Peter Harlan 8-string master guitar built around 1950 - a fine instrument with a unique sound!
Peter Harlan (1889-1966) was an important German musician and instrument maker. He learned to make guitars in Markneukirchen and founded his own workshop where he and his employees mainly made historical musical instruments. Harlan promoted domestic and youth music throughout Germany and was a true pioneer in instrument making. After 1945, he leased Sternberg Castle and ran music training courses there, where he resumed instrument making after the Second World War.
This guitar is a wonderful instrument. It is finely built with a spruce top and maple back and sides. The scale length is 645 mm and the nut width is 70 mm.
It has a remarkably full tone. It's impressive how loud this little guitar can be. The tone has a beautiful maturity and presents the most beautiful timbres imaginable. The combination of high quality maple and spruce on this guitar is pure magic. This is the perfect guitar for someone who is looking for a beautiful yet different sound.
This guitar is in very good condition for its age. It has traces of use, but no cracks etc. The string action is perfect.
It is a real pleasure to play this guitar, which is more than 70 years old and was a real specialty in its day. This beautiful specimen should continue to make music for centuries to come!