Richard Kruspe

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Kruspe was born in Wittenberge, then part of East Germany. He later changed his first name to Richard, believing that anyone should be able to change their name if they want to. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother remarried. He did not get along with his stepfather, who would be physically abusive, and Kruspe often ran away from home in his early teens. During his youth, Kruspe was a wrestler for seven years. At age 16, he bought a guitar in Czechoslovakia, originally planning to sell it. He met a girl who insisted he play something; when he hit random notes in frustration, she commented it sounded 'beautiful,' inspiring him to learn. Kruspe later studied classical guitar at the conservatorium in Schwerin, but left after a short period.

In Their Own Story

On 10 October 1989, Kruspe found himself in the middle of a political demonstration after exiting a subway station in East Berlin. He was hit on the head by police and arrested, spending the next six days in jail where he was interrogated and beaten. Once out, he decided to leave East Germany, entering West Germany by traveling through Hungary. When the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back to Schwerin. His first band, Das Elegante Chaos, was formed in 1987. In 1992, he traveled to the southwest of the United States with Till Lindemann and Oliver Riedel. Upon returning to Germany, he decided to pursue a new style of music combining machine-like sounds with heavy guitars. In 1993, he formed a new project with roommates Riedel and Christoph Schneider named Tempelprayers. Together with Lindemann, they won a recording session in 1994, and the band changed their name to Rammstein.

Reader's Guide

Kruspe has been an endorser of ESP Guitars since 1996. He bought his first ESP guitar, a sunburst 901 model, in 1990. He primarily used 901 models and Kirk Hammett signature model guitars until ESP produced his signature models: the ESP RZK-I in the mid-2000s and the RZK-II in the early 2010s. In 2023, he received his custom J+Q Rgo RZK-III signature guitar from ESP, designed for him in 1993. He was previously endorsed by EMG and was a long-time user of EMG 81 pickups before switching to Fishman in 2018, joining their Fluence artist roster in 2023. He mainly uses Mesa/Boogie amplifiers and cabinets, notably the Mark II C+ and Dual Rectifiers amps and 4x12 cabinets, in addition to Friedman and Soldano amps. He also uses the Kemper Profiler in the studio and live. Kruspe has a signature guitar pick and a signature string set through Dunlop and SIT Strings respectively.

Did You Know?

• Kruspe was born Sven Kruspe and later changed his first name to Richard, believing anyone should be able to change their name if they want to.
• He was a wrestler for seven years during his youth.
• He spent six days in jail after being arrested at a political demonstration on 10 October 1989, where he was beaten by authorities.
• Kruspe studied classical guitar at the conservatorium in Schwerin, but left after a short period.
• He married South African actress Caron Bernstein on 29 October 1999 in a Jewish ceremony, and took the last name Kruspe-Bernstein during their marriage.

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