In 1990 Michael Spalt was working as a screenwriter in Los Angeles when he decided to restore his old Gretsch Tenessean. Over the next few years he dabbled in making bodies, assembling parts and restoring instruments. He became ever more ambitious with each project and by the early 2000s he was able to make a living as a guitar and bass maker. He relocated part of his business to his native Austria, cooperating with Andreas Neubauer (of Neubauer Guitars) to establish the Vienna Guitar Company (Wiener Gitarren Manufaktur).

Source: Spalt Instruments website (4 January 2018)