2011 Fritz Ober SP/MP

Over the last several years, Fritz Ober has been building some of the best Torres/Hauser style guitars available. In our opinion, this maker stands in his own right as one of the great contemporary guitar makers in the world. His style of sound is reminiscent of the "Spanish-style" Hauser I guitars that we have seen. These have the great clarity, balance and transparency of the great Hauser style, but also have a very lyrical, warm quality particularly in the trebles. Fritz's latest guitars have had a deeper body resonance which gives the tone a bit more of a mysterious and dark character. The maple used for the back and sides adds a honey-like glow to the sound as well, softening the edginess of the rosewood counterpart. Aesthetically, this instrument is stunning. It features a beautiful rosette and snakewood accents throughout, particularly in between the flamed maple used for the back and sides, head veneer, binding and buttons on the machine heads. The hand-crafted tuning machines have beautifully hand-engraved plates and matching snakewood buttons. It has a gorgeous spruce top with some very elegant bearclaw in the grain. We have sold his instruments to such notable players as Pepe and Celin Romero, Earl Klugh, John Ingwerson, Doug Rubio, Andy Summers, and many other professors and collectors of the classical guitar.Orfeo article on Hauser III, Blochinger and Ober