Sexauer Guitar "Sale" ENDED. Interesting info still here.

[Bruce Sexauer]

When Berf contacted me and asked me to build a 24" scale length guitar I warned him that he should not expect to get my signature sound, but I would do my best. I talked him into The JB MultiScale as the bass was where I expected a deficit, and otherwise we agreed to keep the price down by using my WRX format and D. tucurensis, which at that time I was including at no extra charge. Well, my mouth was once again my undoing as he had been serious about the 24" thing, and this guitar has a 24.5 inch low E. So after a period of a year or two he traded this guitar back in on a MonoScale at 24 3/16". Also a fancier guitar the second time, I might add, as his confidence in my seemed to have increased.

This guitar not only gives away little to nothing sound wise to its bigger siblings, it is actually one of the livelier guitars I've ever produced. ANd the missing bass turned out to be in my mind only, as I really proved when the replacement guitar turned out to be even better. Practice makes perfecter.

The bad news, from the reader's POV, is that I have multiple offers on this guitar pre-sale, and the chance if it not being already spoken for is slim to none. The good news is that you could commission something similar and not have to hear me warn you about a lack of punch or imbalanced bass.

I have to do two guitars today as the sale starts tomorrow, and it is now or never. I took last Sunday off as far as these documents are concerned, and we will all pay for it as these last two essays will be a bit shorter.

#1971110 - FT-00-JB-WRX (do I still have to explain the code?) -- Current list: $10,250 Inventory page: $6,800, Sale price: $4.500
Dalbergia tucurensis (Panama Rosewood) back and sides
Italian spruce top
Honduras mahogany neck
Ebony finger board
Honduras rosewood bridge
Pernambuco binding
Tortis PG
Gotoh tuners
MultiScale 24 3/16 - 24 1/2+/-, nut almost 1 13/16, BP spacing 2 5/16, full neck
Schertler Bluestick PU (imperfect ground, but acceptable, sounds great to me)
My oil varnish
no case . . . yet, but it's coming.

Yet another consecutive sunny day in the garden:














Thanks for taking the time to look!

[Bruce Sexauer]

This guitar was made for 2015's Memphis Guitar Festival as my center piece.All walnut was a bit of a risk as I had never seen such a thing when I made it, still haven't seen another. I did it because of a forum thread in which more than one person seemed to agree that all walnut guitars basically suck. I had made a number of all koa ukuleles at the point where I made an all walnut concert uke, and it simply blew the doors off the all koa ones I'd made (I think I make pretty decent ukes), so I bragged right there in the forum that I would make an all walnut guitar and bring it to Memphis a few months later and they could be the judge. of course I knew about the uke, but it was entirely possible to have misjudged the guitars outcome. Sadly Memphis was as poorly attended an event as it has ever been my "fortune" to attend, and pretty much no one who I had been baiting made the show. Too bad, because the guitar met all my expectations. As compared to the half dozen all koa guitars I have made it stands out in one particular regard, it is far more like a spruce topped guitar than any of the koa examples. Probably more like mahogany, though I have never made one of them and have to rely on comparing Martin all mahogany to Martin all koa.

This walnut (most likely Claro) grew in Healdsburg CA, the same town as of festival fame. The spark plug shaped guy I got it from calls himself "Harold the Burlcutter", and he brought me a 5" x 15" x 42" billet which appeared perfect quartered and highly figured. It can be disappointing to cut into a chunk like this and find out what you've really got, but not this time! I got 6 sets for guitar and 10 sets for Ukes out of the billet, including a few uke necks as well. I built a spruce topped guitar from this billet a few months before the subject guitar, and it was bought by a second time customer strictly on merit. Good wood! This guitar's back and top are flitch matched, meaning the pieces are all consecutive cuts. And the side are of course from the same billet, so match as perfectly as possible.

The purfling has a blue line where there is more usually a white line. This is on the back and centerseam, the side purflings, in the rosette rings, and under the head plates. Unfortunately it turned out to be too subtle to be seen in most photos (look at the last one) and instead I have to point it out. I was after a dark theme, and it was achieved. The abalone top purfling and turquoise bridge pins were meant to bring out the thin lines.

The plates are very thin, which I believe to be the secret to getting this kind of performance from hardwood, and the center seams do show through the also very thin finish on both plates, but seem to be holding up well.

#2480215 FT-000-C all Walnut -- Current list: $12,300, Inventory: $11,700, sale 9/23 through 10/8: $8,000
"Claro" walnut back, sides, and top
Honduras mahogany neck
Ebony fingerboard, bridge, binding, and head plates
Abalone top purfling and rosette center ring
thin blue line
Schertler "black" tuners
My oil varnish finish
Wood HSC

More fresh sunny pictures:
















This is my 10th and last sale guitar essay for the time being. As time passes the thread may be rediscovered. If you have questions or comments, please address them to me in whichever of my threads is contemporary at that time, or to me privately.

Thanks for looking.

[merlin666]

Thanks for the sale, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the essays. At the moment more interested in a 12-string 12-fret guitar or a 6-string uke. #10 sure makes me want to try a walnut uke.

[frhdpicker]

I had a chance to play several of these guitars when I visited Bruce in his shop this past May, and will offer my humble opinion that there's a lot to love here. Two that stand out in my memory are the JB-00 slothead Pernambuco (wonderful clarity and balance up and down the neck, just a joy to play), and the all-walnut model (much more beautiful in person than you can tell from the photos, and just a simple strum of an open "E" chord will make you feel like you've been punched in the chest).

I'm still serving my self-imposed sentence banning me from buying another guitar until at least 2017, but I hope to be talking to Bruce as a future customer. Visit him at Santa Barbara if you can.

Ray

[Bruce Sexauer]

4 down, 6 to go:

The FT-00-JB-WRX "Little Wonder" is sold.
The FT-14- P "Satriani" is sold.
The FT-000-C "All-Walnut is sold.
The FT-16-D "D'Grass" is sold.

If this keeps up, I won't have to haul a trailer down to Santa Barbara.

Thank you!

[Bruce Sexauer]

Today I am leaving for SBAIC. I want to spend a day in Santa Barbara before the show starts as after the show I will just want to go home, most likely. I have the six as yet unsold guitars packed and ready.

I continue too plan to make appointments to show these six guitars in my hotel evenings afternoon the show. There are 4 half hour slots each of 3 evenings between 8pm and 10 pm available. These slots can be spoken for at my table in the show, and all I ask is that if you make an appointment you show up, because I will, and there is plenty of other stuff to do in Santa Barbara.

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

2011 JB-00 -- #2060511 -- Current price list $16,150, current inventory $10,500, 9/23 through 10/8 only $7,500
Back and side are fully quarter-sawn Pernambuco
Top is Italian Spruce

Spoken for!

Can't wait to get it.

[Bruce Sexauer]

I came here to let you know I've sold another, but I see a dawdled too long. That's Okay, I rode my bicycle almost fifteen mile this morning and I really needed the shower I just took as I am meeting Tad (tadol) and his wife Nancy as well as my good friend (and another great customer) Tom Tsouris and his wife Mary for dinner in a half hour. Not to leave her out, my wife Linda will be there too as the reservation is in her name.

We came to Santa Barbara a day early just to hang around, and I have to say this town delivers!!!

[SongwriterFan]

As they say, "the check is in the mail".

Good luck at the show. Maybe you won't have to haul any of them back to your shop (except mine, of course ).

[Bruce Sexauer]

Originally Posted by SongwriterFan

As they say, "the check is in the mail".

Good luck at the show. Maybe you won't have to haul any of them back to your shop (except mine, of course ).

Thank you!

[Bruce Sexauer]

I'm at breakfast on Saturday morning before going to the second day of SBAIC. Yeterday I got a commitment on the FT-15 Malaysian Blackwood OM, so the sale is down to just four guitars. They are the FT-15 Artifact, the MagCat, the Prototype, and JB-16-P.

To soon to say much about the show itself, but I am enjoying myself, the layout seems very good as there is plants of space and it is easy to get from any one spot to any other. The sound level is, as always, very high. The audition spaces appear useless as they are merely curtained. Management, that's Kevin and perhaps ten helpers, are on a learning curve but have my confidence.

[SongwriterFan]

I'm surprised that The Artifact is still unclaimed.

If that's the one you had at the Memphis show in 2015, I can attest that it sounds fantastic. And it looks great, too.

[Bruce Sexauer]

I consider both the Artifact at $7500 and the MagCat at $5000 to be such great deals that they'd have been the first to go. No accounting for taste. I wonder if the guitar world is moving away from the OM? That would truly surprise me as the OM is very much the do anything guitar; utterly competent and versatile.

[Bruce Sexauer]

SALE!!! Ends on Saturday at midnight. Earlier actually as I'll be in bed by then. If fact, I have a gig which I am leaving for at 4:30 pm so that'll be the end of it. 2 OMs, a 000, and a jumbo art guitar are still available.

[Bruce Sexauer]

What more to say?