Sonntag / J17 D'Angelo / Guitar
An exact copy of a 1948 D‘Angelico Excel, which is possessed by Helmut Kagerer.
Sonntag Guitars, Germany 
Stefan Sonntag, Luthier
Formal education
I was born in Augsburg, Germany on October 17, 1964. I began my training as guitar-maker in 1986 at the Violin-making school in Mittenwald, Germany. There I studied the skills and principles of handmade guitar construction.
In 1989 I ended my course of studies having passed my final examinations and went on to work for the Höfner stringed-instrument manufacturing company in Bubenreuth/Germany. There I was able to obtain an insider's view of the guitar making industry.
In 1990 I went to the Strohmer Workshop in Nuremberg/Germany where special-order guitars were made, as well as repairwork and restorations, along with Limited-Edition series.
In 1993 I received my Master's Degree as best in my class and began to set up my own workshop in Augsburg. Since then I not only serve guitarists in Germany but am increasingly becoming well-known in Europe and world-wide.
Self-employed guitar manufacturer
I build archtop Jazz guitars exclusively. Each instrument is hand-crafted here in my workshop. I use no prefabricated wooden parts, all parts are being made personally by me. I use only select woods that I choose myself from special suppliers. These woods are air-dried and stored for no less than five years. Only then do they posses the necessary quality that I demand in order to build my guitars.
