NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Silver! Acoustic Guitar Magazine Players Choice Award 2011. Wingert Guitars is proud to be included and thrilled to death by the overwhelming response of faithful patrons and fans. I think I am as small or smaller than any shop ever recognized!
September 2011, La Guitarra, where builders and players from student to master gather over a mutual love for classical guitar. Don't miss the concerts if you're on the West Coast
October 2011, Harp Guitar Gathering
Sightings:
Wingert Guitars Stephen Bennett is frequently caught playing his Wingert Harp Guitar, and he's always worth some moments of the day.
Wingert Guitars by Guitar Gallery at Montreal Festival
Stephen Bennett on the second Wingert Harp Guitar
Fran Guidry on his Madagascar rosewood Model E
Philippe Fouquet on his Cambodian rosewood Model E
Doug Young plays with his cocobolo rosewood Model E high strung!
Don Alder Newport Guitar Festival 2010 Sonic Sitka Project
Don Alder Newport Part II on the Klimt
Pete Bradshaw Harp Guitar Demo
Alec Bainter The youngest Wingert player plays a Wingert classical
I am pleased to announce the inclusion of Kathy Wingert Guitars at ProfessionalLuthier.com, a new tool to help guitar buyers. Initially, most of the Luthiers accepted on the site have previously been vetted by one of the 3 major North American Lutherie Festivals – Healdsburg, Montreal, or Miami. In addition to well focused search criteria, the list of luthiers stands out because of the unique backing of the sites creator, LMI (Luthiers Mercantile International, Inc.). To demonstrate its faith in the professionalism of the participants, LMI will cover the cost of repairs necessary due to defects in materials or workmanship should any of the Luthiers listed go out of business – retirement, medical issue, whatever and therefore not be in a position to back the instrument themselves. Admittedly a subjective decision, LMI uses its network of professional associations with luthiers, instructors, buyers and dealers, in addition to information from the luthier, to determine which luthiers will participate. A beta version of the website is currently available at ProfessionalLuthier.com.
Acoustic Guitar Magazine Visits the Montreal Show July 2010. Pictures of some amazing works by exhibiting luthiers.
Harp Guitar Gathering 8 November 12-14,2010. If you love harp guitars you MUST be there!
Montreal Guitar Festival July 1-3, 2011. Watch here or at the festival site for details.
Healdsburg Guitar Festival August 2011. Watch here or at the festival site for details.
Premier Guitars, April 2009, Guitar of the Month!
Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine - will be featuring Wingert Guitars in the September 2006 issue's Luthiers Spotlight.
Flatpick Magazine - will feature Wingert Guitars in their September/October 2006 Women in Flatpicking Issue.
Acoustic Guitar Magazine - Sonic Sitka Project explained.
LINKS
Jimmi Wingert Inlay and Design
Visit Jimmi's site for the latest in her amazing work. My favorite inlay artist... you bet!
Stephen Bennett - National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion and Master of the Harp Guitar
is the newest member of the Wingert family of players. Stephen is busy playing the instrument and getting ready to record. Until he writes something long and pithy, I only have quotes like, "Wow!" and "It's great!"
Pete Bradshaw
Pete Bradshaw is a welcome inspiration. He plays with fluid, clean, beautiful motion not only of his fingers but in his arrangements for harp guitar.
Pat Kirtley - National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion
"Some guitars play great, some guitars look fabulous, some have a powerful, balanced sound. Some makers, like Kathy Wingert, create guitars with all those qualities at once. Her designs demonstrate the merging of music and visual art executed with flair, fine workmanship, and superb attention to detail"
Steve Kaufman - Three time national flatpicking champion
Check out Steve's CD on CD Baby. This is what he was kind enough to say about my guitars when we met at one of his flatpicking workshops: "Kathy Wingert is a luthier whose craftsmanship can only be equaled by her pride in excellence. She builds a heck of a box."
Cosy Sheridan - Singer/Songwriter
"Kathy Wingert's dreadnought guitars are terrific! I love them! They have a deep, resonant response, they can fingerppick and flatpick, and on top of that they're beautiful pieces of art."
Fran Guidry
Kaleponi is California in Hawaiian language, and the name of Fran's second CD of Slack Key instrumental tunes. Fran is a musical player with a traditional but original style of his own, giving him a devoted following among fans and Hawaiian musicians. Fran was chosen for 2007 to teach Slack Key at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival and put on a lovely Cabaret performance. He demoed for Wingert Guitars as well. Check out some of Fran's performances at You Tube and give him some LOVE!
Jody William Smith on CD Baby
Jody has recorded an amazing album, and I am bursting with pride to have my guitars show up on two-thirds of the cuts. Jody is a superb story teller and picture painter all within the confines of well-crafted songs. Seriously good guitar chops.
Doug Young Acoustic Guitar
Laurel Mill is Doug's first CD of mostly original instrumental tunes, with a few original arrangements. Laurel Mill was nominated for the 2004 Just Plain Folks Music Award in the Solo Guitar category and took 2nd Place. Doug is a great player and a frequent contributor to Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
Philippe Fouquet
Philippe is an exciting player, and I'm honored that he used a Cambodian Wingert E to compete in “Les Revelations Guitarist Acoustic 2006”. Phillipe took fingerstyle laureat. Congratulations, Philippe! See Philippe on Youtube
Lawrence Blatt on CD Baby
Check out ths multi-textured offering of original instrumentals from Lawrence. This wonderful collection features a teeny little Wingert parlor guitar on several cuts that, as usual, seems to not know it's a teeny little parlor guitar. Congratulations, Larry, on a very fine recording.
Svea Norton
MusicalWomen.com, a showcase for women and acoustic music. Come on in and see what's cooking.
Melissa Greener on CD Baby
Melissa plays guitars by my friend Michael Greenfield, but I love Melissa's music anyway! Give it a listen.
Acoustic Guitar Magazine Gearbox Profile
Kathy WingertCOMMENTS AND REVIEWS
For more comments, reveiew and stories, click here: COMMENTS AND TESTIMONIALS
Pages of beautiful comments from owners and observers of Wingert Guitars. There are some great stories in here.
Frank Doucette describes the process of the ordering and building.THE FIRST WINGERT HARP GUITAR
Jody Butler (via email): Kathy, I’ve had my custom E for about six months now, and I don’t think I’ve missed a single day playing it. The entire design process was so rewarding. From the moment you sent photos of that gorgeous cocobolo, I knew I was looking at what would eventually become my next guitar. You led me through all the steps of deciding on a top wood, the binding, bevel, tuners, and so many other things I hadn’t even thought about. You knew exactly what I needed in a great fingerstyle guitar, even when I didn’t! The end result was simply amazing - the perfect guitar for my music.
As I’ve played it over the last six months, I can honestly say I’ve become a better player. Listening - really listening - to the tones and overtones brought out by the beautiful European spruce and that stunning cocobolo has sharpened my ear when it comes to discovering the sounds I want in my music. I have other excellent instruments and each one has its own personality and tone but this guitar is truly something special. I find myself choosing songs that are right for it, arrangements highlight its lyrical voice for the best effect. It’s such a balanced guitar in that the highs, mids, and lows all come through clearly and cleanly. I love playing harp-style arrangements on it as those pieces just ring and fill the air so beautifully on this guitar. The sustain never ends!
Moondream, as I call her, has truly inspired me. I’m composing for the first time, trying to write to bring out the beauty that’s inside this special instrument. She lets me express the sounds I’m hearing better than any guitar I’ve had the privilege to bring home.
As special as her voice and woods are, it was Jimmi’s exquisite inlay made this my guitar. As we discussed, the heron and feather had personal significance to me. I knew I wanted them on the guitar, but I’m far from being an artist, so had no idea how to carry the theme out gracefully and tastefully. Jimmi has that vision, and she outdid herself on this inlay. Every time I look at the design, I see new colors and nuances, and I marvel at how she can create such beauty from so many tiny pieces of shell and wood. Everyone who has seen Moondream is completely amazed by that inlay. Talent definitely runs in your family!
I understand that there are people who don’t get attached to their guitars, who view them as a tool, frequently selling and trading. Though I’ve sold a few guitars as I’ve brought home others, I’m definitely not one of those players. I have no doubt that this guitar is a once in a lifetime instrument but more than that, Moondream is a guitar for a lifetime.
Thank you, Kathy and Jimmi, for transforming a dream into such a perfect reality.
Bill Douglas (by letter) :Kathy, I really wanted to take a few moments and let you know about the wonderful guitar you built for me. It truly is a privilege to hold such an amazing guitar in my hands. When we first talked about the tone I was looking for, warmth but not muddy, chiming trebles but not harsh or brittle, substantial mids but not overbearing, round and warm bass but not overpowering, wonderful balance across all strings, I had no idea how well you would meet my ideal. All I can say is "thank you!" Your recommendation of the swiss spruce top and the brazilian back and sides makes for a guitar that not only met my hopes, it has exceeded them.
I cannot thank you enough for building me such an exquisite guitar. I knew you were building me a very special guitar, and my confidence and trust in you was underscored and amplified when I first opened the case. The swiss spruce top is beautiful -- such a rich and clean color with wonderful silkiness. The brazilian is jaw dropping gorgeous, and I love the flamed koa binding and bevel. It is a perfect combination.
But, not only is it beautiful to behold, it is wonder-filled to play -- and that's the true measure of my Model F--its sound. I continue to be amazed each time I pick it up to play. And when others hear my Wingert, they marvel at the wonderfully rich sound. Thank you for giving my guitar so much of yourself, and selecting just the right combination of woods to create such lovely sound.
Bill Douglas
Portland, OR
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