Stephen Bennett - National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion: "My Kathy Wingert harp guitar is an instrument exquisite to behold and an absolute delight to play, both in terms of how it feels to play it and the sound that flows forth. The tone is fat and rich and round and full and sweet and strong all at the same time. Those qualities are consistent from the lowest sub-bass (tuned as low as an E one octave below the standard 6th string) all the way to the highest frets of the first string (which - thanks to the elegant cutaway - I can easily reach)!"
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: "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."
___________________________ The following are long stories, pour a cup of coffee and enjoy!
Jayne S. describes the process and joy of ordering a custom guitar.
Hal Chernoff tells the moving story of digging deep to let go, and the tools he used to get there.
Aaron Colemantells his story of putting a guitar together in my shop. You will also find my story of working with an extraordinary young man.
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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
Michael Bartlett What a wonderful (Concert Muse) you have made for your 100th guitar! I am proud and
privileged to have it. The first thing I noticed was the Carpathian top.
Wow! It is the finest I have seen, too. And I like the Ryan-style bevel
very much. Jimmi's rosette is beautifully simple and very liquid. Then I
checked out the African Blackwood, which is very nice, indeed. Just as I
had hoped for. The overall look is elegant simplicity.
I tuned it up to DADGAD and could hardly stop playing it. The tone is
loud, bright, and complex. Tons of sustain. And pretty well balanced for
a brand new guitar. This one is fun to play right out of the box! The
setup is ideal and the neck feels like an old friend.
It is also surprisingly heavy, because of the AB, and feels very
substantial for a small bodied guitar. Because of its playability, feel,
and tone, I am not sure what the point is in having a larger guitar."
Philippe Fouquet (posted to the internet from France): I have a model E Cambodian rosewood/engelman spruce which is really great. It sounds different than any other guitar I ever played. There is always something special happening in the sound while playing. It is always surprising me. It is so much expressive that I find strong emotions with it and a great pleasure to play.
Michael Gleitz(emailed to me from Germany): I find it pretty hard to put in words what´s really special about your guitars. What sets them apart from other high end guitars is the playability and neck feel(I´ve never played a guitar with medium strings with such a left hand feeling) and even more important their ability to express what you feel and want to express in that moment without ever loosing their own character.
Your instruments have a female musicality that hardly(or even impossible) any man can ever reach. I always tell my wife that I can feel and hear that your guitars are build by a woman whose heart and soul is filled with life and music.
Greg Camus (posted to the internet): I have a Wingert, a Model E, German over Cocobolo, which has been teaching me a series of lessons on how to play guitar since I brought her home last summer. This guitar is both elegant and aggressive, with an entrancing, sophisticated recklessness that constantly defies me to restrict it to any single repertoire. This beauty has redefined my music.
Fran Guidry: My E has a big full bass out of proportion to its size. The trebles on my Wingert are thick and round. The other characteristic that Kathy strives for is wide dynamic range. She's a trained classical player and has a feel for building a guitar that goes from a whisper to a full throated shout.
Mike Crixell - Acoustic Players Magazine:I loved your work from the time I picked up one of your guitars for the first time. You bring integrity to your builds and signature tone. APM'ers will appreciate what you do as they learn more, and APM'ers are perpetually hungry to learn more.
Stephen Hall:I recently purchased #5 of 10 of your Dream series E from Paul at Dream Guitars. I am absolutely in love with the workmanship, the
guitar's aesthetics, its sound and its playability. All the best and many thanks for building my awesome Wingert guitar!
