Georg Bolin　［ゲオルグ・ボーリン］ 11strings Alto Guitar ‘Visan’

Product Description

Neck:Mahogany
Fingerboard:Ebony
Finish(Top):Shellac
Finish(Back & Sides):Shellac
Tuning Machines:RODGERS（Wood Buttons)
String Height(1st):3.8mm
String Height(6th):4.2mm

[Luthier]

Georg Bolin (1912–1993) was one of Sweden’s leading guitar and piano makers. Born on the island of Gotland, he later established his workshop there.

Although born into a farming family, Bolin was drawn to music from an early age, playing the banjo in an ensemble with his brothers. He also showed exceptional talent in woodworking, studying cabinetmaking in Stockholm before becoming a teacher and eventually headmaster at the same school.

Bolin began making guitars after a student asked him for advice on building one. Teaching himself the craft, he faced considerable challenges due to the lack of reliable information on guitar making in Sweden at the time. A turning point came when he met Andrés Segovia during the legendary guitarist’s visit to Stockholm. Impressed by Bolin’s enthusiasm, Segovia reportedly lent him his own guitar for a day so that he could study its construction. Whether Segovia ever played a guitar made by Bolin remains unknown.

Bolin eventually left teaching to devote himself to instrument making, producing not only guitars but also other string instruments and pianos. His pianos were reportedly played by distinguished pianists including Alexis Weissenberg and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

In the 1960s, at the suggestion of Swedish guitarist Per-Olof Johnson, Bolin began developing his now-famous eleven-string guitar. Conceived to allow Renaissance lute music to be performed naturally on the classical guitar, it evolved into a unique instrument that went far beyond a simple adaptation of the lute. Its innovative design and distinctive sound initially met with skepticism, but performances by Johnson gradually established its reputation, which was further cemented by the renowned guitarist Göran Söllscher.

Bolin also made eight-string and conventional six-string guitars, adapting his designs to a wide range of specifications. His instruments are distinguished by an approach in which the sound seems to follow the natural character of the wood, rather than forcing the wood to conform to a predetermined ideal. This organic quality, including a certain degree of imperfection, gives his instruments their singular musical character.

[Instrument]

This is a used 1992 Georg Bolin eleven-string guitar, model Visan, one of his most celebrated designs and an influential reference for subsequent eleven-string guitars. Made just one year before Bolin’s death, it is among his final works. The label reads “Visan” (meaning “the song”) and “for Ichiro Suzuki,” indicating that it was made for the guitarist Ichiro Suzuki.

The instrument brings together Bolin’s distinctive sensibility and the world of Renaissance and Baroque music in a remarkably natural way. Its clear, poised sound combines the focused core of a classical guitar with the refined, delicate resonance associated with early music. The additional strings create a rich, three-dimensional soundstage, allowing individual voices in polyphonic music to emerge with exceptional depth and clarity. For Bach and other Baroque repertoire, it offers a compelling alternative to the conventional six-string guitar.

While certain aspects of its construction may not meet the highest standards of precision expected of modern classical guitars, its understated design and vivid expression of the wood’s natural character possess an unmistakable beauty.

The soundboard features an unusual bracing system, with two harmonic bars above the soundhole and one below, a diagonal treble bar extending toward the lower treble side, and an additional bar near the bottom. Eight fan braces occupy the area between these bars. Unlike conventional designs, in which the braces radiate from a point near the neck joint, they spread from a center near the treble-side waist toward the lower bass bout. The lowest bass-side brace is shorter and set at a different angle from the other seven.

A substantial reinforcement plate, approximately 4 mm thick, lies beneath the bridge to withstand the tension of the eleven strings. Additional reinforcement plates are fitted on either side of the soundhole. The rosette itself forms the edge of the soundhole, rather than being inlaid into the soundboard, and is therefore also visible from inside the body. The cutaway design, inherited from the alto guitar, facilitates access to the upper frets, while the body joint is positioned at the 10th fret. Resonance is tuned between A-sharp and B.

Interestingly, the fan bracing of the 1974 Bolin eleven-string guitar played by Göran Söllscher is arranged almost as a mirror image of the layout found here. This offers a fascinating glimpse into Bolin’s exploration of asymmetrical construction. It is tempting to speculate that his study of Segovia’s guitar influenced this approach, although this cannot be confirmed.

For an instrument over 30 years old, it remains in relatively good cosmetic condition, with few scratches. Soundboard distortion is within the range generally encountered in conventional guitars, although some unevenness is visible around the soundhole, possibly related to its unusual construction. One crack along the grain at the lower bout of the back has been properly repaired and poses no issue for continued use. The neck has a very slight forward bow within a normal range, and the frets remain in good condition.

The guitar retains its original shellac finish, whose dry tactile quality is characteristic of Bolin’s work. It is fitted with custom Rogers tuners made in Canada specifically for Bolin, featuring buttons crafted from Central American rosewood.

Specifications

Tuning (11th to 1st string): Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, C, F, Bb, D, G

Strings: Standard six-string guitar strings; sixth strings are used for strings 7–11

Scale length: 545 mm for strings 1–7; 730 mm for the 11th string

String height at the 12th fret: 3.8 mm (1st), 4.2 mm (6th), 6.0 mm (11th)

Remaining saddle height: 3.0 mm