Anyone have a Luttrell guitar?

[blue-wily-fox]

I'm looking into the Luttrell Gambler guitar...ladder braced replica of the Stella Gambler....anyone here with one? Thanks...wily

[Thin Crust]

I don't, but a good friend has one of Ralph's resonators and it is one of the finest I've ever heard. As for "The Gambler", I believe this was designed with input from Doug Jones (a.k.a. Little Brother). That being said, The Gambler will likely be a well thought out, finely crafted instrument. Little Brother is a friend of mine (He actually gave me the nickname Thin Crust), and nothing he has anything to do with is done half way. Couple that with what I've seen of Luttrell guitars, and it's bound to be a winning combination.

[sfden1]

Hi Wiley. I don't have one, and haven't played one either. I have though seen a video demonstration of one, and have some information. Pretty cool guitar. These were co-designed by Ralph Luttrell and Doug "Little Brother" Jones, who is close friends with Ralph. Doug is an Atlanta blues musician who was the co-owner of Clarksdale Guitars with Mike Crixell. You might consider the Gambler as the successor project to the Clarksdale guitars (which were built by Crafters of Tennessee).

In any case, the Gambler is based on an early original Stella that Doug owns, though it's not an exact replica. More of an updated take on the original, though as I understand it, with lots of old time blues mojo, but a much more versatile guitar than the originals.

Go to this page on his website, http://www.littlebrotherblues.com/Gear/index.html., and you'll see a couple of articles on the making of this guitar, and I believe some recordings also. And while your there, have a look around his site., There's lots of very cool stuff there, especially if your into acoustic blues.

And I think if you do a youtube search you'll find Doug and a few other people playing their Gamblers. Sorry I don't have a link at the moment.

I've been interested in getting one of these for a while now. Cool guitar, and I think Doug knows his stuff when it comes to the sound, and Ralph is a respected builder. They're very affordable too. Hope that helps,

D.

[crikey]

Ralph is a real nice guy and I have no doubt he makes fine quality guitars. I would love to own (and learn to play) one of his resonators. I took my Taylor to him for a tweak and my Martin to have him install a strap button a couple months ago. He tweaked the Taylor and we got to talking and I totally forgot about the strap button. He threw me a pack of Curt Mangum strings as I was leaving; said I would probably like them. I finally put them on the Taylor yesterday. Still burning off the newness of them but they feel pretty good.

I first heard of him when he was playing dobro for his daughter Heather Luttrell (ATL based singer/songwriter - she's a whole 'nother thread!) when she opened for Delbert McClinton at The Variety Playhouse (in ATL) some time back. I suppose it might be hard for some parents to work with their kids, but they had this musical chemistry that just kept us glued to the stage. He is one honkin' dobro player.

http://www.luttrellguitars.com/Luttr...BIOGRAPHY.html