About

I'm Anthony Kreher, an American luthier living and working in Bremen, Germany.
My journey began after highschool when I was going to trade school to be an electrician.
I was also taking music lessons at this time and one day my teacher asked if i enjoyed learning to be an electrician. That was not really the case.  With a smirk he told me I was not quiet talented enough to become a professional guitar player but if I had thought about working with guitars in a different way like guitar repair. He gave me a book on the topic and after reading it the idea stuck with me.

 This rabbit hole eventually led me to the Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair in Big Rapids, Michigan where I not only learned a lot through the endless knowledge from their staff of master luthiers, but also became very passionate about the art and science behind a handcrafted guitar. With this foundation I was prepared to begin the next chapter of my life as a luthier.

I spent the following years studying and experimenting with different materials, techniques and styles to improve my skills and expand my knowledge but also to find a personal design and sound I could identify with.

I approach building from a scientific mindset, while maintaining a clean and modern aesthetic to pronounce the beauty of the woods.  

I am very inspired by the Gore and Gilet books (Contemporary Acoustic Guitar Design and Build) from which I implement many concepts such as for example the Thicknessing plates based on material properties. I do this by calculating the Young's modulas of elasticity of each individual piece of wood. I am then able to derive my optimal thickness based on my target stiffness and body size. This leaves me with a soundboard or back that is acousically optimal. A perfect balance of stiffness and mass maintaintaing stability for the instrument. Once a top is thicknessed, braced and fit to my structured sides, I can continue to add and subtract material as I see fit. 

The structured sides are incredibly ridgid and a bit heavier than your average guitar sides. I try to keep them as light as possible by using core made from pawlonia wood. These sides make sure that the string energy is efficiently used in the complex resonator that consists of the top back and air cavity. 

From the moment that the top is glued to the sides i am monitoring the modes of vibration that occur. I am documenting the frequencies they occur at and planning on how I can make them preform best by the time I glue the bridge on and string it up. It is very important to tend to these modes and resonances to provide clarity, evenness, volume, sustain, and projection. But also to make sure no wolf notes occur in the instrument. 

I am motivated to improve and develop. I document as much data on each instrument as i can so that in the future i can compare and improve on design and quality. My hope is that my instruments become an extension of the musician who's hands they are in, and inspire them to create and explore new realms of music. 

Notable  Features:

Structured sides

Bolt on neck

Live back (if intended)

Plate thicknessing according to material properties

Modal tuning

Bracing pattern chosen for customer's needs

Composite bracing and bridge plate (falcate bracing)

Pinless bridge