time, he loves the acoustic touch, the wide dynamic range that comes from the thinner part of the top.

Welcome to the club, Paulo, have fun with your Brigit!

Robben Ford's Guitar, Completed and Delivered

Here an image of Robben Fords completed guitar in Cherry Sunburst and with a floating Kent Armstrong humbucker.
This is how he likes it, quote:

„The guitar arrived today… Exquisite!!! I’ve never seen a more beautiful guitar and it’s wonderful to play“
 

A Sonntag Archtop for Robben Ford

Some years ago Robben Ford was touring New Zealand together with Bruce Forman. On this trip Robben could lay his hands on Bruce' J16H Ballade, aka "Ruby" (it is finished wine red).
 

Robben was very pleased with the playability and the lively and dynamic sound of Ruby. That experience was ringing in his head over the years, which eventually led to the decicion
to get his own Sonntag in 2020.

He requested for a J16 Weltklang which I sent him to his place in Nashville. However, after he tried that guitar for a while, he realized that he'd rather prefer an acoustic archtop, like the one he tried from Bruce back then.

That guitar, an acoustic built J17H Weltklang, is almost done by now. It just needs to be finished, then it is ready to be shipped to Robben's home in Nashville.

Super Sound: Listen to a Sonntag J17X

Bastian Ruppert recorded a nice track with his J17X Standard: "Don't get around much anymore" By Duke Ellington

Recordet with

Channel 1: Royer 121 microphone

Supergain TV as a guest of Sonntag Guitars

Michael Vochezer und Enrico Coromines, who run the Youtube channel Supergain TV  and the Guitar Academy with the same name in Munich, were "on the road". They came visiting me and my shop in order to shoot a documentary on Sonntag Guitars and archtop guitars in general and particular. I was happy to participate and to tell them about me, my shop, my career and my guitars.

But better you watch yourself. Here you find the first part of the interview. The second part will be out soon...

Sonntag Guitar #3000320 

Beginning of March 2020 it was about that the 300th Sonntag guitar was completed.

It is numbered #3000320 and the model is a J17X Standard which will serve as an inventory guitar in my show room.

My workshop has been founded 27 years ago and lots of wood have been transformed into guitars on my work bench since then. I admit I take some pride in so many guitar players trusting my abilities and have me made them their desired guitar.

Among them those renowned players like Helmut Nieberle, Bruce Forman, Wesley G., Scott Henderson, Uli Hoffmeier and many others. 

Not to forget all those hobby guitarists who enjoy the sound of their Sonntag guitar for their own pleasure. 

I am very pleased to know that the result of my own hands work gives fun and joy to so many people!

Here's to the next 300 Sonntag guitars! 

Epitaph: Helmut Nieberle, ✝2020 

On February 9th, 2020 Helmut Nieberle passed away after a noble fight with bone cancer.

Like no one else, Helmut shaped me and my work through his love of the jazz guitar. We have been connected since I visited him with my very first archtop at the Birdland Jazzclub in Neuburg/ Bavaria in 1994. There the two famous Helmuts ( Helmut Kagerer & Helmut Nieberle) played a gig and I was advised to go there to introduce my new guitar to them. 
They showed polite interest and I thought to myself, ok, at least I‘ve tried.

But soon after that Helmut Nieberle started to send his students to my shop, and one student after the other ordered guitars on his recommendation. In that year our cooperation commenced and lasted until his tragically premature passing.

Just as Helmut cherished my guitars, I learned to love his subtle and humorous personality and his elegant and tasteful guitar playing. I was enraptured by his unique style and ability to breathe new life into jazz standards, choros or any genre and let the music sing.

However, the most beautiful moments happened when he took the guitar on evenings at workshops, bars or private venues and gave free rein to his desire to make music. Those intimate moments are unforgettable, and will keep Helmut in my heart forever.

My only comfort is that he can sit in at the eternal jam sessions with all the jazz greats he so admired. 
I will miss Helmut so much. His death is a great loss for all, and an irreplaceable loss for all lovers of jazz guitar. 

Stefan Sonntag

I had the privilege of teaching with Helmut (along with Paulo Morello) for the past seven years at the guitar/vocal workshop organized by Stefan Sonntag. He was my mentor, and especially, my dear friend. Last May, by a series of miracles, Helmut and I were able to do a very spontaneous recording. We laughed, cried, and jammed at his dinner table, and recorded the next day, just the two of us, with the great Sven Faller. It was a truly spiritual musical conversation. I felt like everything I’ve ever learned as a singer and musician came together at that moment. Helmut touched many lives with his grace, wisdom, and unfailing humor: surely he touched mine. I am humbly grateful. Godspeed dear Helmut: I hope you are teaching all those guitar angels how to play with a singer!!

Jeanne Gies (New York) 

Flashback 

What a nice reunion: one of my very first archtops is back at my shop for service. Built in 1995, it was one of four in the second series.

I was still searching for the final headstock shape, you can see the first version of my logo, deep cutaway, large f-holes. All features which were altered until the current version has evolved.

This guitar is very well broken in and has nicely seasoned. Now owned by a fellow in Zürich. 

Scott Henderson plays Sonntag Guitars 

I am very happy to welcome Scott Henderson to the Sonntag Guitars player family.

Primarily Scott is known as a fusion player, which music he mainly plays on solid body guitars. But he can deliver mainstream jazz and bebop as well. For this purpose he got himself a Sonntag J16H Ballade.

About two years ago Scott borrowed Bruce Forman's Ballade in order to record the tune "Chelsea Bridge" for his cd " Vibe Station" (a very recommendable cd by the way!). Then he was hooked and I was super stoked when he got back to me and ordered the very same model.

However, the headstock is not inlayed with the "Bruce Forman" character, of course "Scott Henderson" is written there.
I regard it as a big honor to call a guitarist of his caliber a Sonntag-player.

I hope Scott will be inspired by his new Ballade to many more beautiful and acoustic sounding jazz tunes! 

New Model out: J17H with Fan Fretted Fingerboard 

As of now 7-string Sonntag Guitars are available with fan fretted fingerboard. 

The fan results from the use of two different scale lenghts. The e-string is shorter, the A'-string is longer. I use a 64,4cm-scale and a 67cm scale which combination turned out to be very handy.

To explain the sonic background: The bass strings have more tension due to the longer scale length. Therefore they sound more concise, clearer and more powerful. Which makes very much sense on a 7-string guitar.

Actually I intended to use this new J17H Brigit pictured here as the new inventory guitar. But I showed it to Helmut Nieberle in advance and he immediately fell in love with this model. So I had to commit it to him, which was not a big sacrifice, since there is no better place for that guitar than in his hands.

I will rebuild a new 7-string gutiar with fan fret fingerboard soon, which will become the official inventory gutiar then. 

25th Anniversary of Sonntag Guitars 

December 1st, 2018: The opening of the workshop of Sonntag Gitarrenbau is the 25th anniversary! 

On December 1st, 1993 I officially registered my workshop. At the beginning, the focus of my workshop was on the classical guitar. However, my model range quickly expanded to all kinds of guitars: electric solid bodies, steel string flat tops (a total of five pieces), flamenco guitars (a total of two pieces) and Maccaferri copies (also a total of five pieces). 

The first order for an archtop guitar came in 1994. I had wanted to build this type of guitar since beginning my apprenticeship in 1986, but waited until spring ´94, when this project took shape. There were the stories from the big bands in the 30's and 40's, when the guitarists played acoustic rhythm on archtop guitars. As a young guitarist in the 80's and 90's I found it hard to believe that this was possible with an acoustic guitar. Most archtops that were recently built were made of plywood, and electrified, Ibanez, Gibson or other mass production manufacturers. Some solid-wood models were built by Heritage or some other Gibsons, but they didn't seem to have a big acoustic voice either. The stories of the legendary guitars from the pre-war period, and handmade D'Angelico or D'Aquisto guitars inspired me follow in their legendary footsteps. 

So when Alexander Ruhland ordered the very first archtop from me, he founded my career as an archtop guitar specialist. 

Since then, I have built more than 300 archtop guitars, and I am happy that the orders come from all over the world. From Europe and North America, Australia and China. It is especially gratifying that such renowned guitarists as Helmut Nieberle, Bruce Forman, Wesley G., Scott Henderson, Uli Hoffmeier, Michael Arlt and Robin Nolan play their music with my guitars. (see: my artists).

I would like to thank all those who have supported me over the last 25 years. All of you made it possible for me to pursue my passion for the archtop guitar. 

To the next 25 years of Sonntag Guitars!!!