My name is Leo Eimers. I live in Almere, a town near Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where also my guitar workshop is located. Besides a guitar builder (luthier) I am also a guitar player. I played the guitar in a Big Band for over 10 years, and played rhythm guitar in a gypsy jazz band named ‘Mojo Swing’ for many years. Above all, I’m a true fan of gypsy music and Django Reinhardt in particular.

The start of my career as a luthier, about 25 years ago, was triggered by the beautiful music of Django Reinhardt. Last year I celebrated my 20th anniversary as professional luthier. As I never succeeded in finding a good (and affordable) gypsy guitar in the style of Selmer/Maccaferri, I decided to build my own. I am a self-taught luthier and fascinated by this specific type of acoustic jazz guitar. The best learning moments for the craftsmanship of guitar construction, I experienced from adjusting and restoring guitars like Selmer, Favino, Busato,Castelluccia, Di Mauro and many others. The choices of wood, construction techniques and finish of these guitars have given me more insight in tone (voicing) and playability.

In the past years I have tried to embed these features in my own models, giving my guitars as much acoustic potential as possible. I construct guitars for players, with tone and playability as first priority. I value the feedback of players. A guitar is a very personal instrument therefore it is important to understand the ‘needs’ and the ‘feel’ players are looking for in a guitar.

Who will build your guitar?

Over the years many customers and visitors of my web site asked me how I work, and how many people are working at Eimers Guitars. The answer is that I started off alone and I am still doing all the work by myself. I consider myself a traditional luthier. I make all individual parts myself and build the guitars from start to finish. I feel that is my personal signature for a high quality guitar. So if you approach Eimers Guitars by e-mail or by phone you will always talk with the person who will build your guitar, and that’s me: Leo Eimers.