Most underrated young lutheirs/small builders?

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by sinistral

I think my two suggestions were pretty responsive. Rufus Thames doesn’t get a lot of attention on this forum, but he has a decent following on the UMGF. Since Rufus is “making a better Martin than Martin”

The Thames I had for a while was wonderful, but I'd challenge that it's "better" than a Martin Authentic. (At roughly the same price, I still have the D-18 Authentic...). As good as, maybe. Super light build. Probably less consistent than Martin. Probably without the binding separation issue. He's a fairly new builder with something like a 5 year wait list now, which is impressive. They're both wonderful guitars.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by zoopeda

The Thames I had for a while was wonderful, but I'd challenge that it's "better" than a Martin Authentic. (At roughly the same price, I still have the D-18 Authentic...). As good as, maybe. Super light build. Probably less consistent than Martin. Probably without the binding separation issue. He's a fairly new builder with something like a 5 year wait list now, which is impressive. They're both wonderful guitars.

I wrote that at a time when there was a contentious thread going concurrently in which someone asked which builders were “making a better Martin than Martin,” hence the quotes and the smiley emoji.

[Colin_Mac]

Originally Posted by Jwills57

Just to report on the Oska Burman Guitars--I received the instruments last week. Just incredible, incredible guitars. I think the double-side construction has something to do with the heft and punch of the sound. I've been lucky enough in life to have been able to commission several great instruments, and the craftsmanship of these guitars is as good as any I have ever received. Just flawless, beautiful to behold and to play. There are a lot of great photos up on his website right now--oskaburmanguitars.com--on the facebook link, if you'd like to get a closeup look. Best, Jack

My next guitar is in Oska's workbench now. I ordered it after taking my Lowden F23 in to play alongside an OM he built for demo purposes. The guitar he is building for me, knowing what I'm looking for and how I play, etc., costs less than an equivalent Lowden would cost, but for me it is a better instrument.

To the OP - if you're looking for a quality instrument without spending too much, have a chat with Oska and discuss what you are looking for. Don't let geography put you off!

There are some videos here so you can get an idea of how they sound: https://youtube.com/@oskaburmanguitars8475

[mercy]

I know that all things are comparative. Its better to be on dialysis than have in operative surgery but Colin said "without spending too much". $5,000 is definatelly "too much" for a spruce/IR guitar.

[mercy]

I dont mean to say he has no right to charge that, or be arguementative or its not worth that, no disparagement intended. Its just that its too much for me and I think the majority of guitar players even the majority on this forum.

Were talking about talented builders that are unknown on this thread and Im sure OSKA fits that criteria.

[Bill Kraus]

Originally Posted by sinistral

I would put Bill Kraus in a different category—underrated established builders. I took the OP’s ask for “young” to mean “early career” and not just young age-wise, which is why I mentioned Rufus Thames. His waitlist is now out to 2028 or so, so that ship has sailed pretty much.

I think that there is a whole separate category of underrated established builders, which includes Bill. The guitars built by these luthiers sound beautiful and are exquisitely crafted, but the prices are very reasonable in the grand scheme of things. If one attends guitar shows like Artisan, La Conner, Woodstock (if there is another one) or the Fretboard Summit, there are typically more than a few luthiers in this category. I wouldn’t buy a guitar from one of these luthiers expecting it to triple in value in a few years, but you will have an heirloom-quality instrument that didn’t cost $20k+. Here’s a gallery of photos I took of Bill’s guitars at the 2022 Woodstock show:

WILS 2022—Bill Kraus

Thanks for the kind words, as well as the nice photos. A thread like this exposes the way different people view the myriad of criteria and terminology used in the luthiery world to describe the "hierarchy" of luthiers. I'm happy after twenty years as a guitar maker to be viewed as an "underrated established builder". It's taken an extraordinary amount of time, effort, and money to get to this point, especially given the fact that I am in an area that has historically had extremely little respect for high quality acoustic instruments, which is my view having been a guitar player for 45 years now. Again, a special thanks to you Sinistral, I hope to see you out there soon, Bill.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by warfrat73

Nothing wrong with wanting to get in on the ground floor or have the custom experience without spending the five figure prices that many established builders demand.

Absolutely. That's how I got my two Circle Strings guitars. I think the base price was $2800 for my first and $3200 for my second. Each cost me more than that because of upgrades but now Adam's base price is $8500 and that puts that line out of reach for me. His Iris line is very reasonable though. I just got an adi/maple ND-200 from that line and it's an absolutely killer instrument.