Thanks, Thomas!  Good job.

Robert Shaw's new book on electric guitars is available now.  Aside from the article about us the book features numerous wonderful guitars and makers - Bob deserves kudos for focusing on the truly interesting makes and makers, without resorting to the same old tired pagefillers S, T, LP, PRS... etc.  Highly recommended!

http://www.roberteshaw.com/Guitars.html

No this is not wood for guitars - it's our heating supply for the shop for the winter....to keep the guitars warm...

We have started an owner's group on facebook, where Spalt Instrument owners can post gigs, pictures, comments and the like.  We invite all owners to join!  Click here for the group.

The old gate will supply quite a few good tops:  Over a back of genuine Mahogany, this will be a reprise of the Totem-X concept.  Roadworthiness and versatility foremost - This is a limited series commemorating our move to Vienna and into the new shop. 

It's been a while since the last blog entry.  In the meantime we have finally received our operating permit after a rather arduous process - reason enough to break out the champagne.  The shop is getting finished - and I'm starting on new guitars.  We also have, after some trepidation, decided to join facebook like many of our colleagues.  You can find us there: Michael Spalt.

http://www.laguitare.com/luthiers_salon_de_guitare_de_montreal_2011.php?id=2&lid=1723

Also on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3P-Me1U8Eo&feature=youtu.be

A few images from our last day in Montreal - now we're on the way back home.

The third day at the Montreal Guitar Show.  Jamie Gale trying out our guitars.  Tania, Michael and Juha Ruokangas.  Saul Koll relaxes.  Ken Parker visits.  Paul Heumiller of Dream Guitars in North Carolina.  Visitors try out our instruments.

More pictures from the  Montreal Guitar Show.  Peter Malinoski shows off his creations.  Gordon Branch takes a break from the sheep farm.  Juha Ruokangas polishes up his guitars.  Andreas checks out the Steam bass.  Sheldon Dingwall shoots Malinoski.  Tania and Andreas pose with headstocks.  Graham Henman keeps busy during a break.  Adreas checks out a Koll guitar.  Packing up after a great show:  Juha Roukangas, Uli Teuffel and his custom stands.

We arrived at the Montreal Guitar Show.  Montreal is hot and humid.  A beautiful city, with wonderful people.  Very well-organized show.  The best I've been to so far.  A chance to meet and hook up with the top people in the field.  Bill Asher from Asher guitars in Los Angeles, Holger Stonjek from Sandberg basses, Saul Koll with his beautiful creations.  Jamie Gale who represents Nik Huber and Jens Ritter. Of course, the master - Claudio Pagelli - did it again with a convertible guitar.  Joe Striebel from Germany, archtop and acoustic builder.  Uli Teuffel and Michael meet up with Bob Shaw, author of the boutique guitar bible "Hand Made, Hand Played".

We're off to the Montreal Guitar Show.  I'll post from there - Among other guitars I'm bringing the latest "GoldTop" - "The Feast of the 29 Buddhas".  We're also going to present the first guitar made under the auspices of the "Vienna Guitar Co." - my collaboration with Andreas Neubauer.  Constructed around a "recycled" 120-year old top (Vienna had a great guitar tradition), it incorporates traditional Viennese construction methods with modern appointments.

click on image to view images from the construction.

Starting to work on guitars again - a nice old chest of drawers from my father's office turns out to be an ideal place for storing all the objects and bric-a-brac I use for my guitars, along with dedicated drawers for various guitars in progress.

A few nice old  boards of Korina - Swamp Ash-light - waiting to be glued up for body blanks.  Some of it is quartersawn with some gentle flame & might make nice necks.  Gluing up Mahogany neck and body blanks.  Still life with hints of things to come...

Completion is in sight - we've finished with major construction work.  A good mile of new electrical cable has been laid (the local building codes and business regulations are something to be experienced!), new plumbing, new windows etc..  We had planned to be done by now, but there's still plenty of things to be done.  I'm itching to get back to work.  We are also going to renew the gate and I'm looking at the wood...  I see a series of "Ameisgasse 11" inaugurational guitars!

There has been precious little guitar-related stuff going on in this blog so far.  It's time to start:  we have to renew the gate and I will use the wood (nicely weathered) to issue a limited inaugural series of  guitars (as many as the wood will yield).  Stay posted for details on this upcoming series!

The next issue of the Guild of American Luthiers' quarterly publication will include an article about the  Nouveau Series guitars!  I'm very excited about this - it's a great publication - the guild is one of the world's premier luthier's organizations.  I'm honored to be part of it.

Work is progressing - we finally have heat!  It makes working a whole lot easier!

Construction has begun - we are hoping to have the major work done in 2 weeks - and to be able to start with some new guitars!

The Nouveaus Series videos are up.  'Dream Guitars' has posted them here.

Our container was delivered yesterday.  Yahooo!  It was unloaded in a quick effort by our friends and us in under 2 hours  ...at temperatures below freezing - we don't yet have heating in our space...  The load looks disconcertingly small now, dwarfed by the large space.  Fortunately it looks like everything survived the trip intact.  Now the unpacking and setting up will begin - but first:  Monday we start with masonry, electrical and plumbing work.  Foremost is the heating - it is FREEZING IN HERE!

Dream Guitars of Asheville, NC, will be handling the sales of the Nouveau Series.  Please visit their website for more information.

We will be attending the Montreal guitar show in July.    We're planning to introduce a whole line of new instruments there - stay tuned.

More impressions from our trip to LA - these are Andreas' pictures which I finally got a hold of:  At the show with Chris Peterson, a guitarbuilder who briefly helped out working for me as I was pushing to finish the Nouveau Series last year; with Thomas and Chris Adams, the designer and engineer of the new Gibson Firebird-X, giving us the skinny.  Our motel room in Anaheim - spartan, but cool design.  Our lumberyard and some of the woods we got there - Mahogany, Walnut and flame Maple.  Thomas' dashbord saint.  After sealing the container we grab a bite from the lunch truck.  A little sightseeing for Andreas after all the work is done and visiting with luthier Bill Asher - I need to do some work on "Lucky Seven" for him, resetting the bridge.  At the airport with Daniele Cabibbe, my Italian distributor...

A pristine layer of fresh snow greets us as we come back - the inside is cold and empty, awaiting fixing and refurbishing.  We hope to be operational by the end of February - around the time our container is scheduled to arrive.

Visiting Day.  Ron Thorn of Thorn guitars, an old friend.  He shows us his shop and some of his work.  Andreas has stars in his eyes when we visit my old wood dealer friend Dale and he gets to behold some of the treasures stashed away there.  Bird's-eye Zebrawood...  Leo Skala, who started building guitars ten years ago in my garage and has developed into an excellent luthier and designer, now runs and owns Gary Kramer Guitars - along with the perks...

See you in Vienna - a day of packing an stowing.  And there it goes....

Another gorgeous California Day.  Met up with Leo Skala of Gary Kramer Guitars - Leo worked with me for the first few years before Kramer tapped his talent and skill for his new line of guitars.  Leo is now owner of Gary Kramer guitars.  With Leo is Shi Hyung Cho, from Kraken guitars, Korea, Thomas and Andreas.  At the Bogner booth Andreas Pichler (of Andreasguitars fame) and Reinhold Bogner take a break.  With Arne von Brill (Taranaki guitars), Andreas Neubauer and Andreas Pichler - an old friend, Pat Bartolini, a great lady; and Bob Sperzel - still going strong. 

The first two days at the show.  First we picked up a nice package at the Bogner factory.  We will show the contents when they arrive in Vienna.  At the show we first met with Thomas Nordegg and Don Ramsey (designer of one of the best tremolos).  Later Andreas got a lesson in how the PLEK machine works.  We will have a lot more pictures and news up soon.

Today we delivered the new cases to G&G for finishing.  They will also make additional cases for us, to be placed in the container we're shipping to Vienna with all our remaining tools and shop equipment.  Thomas Nordegg (tech extrordinaire to Zappa, Vai etc.) and Ed Kanon (tech extrordinaire to Kiss, ZZ Top etc.) gave me a hand in transporting the cases in Thomas' van.  G&G has been making cases here for 50 years or so, serving Fender, Rickenbacker, PRS and others.  They also make small runs of cases for custom builders like me.  We're planning some special edition runs with cool cover materials.  We'll have pix of the completed cases when we pick them up after the NAMM show -

Preparing the shells for hardware and fittings.

Downtown LA, the garment district.  Found great fabric and vinyl for new guitar cases.  We will cover shells made by G&G - they have supplied us with our custom cases for the past 10 years (they are the original case company which has supplied Fender, Rickenbacker, PRS, etc. for 50 years now, right here in LA).  G&G will then finish the cases for us.

We're now back in LA, staying at my brother's house.  As NAMM draws nearer and we get our stuff ready for shipment back to Vienna I'll be posting updates and pix of the people we visit and the places we'll go.  Stay tuned...

I've posted the instruments I have currently available on the 'for sale' page.   In view of our trip to Los Angeles (Dec 26th to Jan 20th) the opportunity exists of purchasing them direct from us and have us bring them back to the US, thus saving on international shipping- etc. charges.

I have added a lot of images of Totemguitars from the years between 1998 and 2001.  More images and text will follow shortly.  I'm hoping of completing the listings for the Totemguitars up to 2006 before X-mas.  There are still a lot of images which have to be processed and posted...  maybe before New Year...

This is going to be the new shop for Spalt Instruments.  Located in Vienna's 14th district, Ameisgasse 11.  It will take a little work, but it's a beautiful airy 350m2, with a nice walnut tree out in front. 

Right now the space is being used by a gallery to store their art.  We will move in after we come back from NAMM, the end of January.  The guy in the picture is Andreas Neubauer, who I will partner with on some projects, checking out the space.