Carsten Kobs, 2025

Every so often a guitar comes through that stops us in our tracks, and this is unquestionably one of them. This 2025 cedar Kobs has the power, the color, and the effortless response that put it in the very top tier of modern doubletops. Carsten Kobs of Hamburg is among the makers we most admire, his instruments sought out by artists such as Aniello Desiderio, Zoran Dukic, Junhong Kuang, and Emmanuel Sowicz. The origin here is simple: I fell in love with an earlier Indian rosewood Kobs, watched it go home with David Russell, and asked Carsten for one just like it. This is the result.

Specifications

Luthier: Carsten Kobs
Year: 2025
Top: Cedar doubletop with Nomex interior layer, five fan braces
Back & Sides: Indian Rosewood
Construction: Doubletop
Scale Length: 650mm
Nut Width: 52mm
Action: 3.5mm / 2.75mm at 12th fret
Main Air Resonance: Just below F
Tuners: Scheller
Case: Leona Carbon Case
Strings: D'Addario XTC45FF with normal tension nylon first string
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Condition: New

Sound & Playability

What first drew us to Kobs guitars is something uncommon: this is a very lightweight, extremely responsive doubletop that is also extremely powerful, yet it carries none of the sustain shortcomings you so often find on an equally powerful instrument. Sustain is one of the biggest highlights here. The familiar doubletop trade-off, where power comes at some cost to sustain, simply is not present. The overall voice is clear but very overtone-forward.

The main air resonance sits just below F. It is very low, though not the lowest we have heard from Kobs, and rather than announcing itself it feeds the guitar's balance and natural character. The result is a depth that recalls a great Santos Hernandez or Torres, profound without that depth being the first thing you notice.

There is remarkable clarity to every note, an emphasis on the purity of the sound, and then a chorus of overtones that trails behind in a whisper. The overtones never overwhelm; they are there to add nuance for those listening closely. Pause on a single note and you first hear its clarity, then, as you listen deeper, all of those overtones quietly blooming underneath. Anyone who still claims doubletops are not colorful should simply sit with the profound colors this guitar produces. The balance is deeply organic, even and in tune from string to string, with no need to coax one note out or hold another back. It is all simply there.

Playability is top notch. The action is set exactly to my preferred low specification, 3.5mm on the sixth string and 2.75mm on the first at the twelfth fret, over tall frets and a beautifully rounded neck. The guitar feels like it plays itself, which frees you to focus on being a musician and making music rather than wrangling the instrument. It is strung with D'Addario XTC45FF and a normal tension nylon first string, our standard setup, which suits it beautifully.

Construction & Design

This is a cedar doubletop with a Nomex interior layer and five fan braces running nearly parallel to the wood grain beneath the top. It is a strikingly light guitar. The eye is drawn first to the beautiful rosette Kobs has been refining for many years, and to a very dark bridge with a clever, stealthy tie block. The back and sides are Indian rosewood, the same pairing as the earlier guitar this one was modeled on, and the fingerboard is raised. Fine details reward a closer look: small position dots at the fifth and seventh frets, a deeply scooped heel that opens up the upper register, and Scheller tuners with an understated look, plain baseplates, white buttons and rollers, and big gears. Nothing here is for show; everything serves the instrument.

About the Luthier

Carsten Kobs builds in Hamburg, Germany, in a workshop he shares with a harp maker. He is a humble maker and remarkably generous in sharing what inspires him and how he approaches his craft. His guitars now carry a wait list of many years, which makes them some of the hardest modern instruments to find, especially the later examples like this one.

Brand new, commissioned specifically for GuitarCollection.com, in perfect concert-ready condition. Includes a Leona carbon case.