Walter Verreydt, Belgium
Walter Verreydt was born in Lier, Belgium in 1958. After his studies, he became a teacher in woodworking and technical drawing.
The love for music was born into his family: his great-grandfather Gustave was a violinist and music teacher, his grandfather Arthur played the cello and the organ and his great-uncle, Edward Verreydt, was a pianist/organist well-known throughout the Interbellum as a composer of songs, choir music and piano music.
In 1985, Walter Verreydt made his first classical guitar: as a music lover and woodworking teacher, it was a logical consequence that he found his passion in the construction of musical instruments. His love for the sound of the classical guitar drove him towards guitar making. From the very beginning, he has had the chance to study some beautiful guitars by renowned guitar makers like Bouchet, Fleta, Hernandez-Aguado and others. He also has had good contacts with eminent guitar makers like José Romanillos and Daniel Friederich. This formed a rich source of information for him. In Mittenwald, in the beginning of the nineties, selecting spruce, Walter Verreydt met the German guitar maker Rolf Eichinger, which was the beginning of a long friendship. Rolf Eichinger made Walter Verreydt more familiar with the Spanish guitar making traditions and techniques during his many visits to Eichinger's Granada workshop. These numerous influences have resulted in Walter Verreydt's very personal style.
In 1999, Walter Verreydt became 1st laureate at the ‘4th Mostra Concorso Internazionale di Chitarra Classica’ in Baveno (It).
Since 1988, Walter Verreydt has taught at the ‘Centrum voor Muziekinstrumentenbouw’ in Puurs (Belgium) www.cmbpuurs.be. Besides the necessary basic techniques, he tries to teach his students an appreciation for the guitar and for the craft of guitar making. He focuses special attention on the development of efficient techniques: the manual processing of the wood, bending techniques, the design and the composition of marquetry and the rosette, the correct use of traditional glues and gluing techniques… and of course the precise assembly of the different parts with attention to detail, for the correct inclination of the guitar’s neck and everything that is necessary for a well-functioning instrument. Apart from his own workshop, these courses are an equally important professional activity for Walter Verreydt, because he sees the education of young guitar makers and the sharing and improving of knowledge as an important mission. With his students he is an active member of the Leonardo Guitar Research (LGR) Project www.leonardo-guitar-research.com, a project which focuses on the use of sustainable, non-tropical woods in acoustic guitar making.
Walter Verreydt is one of the founders of the Cordefactum festival ( www.cordefactum.be ). To this biennal festival (since 2004), luthiers from different countries are invited and reunited around musical instruments and their construction. Within the context of the festival, different lectures, workshops, expositions and concerts are organized.
Walter Verreydt crafts his guitars meticulously by hand in the Spanish tradition. Each lovely instrument reflects his artistic refinement, curiosity, and research. He constructs all his instruments of carefully selected premium quality woods which he has aged for over ten years under strictly controlled conditions. He makes his rosettes in small quantities to personal designs using boxwood, ebony, maple, mahogany, and fruit wood.
Walter Verreydt’s guitars are played by among others:
Fernando Espi www.fernandoespi.com, Johan Fostier www.johanfostier.com, Karim Baggili www.karimbaggili.be, Jan Depreter www.jandepreter.be, Piera Dadomo www.pieradadomo.it.