Ulrich Teuffel
Mechanical Art
His great-grandfather was engineer, his grandfather was an engineer, his father is an engineer, his second grandfather was a cabinetmaker, his uncle is a cabinetmaker, his granduncle was a painter, so what was Ulrich Teuffel to do? Becoming an accountant has never been his ambition. An inventor was a bit more his style!
Creative Bug
Ulrich Teuffel was born in Kitzingen, Germany in 1965. As a child he was bitten early on by the inventive and creative bug; and started to build guitars at the age of 14.
After high school he did a metalwork apprenticeship in German carmakers including Mercedes-Benz. He studied industrial design and art history, although he didn’t actually end up with a degree!
No wonder… instead of studying, he spent his time building acoustic and electric guitars, inspired by his self-education. For example, while reading a guitar design book by Donald Brosnac, Ulrich was mesmerised by the stunning creations of guitar designer-builder Steve Klein which inspired him to build his own Steve Klein-style acoustic guitar.
Challenge
But Ulrich grew dissatisfied with traditional guitar making and began looking for a bigger challenge. At the age of 30, he enrolled on a four-year industrial design course at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design where he developed an entirely new approach to his work as a guitar maker. Ulrich was uncertain if the German instrument market would be ready to embrace his radical concept of guitar making, but he had faith that his designs would be accepted internationally.
Soon, Ulrich came up with the birdfish ‘modular’ guitar which he presented for the first time at the Frankfurt music fair in 1995. Other pieces in the Teuffel collection include the Coco series, the Niwa and the Tesla – which has become a standard instrument for experimental Jazz music.
Ulrich Teuffel works like an artist therefore considers his work as art work. “Teuffel Guitars will end with my end. I don’t see a legacy or a need for my work to be carried on when I will be dead. Everything has its end!”
Gallery
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