Nils Schebesta

Leipzig, Germany

Nils Schebesta builds classical guitars in Leipzig, Germany, drawing his inspiration from the great Spanish masters Enrique Garcia, Manuel Ramirez, and Santos Hernandez. Their dark, warm timbre, complex tone, and soft, singing trebles have always fascinated him, and he works to capture that same richness while pursuing greater clarity, projection, and responsiveness. Since 2023 he has built almost exclusively double top guitars, a construction he feels expands the tonal possibilities without losing the essence of the traditional sound. His output is intentionally limited, allowing each instrument careful development and consistency.

Schebesta's double tops are executed in a distinctly individual way. Rather than following familiar recipes, he pairs the outer skin with a spruce inner layer and balsa core, controlling mass carefully and tuning the bracing and back system as a whole. The results are astonishingly light: a recent concert guitar weighed just 1,355 grams, and that low mass translates directly into immediacy and sensitivity. His work sits naturally in the modern German school lineage of makers such as Matthias Dammann, Michel Bruck, and Carsten Kobs, with fast response, deep controlled bass, and clear, silky, refined trebles.

Schebesta's first guitar for our shop, a 2025 cedar double top, marked the start of his exclusive North American collaboration with us, and it announced a striking new voice. The guitar felt almost weightless out of the case, responded to the smallest changes in the right hand, and offered exceptional control over articulation and color. The basses were open and deep without ever becoming loose, and the trebles stayed clear and silky, never brittle. His guitars have become a topic of conversation at festivals and player gatherings, and we expect demand to grow. Our expert team can discuss upcoming instruments.