Jens Ritter on guitar making, art, collectors, Prince, AI and a life between craftsmanship and self-fulfilment.
The original recording is in German. The text below is an English translation.
Jens Ritter: guitar making between craftsmanship and art
Jens Ritter has been building extraordinary guitars since 1996, developing from a guitar maker into an internationally sought-after artist and entrepreneur. In conversation with Reza Mehman, he gives a tour of his workshop and talks about unusual woods, handmade instruments, collectors and guitars for musicians such as Prince and Lady Gaga. They also discuss when craftsmanship becomes art and why Jens Ritter tries to separate his own creativity from immediate market feedback. An important part of the conversation explores artificial intelligence, music and what defines human art. With his “Sleeping Beauties”, Ritter brings together art, technology and the idea of preserving works beyond his own lifetime. He also speaks very personally about self-fulfilment, his professional development and why he now feels as though he is already retired.
Jens Ritter on the podcast: episode summary
One-sentence version: Jens Ritter talks to Reza Mehman about handmade luxury guitars, international collectors, Prince, artificial intelligence, art and the freedom to realise his own ideas.
Three-sentence version: First, Jens Ritter takes Reza Mehman through his workshop in Deidesheim and shows how his extraordinary guitars are made. He also discusses customers such as Prince and Lady Gaga, the shift towards the collectors’ market and his own development from guitar maker to artist. A central part of the conversation also explores artificial intelligence, human creativity and what art can mean beyond an individual’s lifetime.
Five-sentence version: Jens Ritter founded his company in 1996 and has been building extraordinary electric guitars and basses ever since. In the conversation, he shows his workshop, unusual woods, materials and instruments, explaining why collectors and investors increasingly buy his work. He also describes encounters with musicians such as Prince and how these conversations influenced his own understanding of art. His “Sleeping Beauties”, sealed for 100 years, explore artificial intelligence, music, time and cultural heritage. It also becomes clear that he sees his work today as a form of paid self-fulfilment.
The conversation with Jens Ritter at a glance
Who is speaking: Reza Mehman leads the conversation. His guest is Jens Ritter, founder of Ritter Instruments, a guitar maker, entrepreneur and artist from Deidesheim.
What it covers: The conversation begins with a tour of the workshop, wood store and exhibition rooms. It then develops into a discussion of guitar making, luxury, collectors, famous musicians, artistic identity, entrepreneurship, AI and what remains of a person and their ideas beyond their lifetime.
Why it matters: Drawing on his own work, Jens Ritter describes how craftsmanship, branding, art and technology overlap. The growing role of artificial intelligence in music, in particular, leads to the fundamental question of what defines human creativity.
Three key questions:
- How did a guitar maker become an internationally sought-after brand for collectors, musicians and museums?
- What did Jens Ritter learn about creativity and responding to the market through encounters with artists such as Prince?
- In Ritter’s view, can artificial intelligence create real art?
Contents
- Introduction: Jens Ritter, his work and the central themes of the conversation
- Summary: the podcast episode in one, three and five sentences
- Context: who, what and why: the speakers, relevance and key questions
- Contents: an overview of every section
- Topics and context: guitar making, art, entrepreneurship, AI and legacy
- Key points: the main statements in concise form
- Frequently asked questions: direct answers about Jens Ritter and the episode’s topics
- Selected quotes: memorable statements from the conversation, translated into English
- The complete conversation: an English translation of the edited podcast transcript
Topics in the conversation with Jens Ritter
Guitar making and craftsmanship at Jens Ritter’s workshop
First, Jens Ritter shows how his instruments are made by hand, the role of unusual woods and why material properties influence an instrument’s construction and sound.
Jens Ritter on art, collectors and luxury
His instruments are now bought not only as tools for musicians, but increasingly as collectors’ items, works of art and high-quality unique pieces.
Prince and Jens Ritter’s artistic identity
A conversation with Prince helped Jens Ritter let go of the question of whether he had to define himself as a guitar maker, artisan or artist.
Artificial intelligence and art
Ritter also describes his view of AI. He argues that human art emerges from cultural development and cannot simply be planned as a product.
Jens Ritter on his life’s work and self-fulfilment
Finally, the “Sleeping Beauties” and the idea of preserving works for 100 years lead to a personal discussion about what remains of a person beyond their lifetime.
Jens Ritter’s key points
- Jens Ritter founded his company in 1996 and describes his work today as “paid self-fulfilment”.
- The traditional instrument market has changed for Ritter: fewer professional musicians buy his instruments, while collectors, amateur musicians and investors have become more important.
- Some buyers see particularly high-quality instruments as collectors’ items or investments as well as musical instruments.
- Ritter has built instruments for Prince and Lady Gaga, among others.
- A personal conversation with Prince changed Ritter’s perspective on whether he is a guitar maker, artisan or artist.
- Today, Ritter therefore tries to distinguish more clearly between his own artistic work and the market’s response.
- With the “Sleeping Beauties”, Ritter seals fully functioning guitars for 100 years.
- Ritter is generally positive about artificial intelligence, but sees a fundamental difference between AI-generated results and human art.
- In his view, art emerges in the context of human and cultural development, rather than simply through a business plan.
- His personal goal is to keep working freely and materialising his ideas for as long as possible.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Jens Ritter?
Jens Ritter is the founder of Ritter Instruments and has been building extraordinary electric guitars and basses since 1996. In the conversation, he describes himself as both a guitar maker and an artist, although the precise label matters less to him now.
Which famous musicians have guitars by Jens Ritter?
In the conversation, Jens Ritter names Prince and Lady Gaga, among others. He also talks about Nile Rodgers and other well-known musicians he has met through his instruments.
How long has Jens Ritter been making guitars?
Jens Ritter says he founded his company in 1996 and, at the time of recording, had been working professionally on his instruments for around 30 years.
Why do collectors buy guitars by Jens Ritter?
Ritter explains that his instruments are increasingly bought by collectors, amateur musicians and investors, as well as musicians. Unusual materials, individual stories and artistic design play an important role.
What did Prince tell Jens Ritter about art?
Ritter recalls Prince making the point that the precise label of guitar maker or artist did not matter. What mattered was that he materialised his ideas and inspiration, rather than being guided solely by which market bought the work.
What are Jens Ritter’s “Sleeping Beauties”?
The “Sleeping Beauties” are fully functioning guitars that are sealed after completion and preserved as art objects for 100 years. After that, they are intended to be opened and played again.
What does Jens Ritter think about artificial intelligence?
Ritter describes himself as a big AI fan and associates it with hopes for fields such as medicine and environmental protection. At the same time, he argues in the conversation that real art emerges from human cultural development.
According to Jens Ritter, can AI create art?
Ritter says AI can produce highly emotional music. However, he distinguishes that from the emergence of new cultural forms of expression such as blues, hip-hop or punk rock, which he sees as products of human development.
What does self-fulfilment mean to Jens Ritter?
Ritter describes his current work as “paid self-fulfilment”. At the end of the conversation, he says he is already doing what he would do in retirement.
Jens Ritter: quotes from the conversation
Translated from the German conversation.
“And when I compare that with what I do today, this is paid self-fulfilment.” — Jens Ritter
“You’re thinking far too small; you’re only thinking within your own lifetime.” — Jens Ritter, recalling a museum director’s remark
“You’re an artist. Your ideas and inspiration take material form; you make something. You’re an artist.” — Jens Ritter, recalling his conversation with Prince
“If you adapt — if you feel like building a red guitar, but the market wants a green one and you build a green guitar — it won’t work.” — Jens Ritter
“Art is a catalyst for our human cultural development.” — Jens Ritter
“Art happens. Art isn’t planned and produced in a business plan.” — Jens Ritter
“I’ve been retired for a long time already.” — Jens Ritter
Jens Ritter interviewed: the complete conversation
The transcript has been lightly edited for readability and organised with subheadings. The meaning of the statements has been preserved. This is an English translation; the video contains the original German wording.
An old winery becomes a guitar workshop
Reza Mehman:
First, you have to explain how you end up buying a house from the 17th century.
Jens Ritter:
I had lived here for about 23 months, I think. Then the owner at the time came and said she had to sell the house immediately. Thank goodness I got a loan and could arrange the financing at short notice, within 14 days. Otherwise, it would have gone for twice or three times as much.
Reza Mehman:
It’s huge, isn’t it?
Jens Ritter:
Yes, a few hundred square metres. It was a very old winery belonging to the **** family. The wine was made at the back, where our workshop is now. There was a large wine store in the cellar. Here we have a small wine store, and here a medium-sized one. At the front, the wine office — where the wines were sold — is our office. We also have an assembly room, a small wood store, a shipping room and a showroom.
Reza Mehman:
You do everything yourselves, right? Shipping, assembly, repairs, whatever it is?
Jens Ritter:
My team — we do it together.
Reza Mehman:
Where’s your treasure chamber?
Jens Ritter:
Which treasures?
Reza Mehman:
Wine, wood.
Jens Ritter:
Unfortunately, I have to keep the gemstones at the bank here for insurance reasons.
Reza Mehman:
Okay, I mean the guitars.
Jens Ritter:
Shall we go over there?
Reza Mehman:
Yes, let’s go.
Jens Ritter:
Let’s go. It’s always funny when people call and want a factory tour. I have to explain: hey, it’s just a small place. We make everything by hand in here.
A charity guitar made from plastic waste
Reza Mehman:
Can I touch this?
Jens Ritter:
Not the unfinished ones. You can touch this, because I don’t know how far along the sanding is on the others.
Incidentally, this is a very special piece. It’s a charity guitar I’m making with eBay Impact from Singapore. A customer of mine owns a company that is very committed to sustainability, environmental protection and so on.
She collected plastic waste from the water near Singapore. It was sorted, melted down and pressed into this shape, or into sheets. Plastic waste — yes, this is plastic waste.
We glued it onto a piece of alder. The guitar has a flamed maple neck, and here the plastic waste forms the top. My partner designed the inlay. That’s also made from this plastic waste. We’re presenting it in September at the sustainability week in Singapore. Then it will travel around the country a little, and in November we want to auction it for a good cause, also in Singapore, together with the company.
Reza Mehman:
Very cool. Trash to Treasures. Was it your idea?
Jens Ritter:
We were having a meal by the water in Singapore. The water was dirty, and that got us talking. I make a charity guitar every year. Exceptionally, I have two charity projects this year. I’ll show you the other one later in the small gallery.
Of course, you can’t force ideas like that. They usually just happen.
How many guitars are made at once?
Reza Mehman:
How many guitars do you work on at the same time?
Jens Ritter:
Per month, roughly eight or nine guitars, depending on the work. If they’re relatively simple instruments, we might make ten or eleven. If they’re more complicated, only five or six.
Reza Mehman:
How many hours does one take?
Jens Ritter:
I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. Otherwise I’d have to increase the prices drastically. It’s quite a lot.
It always varies, and you can’t really calculate it precisely. Sometimes a piece of wood resists. It wants more attention; it wants to spend more time with you.
Jens Ritter on his special connection with wood
Reza Mehman:
And sometimes you have a very special connection with the wood, don’t you?
Jens Ritter:
Of course. Sanding the wood here is really one of the nicest parts. You can touch this now; it’s still unfinished. Wait, let me see if we have some water.
This is flamed maple from Canada. It has this beautiful flame figuring.
Reza Mehman:
It looks really beautiful. Now its splendour is coming out.
Jens Ritter:
I’m a huge wood enthusiast. It’s a bit like hunting for gemstones.
Reza Mehman:
Beautiful. Next-level beautiful, I’d say.
Jens Ritter:
Wow, wonderful, yes.
Reza Mehman:
What does this wood cost to buy?
Jens Ritter:
I’ll show you over in the wood store. I have blocks for a single instrument that cost between €1,000 and €4,000 each.
Reza Mehman:
Wow.
Jens Ritter:
Yes, it’s incredible. Fine, single-piece sections like that are very, very expensive.
Reza Mehman:
I had no sense of that at all. For wood, I only know DIY-store prices.
Jens Ritter:
I had a group of technicians visiting yesterday. They were all coating and wood technicians, and they were a little shocked when they saw the wood prices too. Poplar burl — another very beautiful piece.
Reza Mehman:
It looks really good. Really nice.
Handwork in the workshop
Jens Ritter:
This is where we build everything. Here’s our staining corner, where the instrument gets its colour. We have all the different colours here, as you can tell from the beautifully clean floor.
Reza Mehman:
It’s pleasantly cool in here, considering how hot it is today.
Jens Ritter:
Yes, it’s a very old sandstone building. Here you can see how thick the walls are.
Reza Mehman:
Cool. A good place to work. Very nice. Of course, nobody’s here on a Friday afternoon.
Jens Ritter:
Well, normally they’d still be working for another half-hour. Here’s our sanding booth. Don’t film it too closely; it hasn’t been tidied yet. We still need to clean it. It actually gets cleaned once a week, every Friday.
Otherwise, we have very simple standard machines: a bandsaw, a belt sander. Most of it is simply done by hand.
Reza Mehman:
Do you still do the hands-on work yourself?
Jens Ritter:
I still do it regularly. I’m spending a little too much time at the computer at the moment because we’re making a bit of a market shift.
From the musicians’ market to the collectors’ market
Reza Mehman:
What does that mean?
Jens Ritter:
This is an issue for me. The instrument world, or the instrument market, is shrinking quite drastically at the moment. Ordinary working musicians are buying less and less from us because they no longer have the financial means.
Instead, I sell more and more to collectors, amateur musicians and investors. Investors is exactly the right word. We have an expensive range, the Palatia Series, starting at €100,000 per instrument. For many people, that is simply an asset class.
It’s really crazy at the moment, and we’re increasingly focusing on that market.
Reza Mehman:
Show us now.
Jens Ritter:
Right then. Let’s go, let’s go.
The instruments always hang here for three or four weeks after being put under tension for the first time — after we first fit the strings.
Reza Mehman:
Are these all instruments you’ve just made, or are there older ones too?
Jens Ritter:
Most of them are new. This is an older one we’ve just repaired. Here we’re doing a service. These are instruments I no longer sell; I bought them back.
Why Jens Ritter buys back his early instruments
They’re simply special ones. I’ve never sold those two; they’re my very first instruments. There are three more guitars I really want back. Two are in the USA, and their owners already know to call me first if they ever sell them. One is probably in South America, but I’m not sure.
Reza Mehman:
How do the new owners react when the maker, the creator of the whole thing, says he wants it back?
Jens Ritter:
You have to communicate it very carefully, of course. If you’re too enthusiastic, it drives the price up. But many people are pleased.
They aren’t spectacular instruments either, just older prototypes or instruments I once played live.
“Paid self-fulfilment”
Reza Mehman:
You can tell you do this with passion.
Jens Ritter:
Absolutely. This isn’t work, really. I trained at BASF in mechanical engineering and then worked there. For three months, I changed filters at the sewage treatment plant.
I worked at the central power station in winter, and while I was cleaning, my cloth froze onto the machine.
When I compare that with what I do today, this is paid self-fulfilment.
Reza Mehman:
That’s incredible. How many years ago did you start making guitars?
Jens Ritter:
I founded the company 30 years ago now, in 1996.
Reza Mehman:
When you have a bad day now, do you think of the sewage treatment plant?
Jens Ritter:
A quick thought of the sewage treatment plant, and then: oh God, I have the best job in the world.
Guitars with Swarovski crystals for Lady Gaga
Reza Mehman:
Brilliant. I’ll come back to your history in a moment. But what’s the story behind this glittering guitar?
Jens Ritter:
It’s simply a finish we offer. Those are Swarovski crystals, around 11,000 of them, covering the guitar.
Reza Mehman:
Are they glued on individually?
Jens Ritter:
They’re placed individually. Eleven thousand, probably more. We built one for Lady Gaga with gold-coloured crystals.
Reza Mehman:
What? Okay. Does Lady Gaga contact you, or her team? How does that happen?
Jens Ritter:
Do you know Nile Rodgers, Daft Punk, “Get Lucky”, Chic, “We Are Family”? He’s essentially the inventor of disco music. That all began with him back then, and he is one of the most successful producers of all time.
He invited me to Bonn just the day before yesterday. They were playing there; it was lovely. I delivered a Swarovski guitar to him.
Reza Mehman:
Sorry to interrupt, but just so I’m clear: everyone in these photos has bought a guitar from you — almost everyone?
Jens Ritter:
Yes. Prince too. I built two for him.
Reza Mehman:
Prince?
Jens Ritter:
Yes. Very crazy.
Reza Mehman:
Okay.
Jens Ritter:
There are a few well-known people.
Reza Mehman:
I have to say: Lady Gaga, Prince, Kiss.
Jens Ritter:
I’ll show you something else later. Lenny, Mary J. Blige.
Reza Mehman:
Mary J. Blige. Nice.
Jens Ritter:
Yes, of course. Amusing for the Germans.
How Lady Gaga ordered her guitar from Jens Ritter
Reza Mehman:
Sorry, I interrupted you when you were talking about Nile.
Jens Ritter:
I delivered a guitar to his studio in New York, and we took a selfie. He was producing Lady Gaga at the time and sent her a WhatsApp message. A reply came back: “I want one too.” Then we handled the order over WhatsApp.
That’s Manuel Mijares. Hardly anyone here knows him. He’s a Mexican superstar. For Disney, he wrote “Beauty and the Beast” and things like that. He’s also a big fan of the Swarovski guitars.
Reza Mehman:
Which buyer are you most proud of?
Jens Ritter:
Oh, I don’t know. It’s impossible. I really couldn’t say.
Jens Ritter meets his musical heroes
There are lots of people whose music you listened to as a teenager. I first heard Kiss at the Wurstmarkt in Dürkheim when I was 14. Falling in love for the first time — it was all very emotional, of course. Then a few years later, you’re sitting on his sofa, and he’s holding your guitar and playing that first chord. It’s completely bizarre, crazy.
Reza Mehman:
Yes. I can see Udo Lindenberg there.
Jens Ritter:
And Otto. Even Otto was fantastic. As a child, I put a cassette recorder in front of the television and recorded those shows. Really crazy. And then Jamiroquai.
Reza Mehman:
Nice.
Jens Ritter:
It’s simply an option we offer as a finish.
Death Valley, New York and stories that live on in instruments
Reza Mehman:
This looks like a sandy beach to me. What exactly is it?
Jens Ritter:
Well, yes, you’re on the right track. I’ve been to Las Vegas 30 times in my life, but I’d never been to Death Valley. Two years ago, I thought: take a day off. I rented a nice convertible and drove to Death Valley.
I was so impressed that I filled my empty water bottles with sand. Then I took a branch with me illegally. It was already dried out, of course — waste material. I didn’t damage any plants.
I brought it back to Europe, and we inlaid the branch here. Simone, my partner, is a thousand times more talented artistically than I am. She arranged it like this.
So this is genuine Death Valley sand.
Reza Mehman:
Incredible. You come up with crazy ideas.
Jens Ritter:
Yes, because standing there in the desert is extraordinary. You must go if you’re over there. It’s completely extraordinary. It’s about 50 degrees, and I always try to capture moments like that.
New York as an inspiration for Jens Ritter
I was walking through New York once too. It’s one of my absolute favourite cities, and I’ve been there exactly 37 times.
In our final school year, there was an exchange programme with New York, and I was really excited. Wow, flying for the first time in my life. In the end, I was the only pupil who wasn’t allowed to go.
Reza Mehman:
Why was that?
Jens Ritter:
Probably because of my behaviour. I later found out that a teacher’s son had gone along. That wasn’t very nice.
Anyway, I thought: one day in my life, I will fly to New York.
I first went to a school there, and since then I’ve had many friends and acquaintances there. My most important dealer was there too.
I used to fly over for a weekend. Once I flew to New York for lunch. A customer invited me because he couldn’t get his instrument set up properly.
He sent me a ticket, I went over for lunch and flew home overnight. That was bizarre too.
Reza Mehman:
But you don’t play yourself any more?
Jens Ritter:
Well, I haven’t played live music for almost two decades. When I do something, I like to do it properly. I wouldn’t have time to rehearse at the moment either.
Reza Mehman:
But it’s beautiful, I really have to say. I’m genuinely excited right now.
Jens Ritter:
The crown belongs to this model. The guitar is called Princess Isabella, and this is its symbol.
From struggling pupil to internationally collected artist
Reza Mehman:
Perhaps this is a slightly odd question, but did it feel strange at first that people specifically wanted a guitar from you, Jens Ritter? Or did you think: of course, because I make cool guitars?
Jens Ritter:
At first, it was simply wonderful that someone bought something from me.
I was never a good pupil and never really imagined that I might achieve anything productive on this planet.
I probably had ADD and ADHD and all those things. Making guitars was the first time I’d made something with my hands.
Actually, it started earlier with music. You made your own music, your own lyrics and songs, and suddenly people applauded. That was lovely.
I owe a great deal to the electric guitar. Later, I also built things, and people thought they were cool and bought them. It was wonderful.
How museums discovered Jens Ritter
It became strange in America. Museums began buying things from me: the Metropolitan in New York, the Smithsonian in Washington, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and so on. Naturally, that was a huge boost to the ego.
Incredible, wonderful. Then art collectors started buying my work. I was always described as an artist.
As a German, I naturally had a clear rule: if it has a function, it’s craftsmanship. Otherwise, it’s art.
Everything in this room is craftsmanship. They’re all functioning guitars. Yet suddenly people bought these objects for their walls. They weren’t played any more. That felt a little strange.
One day I was at the Metropolitan in New York, and my instrument was behind glass. It was cool, with a Stradivarius next to it — amazing, of course. But it was silent. You couldn’t hear it any more, and that was an odd feeling.
That evening I had dinner with the director and said: “Jason, it’s an odd feeling. I built such a beautiful sound into it, and now it’s silent forever. It feels strange.”
He said: “Hey Jens, you’re thinking far too small. You’re only thinking within your own lifetime.”
Of course it would be played again one day, but perhaps not for 100 years. That was a fantastic thing to say: you’re only thinking within your own lifetime. It really put me at ease.
Many collectors are also starting to lend instruments to children and teenagers who couldn’t afford them. So I’m completely relaxed about it.
Thinking beyond your own lifetime
Reza Mehman:
What does it mean to stop thinking only within your own lifetime? I know about one or two projects of yours involving, let’s call it, digitalisation.
Jens Ritter:
Exactly. We’ll go over there later.
It was a strange situation. On one hand, you’re confronted with the idea that your time on this planet will eventually end. On the other hand, it’s almost liberating to understand that parts of you, parts of your life’s energy, will remain here.
That’s quite cool. It’s a great perspective, and it helped me relax.
There’s that villain in Harry Potter who distributes his soul somehow.
Reza Mehman:
No.
Jens Ritter:
Of course, that’s a terrible story. But if you turn it into something positive — using your energy, your life’s energy, today and materialising it so it remains here — that’s quite a feeling.
What a podcast preserves for future generations
Reza Mehman:
I have something similar. I think the same way. It isn’t a physical object, but I have similar thoughts about my podcast.
Hopefully, it will outlive me. If my grandfather had had a podcast, for example, I would still listen to it today.
So I think: perhaps one day my grandchildren and their children will be interested in knowing who I actually was. In a way, that’s what the podcast is there for.
Jens Ritter:
Great topic for later. There’s something else I want to tell you about that. We’ll return to it.
Reza Mehman:
Okay, cool. I really am impressed. Wonderful.
Do you welcome your customers here too?
Jens Ritter:
Yes, this is essentially our showroom. You can plug in the instruments and play them at your leisure.
You’ll have to demonstrate something later.
This has a violin feel. Exactly — it’s my violin guitar. It’s hollow-bodied and has a very warm, beautiful, jazzy sound.
Reza Mehman:
Ah, nice.
Special woods and their influence on sound
Jens Ritter:
Here’s some of our wood storage. We have some lovely pieces here — these are tree burls.
Reza Mehman:
Wow, that looks fantastic. It’s crazy.
Jens Ritter:
This is very cool too. Let me get in here for a moment. Make some room.
This is quilted maple.
Reza Mehman:
Quilted?
Jens Ritter:
Exactly. When you wet the wood, it reveals a beautiful three-dimensional structure.
Reza Mehman:
Yes, it’s beautiful.
When I bought a terraced house for us, I really enjoyed doing woodwork. I always thought I was a bloody wannabe carpenter. If I’m ever born again, I’ll become one.
Jens Ritter:
I come from metalworking. When I started working with wood, I had to relearn everything.
If I shape a piece of metal today, it stays that way for a few hundred or perhaps a few thousand years, provided it doesn’t rust.
If I work on wood today, tomorrow it’s different, depending on how damp it was overnight. It’s simply alive.
I never understood when people used to say: “Wood is alive.” I thought it was nonsense. But it moves, and you have to account for all of that, including in your instrument.
Comparing light and heavy woods
Come on, I’ll show you something else. This is the lightest wood in the world.
Reza Mehman:
Wow, I thought that would be heavy, but you really can just lift it like this. Crazy. It looks heavy.
Jens Ritter:
Now watch — I’ll show you the heaviest one too. This one here.
Reza Mehman:
Yes, you really have to say so.
Jens Ritter:
It doesn’t look that heavy either, but it’s called snakewood. If you put it on water, it sinks immediately.
Reza Mehman:
It’s quite difficult for me with one hand, I have to say. Crazy. Snakewood, you said? I’ll remember that.
Jens Ritter:
Look, here’s our sound analysis device. You use it to listen to the woods.
Reza Mehman:
It does sound different. I think this is another completely different one. Very different, in fact.
Jens Ritter:
Many people think electric guitars are just plastic and electronics. But as electric guitar makers, we also strongly influence the instrument’s sound through our choice of wood.
Reza Mehman:
That smells amazing. I immediately want to smoke a cigar.
Jens Ritter:
That’s a lovely offcut too.
Reza Mehman:
Why does it smell so good?
Jens Ritter:
It’s the oil.
Wood that is 9,400 years old
Jens Ritter:
This is an offcut from a tree found beneath the River Main near Frankfurt. They were widening the Main somehow and found a tree.
We had a carbon-14 test done in Heidelberg: 9,400 years.
Reza Mehman:
No way.
Jens Ritter:
It’s fantastic. The wood dealer called and said: “Hey, you’ve just bought something from us. We don’t even know what it costs yet, but we’ve already sent it to you, because you hardly ever find anything like this.”
So I sold three instruments before I even had the wood.
Reza Mehman:
Brilliant.
Jens Ritter:
That’s what collectors are like. It’s the story behind it.
Reza Mehman:
Exactly. Impressive.
Bookmatching: when wood tells a story
Jens Ritter:
I’ve got another good story here. Wait a moment.
This was the cover of an American bass magazine. You look very different there — it was quite a while ago. There’s no date on it.
When we cut wood down the middle and open it out, we call that bookmatching. Here, in the grain, you can see two fish jumping out of the water.
Reza Mehman:
Oh yes, yes.
Jens Ritter:
After it appeared in an American magazine, a customer from the USA called me on a Saturday and said he absolutely had to see the wood. Would I be there on Sunday?
No problem. I asked: “Are you already in Germany?”
He said: “No, I’ll tell my pilot now and come over.”
Reza Mehman:
He’ll tell his pilot? Okay, I understand.
Jens Ritter:
Then he came from Seattle and bought the piece of wood.
Reza Mehman:
But not Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos?
Jens Ritter:
It was Bernd. He owns North America’s largest fishing company, American Seafoods.
Reza Mehman:
That’s crazy.
Jens Ritter:
Crazy. We have lots of exotic woods here. A small tree burl. Sometimes I simply have to buy things like that. I never know what I’ll make from them.
Here’s an incredible piece of ebony too. Beautiful, sensationally beautiful.
Reza Mehman:
It looks very beautiful.
Jens Ritter:
Incredible. It sounds very cold, very fast.
All right, let’s move on. Through here. Mind your head. Here are a few more instruments under construction.
The story behind every instrument
Jens Ritter:
This is a body — the last body from the bog oak tree I told you about. I kept it in the attic for years because these holes made it defective.
But I’ve developed a little as a guitar maker and artist since then. I saw it and thought: it’s nature. We could simply fill the holes with gold, or do something else special.
Reza Mehman:
Almost 10,000 years. Extraordinary, isn’t it? Completely extraordinary. It’s really crazy.
How Jens Ritter records the stories of his guitars
How do you communicate those stories when you talk to someone who’s interested?
Jens Ritter:
I have to say I lagged behind on that for a very long time. It was only in recent years that people outside the business suggested recording the stories too.
Now, with every new instrument, my team actually makes me enter the story behind it in our database.
Reza Mehman:
So it’s definitely recorded? As text or something?
Jens Ritter:
As a quick piece of text.
Reza Mehman:
How do your buyers and customers get the story?
Jens Ritter:
It’s also communicated on the website. For the customer buying the instrument, every guitar comes with an aluminium case with a fitted cutout, a tool bag and a book about the instrument.
Reza Mehman:
Always the same aluminium case?
Jens Ritter:
No, the size depends on the instrument.
Here’s something lovely too. A beautiful colour. We’re working on making fingerboards from acrylic glass with photographs underneath.
Actually, we’re the only ones in the world who can do this. We worked on the system for four or five years.
Reza Mehman:
You can tell this is an art object now. I’m sure it plays very well, but this is art.
Jens Ritter:
That’s always a matter of perspective.
Guitar maker or artist?
Reza Mehman:
What is it for you?
Jens Ritter:
For years, I really struggled when people started calling me an artist.
I hadn’t studied it. As a German, you think: you have to study, then you’re an artist. To me, it’s craftsmanship.
When I built a guitar, I never understood why I was being called an artist.
Then all these people said: “But what you do is more than just a guitar. There are stories behind it, artistic energy, messages, ideas.”
It really occupied my mind because I didn’t understand it. Who was I, then? And then I had an extraordinary meeting.
What Prince taught Jens Ritter about art
Jens Ritter:
Back then, Prince and I sat together one lunchtime in Belgium and talked for a very long time. It was a very special afternoon.
I learned more about art and music from talking to Prince that afternoon than I had in my entire life before.
My explanation was: “Hey, I’m completely unsure. I don’t know what I am. Am I this or that?”
He said something to me. He said: “**** it. It’s completely irrelevant.”
What you’re looking for is a position in the market. But what you are is completely ****.
“You’re an artist. Your ideas and inspiration take material form; you make something. You’re an artist.”
What the market calls you, which market buys your work, is initially ****.
That wiped it all away in a second. Since then, I haven’t cared at all. Some people call me a guitar maker. Others call me an artist. It really is ****.
But you have to remind yourself of that more often in life when tackling certain things: okay, it doesn’t matter now.
Typically German, I know — needing a category.
Reza Mehman:
I’m exactly the same. I always need categories too. That’s why I kept asking: what actually are you?
Jens Ritter:
That afternoon really resolved a lot for me and helped me move forward. Since then, I’ve simply done even more.
Prince and Michael Jackson as creative pioneers
Reza Mehman:
Honestly, you’re helping me right now. I’d love to thank Prince.
Jens Ritter:
What an idiot, honestly. He died far too young.
Reza Mehman:
It’s also incredible that you had such personal contact with him. He really was one of the greatest artists of all time.
Jens Ritter:
Still completely underestimated. He did things behind the scenes that we never even knew about.
Reza Mehman:
I think I once heard something about Michael Jackson. Prince was, I believe, one of Michael Jackson’s biggest competitors, officially or unofficially, whatever you want to call it.
I heard a story that if Michael Jackson had an idea at three in the morning, he would immediately go into the studio to record it, afraid that Prince might have a similar idea.
Jens Ritter:
They may well have motivated each other. But they certainly weren’t enemies.
Reza Mehman:
No, no. I mean in a positive way. Exactly. Incredible. You have wonderful stories.
Expectations, success and dealing with flops
Jens Ritter:
Here’s another very old instrument. It must be 20 years old. My sister painted it back then. It was a real-gold series. She’s an artist too.
Reza Mehman:
Do you now have expectations about the outcome — that something will sell well, at a high price? Are you disappointed if it doesn’t sell the way you wanted? Do you have that expectation?
Jens Ritter:
Do you mean emotionally, in relation to the instrument, or financially?
Reza Mehman:
Emotionally, in relation to the instrument. Don’t you think: this is a masterpiece, it has to become really popular, or should become really popular?
Jens Ritter:
No. I think it works like this: if I bring something like that — what you’re calling a masterpiece — to market, either it’s very good or I’m so enthusiastic that my collectors notice.
There are many objects and instruments in my collection. I’m working on two instruments that are very close to my heart, and collectors already love the story alone and want to buy them.
How Jens Ritter deals with slow sellers
Reza Mehman:
Okay. Let me ask the opposite: has one of your instruments ever flopped?
Jens Ritter:
Oh, certainly. Not functionally, but perhaps in the market — a slow seller or something like that.
Reza Mehman:
Exactly. How do you deal with that emotionally?
Jens Ritter:
I don’t know. It doesn’t really affect me.
I think it would affect me if we built ten new instruments and none sold. Then I’d realise something was wrong. I might panic that nobody wanted my work any more.
But one or two — that happens from time to time. Eventually someone comes along, even a year later, plays the instrument and falls in love with it.
Sometimes the instrument is waiting for a musician.
Reza Mehman:
Oh, cool. That’s cool. You have to… It’s a musical instrument. That’s different. It’s more of a magic wand than a tool.
Reza Mehman on expectations for the podcast
I can tell you I’ve become much more relaxed. You know my podcast: some episodes take off, others don’t at all.
I used to get a little emotional. I’d think: oh man, why didn’t that work? A lot of energy went into it.
Eventually I realised there’s also a certain randomness to it. Just because I like something doesn’t automatically mean the market will like it.
That’s one aspect. I’ve also become much more relaxed over time. If I’m happy with the work I’ve put in and it hasn’t developed the way I thought it should, I’ve almost stopped worrying about it.
Adapting to the market
Jens Ritter:
It also depends. That’s what Prince told me back then: “You have to do what you feel like doing.”
If you adapt — if you feel like building a red guitar, but the market wants a green one and you build a green guitar — it won’t work.
Then you’re a service provider, not an artist.
If you release a podcast at eight in the morning, then one of the same quality a few weeks later at eight in the evening, and one flops while the other doesn’t, perhaps the reason isn’t the podcast at all, but the outside world.
Reza Mehman:
Yes. Timing.
Jens Ritter:
Absolutely. Releasing an instrument during the holiday season or just before Christmas makes a complete difference.
How Jens Ritter sets his guitar prices
Reza Mehman:
Sorry, I have to keep asking about this. Do you have that expectation: this is a very good instrument — you only make very good ones, but this is particularly good — so it has to sell for much more than another? Is that expectation there?
Jens Ritter:
It’s difficult to say. The price depends less on emotional value and more on the materials.
It’s not as though I simply double the price because the sand comes from Death Valley.
What has certainly happened is that I’ve introduced a new colour and been excited about it. Or a technical feature where I thought: now world peace will arrive. And the market didn’t react.
That’s disappointing in the moment, of course. But it was more intense in the early years than it is today.
Today, I really try to separate the market from the art.
I got that from Prince. That one afternoon had a huge impact. As soon as you orient work like this towards the market… If you’re making watches, or microphones, or whatever, you have to focus fully on the market. But this…
Reza Mehman:
There is another distinction here. People want to buy something from Jens Ritter. That’s what differentiates you in the market.
When the person becomes the brand
Reza Mehman:
I can’t compare it at all with what I do. But perhaps you knew about my event series at Heidelberg Castle, Dinner im Schloss.
I’ll send you an invitation for next time.
Jens Ritter:
Thank you.
Reza Mehman:
Of course. Over the years, I’ve also noticed that eventually people come because of me too.
Jens Ritter:
Then you become the brand.
Reza Mehman:
Exactly. Then it isn’t random any more, just me trying to sell tickets. At some point…
Jens Ritter:
You became the brand.
Reza Mehman:
Exactly. I only gradually became aware of that, and of how powerful it is. I no longer have to do as much advertising or go out promoting it. People buy the tickets.
At some point, they’ve heard something is happening and trust that it will be good quality. That’s why I think, in your case too…
Jens Ritter:
For me, it changed drastically when the museums became involved.
I used to be a service provider, tailoring a tool for you as a musician. Today, people simply buy my current ideas.
Jens Ritter’s own path into museums
Reza Mehman:
But how do you get into a museum? What do you have to have done?
Jens Ritter:
For me, one factor was that, fortunately, I hadn’t trained in this profession. In a way, I reinvented the wheel for myself.
I was always tinkering naively. There were never any strategic plans: should the shape be more like this or that, more green or more red? I simply started making things naively, partly because I didn’t depend on the money at first.
My job supported me, and this happened alongside it. At first, lots of people laughed at me: “What are those strange shapes and techniques?”
Then, when the American market started buying, it became: “Ah, we knew it all along.”
Reza Mehman:
Great, of course. Now we really have to return to your digitalisation project.
Guitars as art objects and time capsules
Reza Mehman:
Roughly how much value in euros is hanging here?
Jens Ritter:
We’ve insured the room for 570.
Reza Mehman:
Okay, I understand.
Jens Ritter:
But we’ve just delivered one, so it’s a little less now.
This is our gallery here in Deidesheim. Only art hangs in this room.
Reza Mehman:
Only art?
Jens Ritter:
Yes. We have high-end guitars, the finest tonewoods, gold and mother-of-pearl inlays, precious woods. Here we have flawless sapphires.
These are all truly top-of-the-line electric guitars. Each guitar was played for one song after assembly.
Then it was sealed at the back, where you plug in the cable. An aluminium plate was fitted, secured with sealing wire and sealed with my wax seal.
Reza Mehman:
Here at the back?
Jens Ritter:
Exactly. I engraved the date on which I did it.
I also engraved the date on which you’re allowed to open the guitar and play it again.
Reza Mehman:
And that is?
Jens Ritter:
The exact same day, 100 years later.
Reza Mehman:
So beyond your lifetime.
Jens Ritter:
They’re time capsules, in a sense, that I’m sending into the future.
The “Sleeping Beauties” and artificial intelligence
Jens Ritter:
Of course, most people who hear about it immediately comment: “What sort of **** guitar is that? It has to be played. It belongs on stage, in guitarists’ hands. People should be making art with it. A guitar needs to sound and live.”
Then I always ask: “What percentage of the music you heard today was even made by humans?”
That’s my starting point.
Reza Mehman:
Especially now, in the age of AI.
Jens Ritter:
Exactly. The LA Times has now published that over 40 per cent of uploads to Spotify in 2025 were AI-produced. Over 40 per cent. That’s a real catastrophe, of course.
With these Sleeping Beauties, as I call the series, the instruments are sealed, placed in picture frames and declared art for 100 years. They’re sold only as art, or to collectors.
Why Jens Ritter wants to start conversations about AI
My aim with this is to get people talking.
What’s this nonsense? Why are you doing it? Why should instruments suddenly no longer be played?
Many people have no idea what’s happening right now, especially in the creative sector with AI. It’s incredible.
I’m doing a small tour. I’ve been to Hong Kong and Singapore, exhibiting the instruments and giving talks about the subject.
Occasionally, people commented: “Ah, so you’re against AI or technology.”
I always reply: “No, I’m a huge AI fan.”
I have high hopes that AI will support us in environmental protection and medicine.
But AI cannot make art.
“Art happens”
Jens Ritter:
Of course, all the AI enthusiasts say: “AI can do that. It’s already making new things.”
But that’s not right.
AI can produce the most emotional blues song of all time today, without question. Nobody can hear that it’s AI any more.
But AI could never have invented blues, hip-hop or punk rock. Those aren’t products. They’re developments.
Art is a catalyst for our human cultural development.
Art happens. It isn’t planned and produced in a business plan.
Of course, there have always been products in music too. Think of various German pop stars, where a product is manufactured to make a lot of money in the market. But that’s something quite different.
Real art cannot be made by AI because it’s essentially a by-product — that’s the wrong word — but it simply happens as we humans develop.
If AI ever could create genuine art of its own, that would actually prove that AI had become a species in its own right.
Reza Mehman:
Wow.
Jens Ritter:
But then it wouldn’t be art for us humans.
A 100-year countdown on the blockchain
Reza Mehman:
What happens after 100 years?
Jens Ritter:
Let me tell you the story first.
I received feedback suggesting I was against technology and AI. So I wondered how I could connect the two.
On the day a Sleeping Beauty is sealed, a countdown is recorded on a blockchain.
Reza Mehman:
Ah, okay.
Jens Ritter:
On exactly the same day. What you see here is 100 years being counted down in seconds.
It’s not a video; it’s a live feed.
When those 100 years are up, a video appears.
Reza Mehman:
Yes.
Jens Ritter:
You don’t know, because today you can’t know what will happen in 100 years. Perhaps your brain will be connected to the internet somehow — who knows?
But there’s an AI platform. You pay a certain amount, and it guarantees for 200 years that your videos will always be kept up to date.
A QR code and music for the future
Reza Mehman:
Really? Does that mean this has already been running for just over eight years?
Jens Ritter:
Exactly. That was my first one.
Reza Mehman:
The first? Is this its countdown?
Jens Ritter:
Exactly. If you scan the QR code here, you get the countdown for that particular instrument.
Reza Mehman:
So it’s through the blockchain. You probably have some kind of NFT involved too, right?
Jens Ritter:
I think it’s an NFT. But I’m not a great expert on that.
When the 100 years are up, a video appears.
Reza Mehman:
Of you playing?
Jens Ritter:
No, fortunately not.
A video appears in which I talk about that particular instrument.
Then comes the song recorded 100 years earlier.
Reza Mehman:
Which you played?
Jens Ritter:
No, fortunately not that either. A good musician played it.
I’ve just spoken to Nile Rodgers about it. He would also be interested in recording something.
Reza Mehman:
Wow.
A message to the great-great-grandchildren
Reza Mehman:
Sorry, I have to ask another basic question. The original video is on the blockchain, on this platform, and you no longer have access to it?
Jens Ritter:
I think, in theory, we have access as administrators.
Reza Mehman:
Okay, that’s fine.
Jens Ritter:
I don’t know.
Reza Mehman:
But it’s a fantastic concept.
Jens Ritter:
The third video that appears is from the present-day collector buying it.
I have two billionaire customers in the USA, and both said: “I’ll leave money and real estate to generations to come, but nothing really personal.”
They both have Sleeping Beauties and have recorded their own videos. Essentially, it’s a personal greeting to their great-great-grandchildren.
Like what you said earlier about your grandfather.
Reza Mehman:
Yes, that’s powerful.
Jens Ritter:
It’s extraordinary. Imagine it: 100 years from now, your descendants, and their great-grandfather is speaking to them.
Reza Mehman:
And the other way around. If I had something like that now, it would be incredible.
Jens Ritter:
Yes, it’s crazy.
Reza Mehman:
Impressive. Was it your idea?
Jens Ritter:
Yes. I once attended a talk about AI at my friend Thomas’s place. He invited a professor ages ago, almost ten years ago, who spoke about AI.
It completely shocked me. I became quite panicked. That led to the idea for the Sleeping Beauties.
Paul Stanley, art and a playable guitar in a painting
Jens Ritter:
Now I’ll show you one more thing. Mind your head and the step.
Do you remember Kiss?
Reza Mehman:
Of course.
Jens Ritter:
Paul Stanley, the founder and guitarist of Kiss, also paints. We sent the board to him in Hollywood.
Reza Mehman:
Wow.
Jens Ritter:
He painted it in an abstract style. We brought it back, and the special thing about this painting is that you can remove a fully functioning guitar from it.
Reza Mehman:
Nice, nice, nice.
Jens Ritter:
You can play it. When you’re finished…
Reza Mehman:
It goes back into the painting?
Jens Ritter:
Yes.
Reza Mehman:
Later I’ll tell you a short story about my videographer, Lee. He did something similar involving a coffee machine.
Jens Ritter:
Oh wow.
Reza Mehman:
I’ll tell you later. A really strong idea.
Jens Ritter:
This is also a charity project from this year. We’ll probably auction it now.
Reza Mehman:
It looks fantastic too, I have to say.
Working with your hands rather than on a screen
Reza Mehman:
What’s this?
Jens Ritter:
It’s just a sketch, a kind of three-dimensional sketch.
Sometimes I simply feel like trying out a shape. I like working in three dimensions.
I prefer working like this. Rather than making a 3D drawing, I’d rather pick up the wood and work with it.
Reza Mehman:
Nice. Thank you.
Jens Ritter:
That’s all I have to offer.
Authenticity and the next level
Reza Mehman:
I wanted to thank you, Jens. We met at an event a few months ago and had a really good conversation. I remember it.
What impressed me was that I never felt for a second that you were putting on an act, that it was somehow forced.
You were so authentic in the way you spoke about your art, your craftsmanship and the subjects that matter to you.
AI is an important topic — you can really tell that with you. That’s why I asked whether we could have a conversation for the podcast.
Thank you for that, and for the insights you’ve shared.
I have one more question.
Jens Ritter:
Okay, go ahead.
Jens Ritter’s next goals
Reza Mehman:
I tend to think about the next level, the next game. What’s the next level for you?
Jens Ritter:
There are two next levels.
First, the business and finances, of course. We’re strongly promoting our Palatia Series, particularly in the Arab region.
I now have a private buyer in Dubai who wants to buy a larger quantity each year.
Reza Mehman:
Really? Okay.
Jens Ritter:
And Singapore and China. There’s a lot of interest in those eastern countries too.
The American market is still there and buys regularly. But the really big, extraordinary pieces are increasingly going to Asia. That’s exciting.
On a personal level, I want even more freedom to build what I feel like building.
My dream is to keep materialising my ideas for as long as I want.
Many people ask about retirement. I can only answer: “I’ve been retired for a long time already.”
I think I’m doing what I would do if I were retired. So everything is good, really.
Reza Mehman:
Wonderful. Thank you again for the conversation.
Jens Ritter:
Cheers. Goodbye. My pleasure.
More conversations and personal encounters
You can find more perspectives on entrepreneurship and personal development in my Project Mindset podcast. Dinner im Schloss also brings people together for personal conversations — we mention the event in this interview too.
You can find the instruments and art projects discussed on the official Ritter Instruments website.
