TogaMan GuitarViols & Arpeggiones

TogaMan GuitarViols & Arpeggiones Exceedingly inspirational cinematic bowed string instruments you hear all over indie/major Movie,TV, Video Game scores! Ever try to wield a bow to guitar?

It sucks! The TogaMan GuitarViol will forever change how you think of bow and guitar applications! It is a true cross-over instrument that brings another wide open field of sounds and expression to guitarists! Find out why top film composers all over the world have turned to the TogaMan GuitarViol and embraced it as an indispensable instrument to write and create epic soundtracks with! If you love guitar and bowed strings, the TogaMan will become a big part of your life experience!

So, I was recently profiled in shoutout LA magazine! It came out on December 18 but I didn’t get the memo until today.
01/03/2025

So, I was recently profiled in shoutout LA magazine! It came out on December 18 but I didn’t get the memo until today.

A graphic game artist fan from China sent me a cartoon of me age progressed to present from a 1994 picture of me with m...
12/26/2024

A graphic game artist fan from China sent me a cartoon of me age progressed to present from a 1994 picture of me with my electric Arpeggione of the times. It made my Christmas Day!

Professor Jimmy J (Jim Jeffrey) came by the shop after his College of the canyons gig and we went around the corner to c...
09/28/2024

Professor Jimmy J (Jim Jeffrey) came by the shop after his College of the canyons gig and we went around the corner to catch a few rounds at Olive terrace (not the original plan) and he spotted his old friend Dave Who was playinga gig. So we soaked up the sounds and had a few giggles. Jim I known for about 20 years since days at Cassells and he has been a GV player since 2011. Last year I did a presentation for his colleagues/students at COC. Now we are scheming up a Guitar/GuitarViol duo! Stay tuned!

Instrument making reimagined! H**p = super wood. Just a couple of surfaces! Acoustic instruments outside of the constrai...
08/23/2024

Instrument making reimagined! H**p = super wood. Just a couple of surfaces! Acoustic instruments outside of the constraints of milled wood and tons of waste on the floor! Instead of subtracting material from a block, we lay in just the right amount of materials with love; absent of the geometric limitations imposed by bent and milled wood. We can do some really comfy and sexy curves! H**p is ridiculously strong and it’s fiber characteristics meet and exceed wood. No concern about relative humidity fluctuations moving or cracking it! And it has a ridiculously wonderful powerful projection. Sure I have built hundreds and hundreds of Instruments out of traditional woods. No need to prove I could carve it! Instead these are faithful to my 100% hand carved mold patterns. Each one can has its own dramatic look! (Yes the visuals can get crazy!) But don’t be fooled: it’s all about the sound and how lovely this thing feels in the hand! Nothing like it in the world! When you know you just know. Some people will accept cheap limitations and imitations. for the rest,
I offer the authentic genuine real thing! It’s a process. It’s like a Ferrari. Dangerous curves. Powerful.

Hey folks! Wayback in 2005-2008 I had a GuitarViol duo with my friend Oscar Islas. We recorded a CD in those days (Pablo...
07/29/2024

Hey folks! Wayback in 2005-2008 I had a GuitarViol duo with my friend Oscar Islas. We recorded a CD in those days (Pablo Mendoza on drums, Chad Watson on fretless bass) and gigged often at CityWalk, Borders, in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in various ensemble iterations. We sold the CDs at shows. It was a lot of fun! I still have some of these time capsules from the day and thought I would make them available to those of you who May find these interesting! These type of instruments were used in curious George, 300, and many other films and video games of the day! I played one of these in the video game Borderlands (2009). Anyway, I am clearing up some space and making these available to fund the laboratory! (signed or unsigned) Thank you for your interest!
https://www.facebook.com/100063683945439/posts/1022950736504382/?mibextid=cr9u03

This group played in various iterations at Universal CityWalk, Borders, and often at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art between the years of 2006 and 2008.

Hey folks! Back in 2005 we had a GuitarViol duo that played often at CityWalk, Borders, Santa Barbara museum of art be...
07/29/2024


Hey folks! Back in 2005 we had a GuitarViol duo that played often at CityWalk, Borders, Santa Barbara museum of art between the years of 2006-2008. We printed up something like 1000 CDs sold them at gigs. Have about 200 of these rare time capsules of GVs that later put a dent in the Movie/TV soundtrack Industry! I put them up on EBay to fund the GuitarViol laboratory. Unopened or signed by request! Thank you for your interest in my instruments all of these years! - Jonathan

This group played in various iterations at Universal CityWalk, Borders, and often at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art between the years of 2006 and 2008.

07/29/2024
In the Early 1990’s, I collaborated with a guy who came to the USA from the USSR after the Berlin Wall came down. I pla...
07/20/2024


In the Early 1990’s, I collaborated with a guy who came to the USA from the USSR after the Berlin Wall came down. I played said instrument throughout the 1990’s and this video was shot somewhere in 1999 by actor Thom Barry. I printed some VHS copies in 2001 and sold them at gigs of the day. The Latvian builder was George Gorodnitski whose passing I just learned of. Though we had complicated relations (I won’t unpack here), I am sad to hear of his passing and he was a link in the story of how my 1989 Arpeggione dream came into being; eventually starting over on my own in 2001 with what became the TogaMan GuitarViol. RIP Geeorge.

This was a video recorded somewhere in 1999 by Thom Barry (aka Thom Gross) of Jonathan Eric Wilson playing his 1993 Arpeggione built by George Gorodnitski RI...

Another side hustle where I take remnant materials and create art. These are just the beginning! The larger piece came f...
07/14/2024

Another side hustle where I take remnant materials and create art. These are just the beginning! The larger piece came from the resin waste bucket and repurposed nicely to a coaster. The smaller example is a wine coaster from left over glow and corks. Circular creative use of materials on the way out! (Etsy store in works? Coming soon, ones with on brand TogaMan pictures and graphics. Maybe one day water fountains and other art installations! More to come! Inquire!

A slight side hustle from GV routine: Fretless conversion on a PRS for GV client After doing an adjustment on his GV. ...
07/14/2024

A slight side hustle from GV routine: Fretless conversion on a PRS for GV client After doing an adjustment on his GV. It was a workout!

07/10/2024

Tall Redwood trees fall with short roots
Unless connecting to neighboring trees
Where they are strong

Happy 4th! Thank all of you for your kind Birthday wishes! You Rock! Thoughts at 58 on "Independence day" from a guy bor...
07/04/2024

Happy 4th! Thank all of you for your kind Birthday wishes! You Rock! Thoughts at 58 on "Independence day" from a guy born on the 4th in literal 1960's Hollywood...

Perspectives on Independence from a yank born of the 4th in 1960's Hollywood

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The BIG DAY! A very special tribute build “Josie” for Hauk Rules! Several months ago Hauk was with me hands on for the “immersive experience”. this particular build was a technical milestone in more ways than one! The earliest All hemp balsa core top with incredible dynamic range (don’t let the wild Art fool you!) months ago I was feeling stuck and found a “Hawk feather of inspiration!” This is an example of what is possible with the 10x design tech! #guitarviol #hemp #arpeggione

A shoutout to an artist who has been with me since first contact in 2002. What a journey has been! Loga has owned every model iteration and I recently had the pleasure of having him “ hands on“ as we built is 10 X design! The immersive bonding experience! “It was such an honor to have the opportunity to weave my sound into the soundtrack for Gladiator II, composed by the brilliant Harry Gregson-Williams and featuring the legendary Lisa Gerrard. A heartfelt thanks to Jonathan Eric Wilsonson for creating the magical Guitar Viol, an instrument I’ve been fortunate to play for over 20 years. The sound track now is on a short list of nomination for Oscar.” Congratulations Loga Ramin Torkian! #guitarviol #filmcomposers

Origin story before the GuitarViol early 1980’s shred. Uli Roth (70’s era Scorpions) cause me to binge listen to a lot of Paganini and Vivaldi violin music (classical string music in general). As a young punk with a Stratocaster, I came up with ways to hit those impossible notes. “Play the whole guitar“. I am way out of practice: it’s my fun origin story of the day! This all did lead to The late 1980s where I began to pursue the Arpeggione and after Y2K, The GuitarViol. #arpeggione #guitarviol #shredguitar have fun and stay inspired!

The original authentic GuitarViol.

The secret instrument you’ve heard in your favorite movies TV video games over the last 20+ years. They are built in limited numbers to order (not factory commodities) and typically take many months to fulfill. Mostly not available off the rack. Reach out for more info! #arpeggione #filmcomposers #hemp #guitarviol

Initial sounds of “Merlot Sparkle”. Another 10x design constructed from HEMP. There’s something about it…

HEMP construction. What is possible. So much more! Initial sounds of a milestone! Reach out! #arpeggione #guitarviol #filmcomposers #hemp #industrialhempcbd

It’s that dry time of year! Monitor your wooden instruments relative humidity! You want it to be between 45 and 47%. in California, for example, we may have massive rain events followed by severe dry Desert winds (Santa Ana). This will expand and contract the wood in a short period of time such that it cracks. If you notice the frets have sharp ends, it’s not because you have a bad guitar, it’s because the frets don’t shrink but the wood does! I recommend buying A room hygrometer (or two) and perhaps a Humidipak from D’addario (they also have in case hygrometers). If you have solid Woods acoustic guitar, when they dry, The top may sink down and the neck may back-bow; causing the instrument to be unplayable. If the instrument is beginning of the crack, if the relative humidity is correct it for a week or two, you may notice that go away and everything goes back to normal. Anyway just reminding y’all to Monitor The relative humidity of all wooden instruments; particularly in dry winters!

Jonathan shares some of the lesser known “Guitar” side of the GuitarViol creator. The upcoming “next” Guitar he is taking project orders for. (inquire, more details to be published). The “dreaded bastard” and the 1919 fantasy folk flamenco are both examples of things to come with 10x design tech (except with current Hemp construction). In the past, no such guitars were available to the public because the GuitarViol queue was The sole focus and overwhelm for more than two decades. Jonathan‘s guitar side resurfaces with motivation to populate the queue mix and fortify the “post pandemic operations aftermath” GuitarViol fleet in the process! This also serves to unleash renewed energy into The TogaMan family! Inquire!

The dreaded bastard: A combination of dreadnought and Bastarda design flat top guitar (not a GuitarViol). It’s an ongoing reminder of why I went away from Spruce to balsa hemp tops. It still sounds great even with the crack top! It’s that time of year where you want to keep your guitars humidified at 45%. This one is rare in the sense that it’s the only one that exists, it is Rosewood back and sides, spruce top, roasted maple neck, 25 1/2 inch scale, 24 frets with partial scallops. It was meant for me but I don’t play a lot these days. Selling. Inquire.

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The TogaMan GuitarViol story

While attending a Connecticut boarding school in the early 1980’s, Jonathan Wilson pondered the possibilities of bowed guitar after reading about Lol Creme’s Gizmotron. Oblivious to Jimmy Page’s bow wielding in Led Zeppelin, Jonathan was more interested in applying manual violin like sounds to his beloved instrument; the guitar. (i.e. Vivaldi/Paganini) Driven to those sounds (even back then), Jonathan became a master of the Stratocaster volume k**b swell technique. One of his teachers, Ron MacFarlane (Yes, Seth’s dad), commented about how he “sounded like a Cello”. Perhaps Jonathan took it literally? Combined with influences such as Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions) and later, his Sky Guitar, Jonathan was obsessed!

In 1989, While researching violins an old 1948 Encyclopedia Brittanica chapter on Violins, he stumbled upon a paragraph describing a bowed guitar by Johann Stouffer that had a short life in 1823 called the “Arpeggione”. Enraptured by this discovery, Jonathan’s life would never be the same and he was on a mission to have a modern Arpeggione of his own. A prototype was built by another builder in the early 1990’s. By the end of the decade, he was frustrated with some aspects it and decided to tackle the task of building a new one with his own hands. Being a professional guitar repairman/tech in music stores for a couple decades, building one was a natural fit. By 2002, a new TogaMan GuitarViol was a thing! In November of that same year, he received an email from a guitar player in Virginia asking if Jonathan would be willing to build an Arpeggione for him. Jonathan cobbled together a dial-up era HTML site and by the end of the year he had a couple orders! (What did he get himself into?).

Within a few months, the build queue filled up with Film/TV composers who “wanted it yesterday.” We are talking about an inherently manufacturing resistant instrument in it’s early developments! To this day, that has not stopped! From 300 to Game of Thrones, many hear TogaMan GuitarViols in media soundtracks every day! It is not uncommon for the build queue to be many months backlogged. Many advancements have happened and the TogaMan GuitarViol does not rest on past glories; it evolves to highest realization every day! High tech ViolGlide fingerboards and upcoming Carbon Fiber acoustic models are in the works! Stay tuned!

Okay, so what’s up with “TogaMan?” TogaMan was inspired by a 1500’s painting by Veronese “Noces de Cana” where a toga wearing fellow (Veronese himself) is depicted playing a Viol in a guitar like playing stance (pre dating Jimmy Page by a few centuries). A GuitarViol is essentially a 21st century Arpeggione invented by Johann Stauffer in 1823. The problem is that “Arpeggione” and “Stauffer” sound too much like frozen Italian dinner at the supermarket. “Wilson” did not work out due to namesake builders (besides sounding like sports equipment or neighbors on TV). So, TogaMan it is and has been since 2002!