Jens Ritters bass and guitars are pure art

To own one of these items means to transcend the sometimes deep divide between music pros and collectors and, without exaggerating, to be part of something legendary. Originally, Ritter presented his creations, which were already very advanced in terms of design and finish, as «reproducible». As Ritter tells Hub, «Today, however, the process is quite different. Clients come to me (often from his webssite jens-ritter-germany.com) asking for an object based on existing shapes, but they leave me total freedom to create something truly unique, which they will discover at the end of the process.

In the beginning I felt like a craftsman, today I consider myself more like an artist». An example? «A client with a passion for Mars asked me for something on the planet. I contacted NASA, who provided me with 3D plans of the planet’s surface. I then reproduced them on the instrument». This approach is for people who appreciate beauty: «Many are not even musicians, but collectors of art, watches, automobiles. People who collect exclusive objects and find something unexpected and attractive in my creations. Or else, they are wealthy music and instrument lovers. And they come by word of mouth». Prince, Lady Gaga, Nile Rodgers and Phil Lesh are just some of those who have ordered one of Jens’ instruments. «Lady Gaga contacted me after Nile Rodgers sent her a photo of the guitar I had made for him, while Prince was impressed by the bass guitar a session player was using in the studio with him. He fell in love with it instantly and called me right after». These are people who are looking for exclusivity, which often lies in the materials used: in some unique pieces (which as such are then considered among the «Royal family», the most particular and remarkable creations) we find gems, precious metals, Swarovski crystals, but also mammoth ivory and fossil wood. «I don’t go looking for the most unusual materials - that would be impossible. Rather, they find me. For example, the 10,000-year-old fossil oak came from the bottom of a river that an acquaintance of mine was dredging at the time». It is not surprising that Jens Ritter’s instruments are exhibited in world-class museums, given that they display a level of absolute excellence in design and finish. And yet, if excellence alone is not enough (it can happen), the customer has another option: to let Ritter create the instrument himself.

This is the «omakase» way (accent on the last vowel), a word that in Japanese cuisine suggests absolute faith in the cook, whose leaves it up to his sole creativity and skill to choose the dishes. Ritter continues, «I feel as if my clients want my own interpretation of contemporary art. And they are more than just a few: one third of the 72 instruments my team and I make each year follow this approach». It’s an act of faith, but Jens Ritter has now proven that in walking the fine line between fine craftsmanship and art, his pace is steady. «My inspiration has no limits, it can come every day from anywhere. Of course, I owe something to artists like Arp or Brancusi, or to Japanese art and their concept of Wa - the ability to recognise the beauty of nature in simplicity. But in the end my work is an expression of my uniqueness as a human being. I always try to leave room for my unconscious». And sometimes Ritter goes even further: his creations transcend into the art form and his instruments become almost metaphysical, emptied but not deprived of their original function. Take for instance the «Intune frames» series: the instrument is part of a visual work from which it is removed and to which it remains ideally united. There is somewhat of a Renaissance in what Ritter does, insofar that the not only designs, plans and chooses the materials for his instruments, but also produces strings and electronics. «I provide everything, because by doing so I know exactly what to offer my customers: often they are not even aware of what is possible, they don’t know the limits of their desires. I help them find them».