A further field of labour is the repair and restoration of almost every kind of stringed instrument. In addition, I offer a wide variety of student instruments and accessories. For me, a point of major importance is the high amount of manual labour invested in my instruments. A genuine handmade instrument usually has a completely different appearance than one tooled by a machine. I m sure that this explains much of the fascination of old instruments.
Handmade instruments age in a beautiful way and won t ever appear shabby.
Maybe even more important is the fact, that handcraft can t be replaced even by the most perfect machine, especially regarding tonal balance and good playability. Another point of big importance is the choice of tonewoods. Great care is taken in the selection and ageing of the woods. Furthermore, I always try to obtain the wood as raw as possible, sometimes even as whole trunks, in order to get the most control over the process of cutting. Achim-Peter Gropius was born on February 25th 1967 in Berlin.