Warwick Basses in London Ontario

It all started roughly 31 years ago in the pigsty of an old estate near Wolfsburg. Then, Holger Stonjek started to screw on and repair bass guitars together with his friend Gerd Gorzelke. Since the estate and the pigsty belonged to a music teacher, news of the repair shop got about quickly and more and more musicians brought their instruments. “In this way, we’ve learned a lot about the details of basses and guitars.” Roughly two years later, the two free-time bass builders got to do their own shapes and developed their own designs – and surprise, there was a demand and their hobby turned into a business. “After some time, the project needed a name,” Holger Stonjek remembers and adds that his own last name was not suitable at all to be a brand name. “Originally being a piano builder, I knew these renowned German piano brands such as Steinweg and Bechstein,” he explains. “Our intention was to find such a well-sounding German name which also works internationally.” For some time he and Gerd were fishing in the dark until Holger became aware that the street, in which their workshop was located, was called “Am Sandberg”. So the brand name Sandberg was found – and an unparalleled success story started. It was interrupted once at the end of the 1990s when electronic music emerged and the temporary lack of young bassists led to a decline in the instrument industry. Then, Gerd Gorzelke left the business and Holger Stonjek became sole manager of Sandberg.