About Unquendor Guitars
Unquendor
/ˈun.kwe.n.dɔr/
Noun
Quenya
- Meaning: "Hollow Land", a neo-Quenya term coined to translate the often perceived etymology of the name "Holland" (interpreted as "Hollow Land").
- Etymology: Derived from Quenya ‘unqua’ ("hollow") and ‘ndor’ ("land, country").
- Note: While the term “Unquendor” reflects a mistaken folk etymology for "Holland" as "Hollow Land", the correct etymology of "Holland" is believed to be derived from Old Dutch “holt land” meaning "wooded land."
At Unquendor Guitars, building an instrument is about more than craftsmanship alone. Each guitar begins with a player’s idea. Sometimes that idea is a clear vision, sometimes simply a feeling of what the instrument should become.
In the workshop, every guitar is built by hand, one at a time. From the first sketch to the final details, the process is a collaboration between builder and musician, shaping an instrument that reflects the player it is made for.
As a result, only a small number of instruments leave the workshop each year.
Inspired by classic designs and refined with a contemporary approach, Unquendor guitars combine tradition, careful craftsmanship and modern ideas to create instruments with their own character.
My Story
Hello, my name is Daniel, and I’ve been obsessed with guitars since I was a kid.
While other children had teddy bears, I had a toy guitar in my crib.
While visiting the local library, I once found a children’s book about making simple instruments.
The one that caught my eye was a very basic electric guitar made from a wooden slat for the neck, a cardboard body, a single string, and a self-wound pickup connected to a hi-fi stereo.
I had to build it.
But growing up in the 80s in a small village in the Netherlands, there was no easy access to parts and materials. With no internet or online stores, I simply couldn’t get what I needed to make that guitar.
That guitar never came to be, but it marked the beginning of something that would take many years to unfold.
I became serious about playing guitar, played in several bands, and spent a lot of time sketching and designing guitars, even though I never actually built one.
When it was time to choose a career, I didn’t know guitar building was even an option. As far as I knew, guitars came from factories in America and Japan.
So I did the reasonable thing and got a “real” job and became a plumber.
Years later, a guitar I was playing started to fall apart, and I decided to try repairing it myself.
A deep dive into online tutorials and YouTube videos reignited that childhood spark.
Before long, I was building my first guitar.
As soon as that first guitar was finished, I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
I’ve been building ever since, improving my craft with each new instrument.
And that’s how Unquendor Guitars came to life.
Welcome to my Workshop
My workshop is a cabin at the back of the garden, just large enough to house a small woodworking shop.
Despite its modest size, it has everything I need to build my guitars.
Over the past few years, I’ve gradually filled it with the tools and equipment needed to build my instruments, along with the machines required for general woodworking.
In this video I’ll give you a short tour of the workshop and show some of the tools I use while building my guitars.
If you’re interested in a custom guitar or have a question about one of my instruments, feel free to get in touch.