[Cocobolo Kid]

I am extremely excited to be posting this Raymond Kraut 00 build thread. I have been lucky enough to own and play fine luthier-built acoustic guitars for over ten years, and I have always admired the aesthetics of Kraut guitars. However, I felt they were outside the price range I was willing to pay. That all changed when I met Ray in late 2018 and finally played one of his guitars for the first time. I was floored by the unparalleled response, dynamics and tone. Even more fortunately for me, in 2018 Ray moved and set up shop in Tucson, Arizona, less than ten miles from where I live. I have been visiting Ray's shop every week or two for the last year, and we have become great friends. I cannot speak highly enough about Ray's honesty, openness and loyalty. Ray also loves animals as much as I do. He takes his dog Kees almost everywhere he goes. Ray has been quietly trying to perfect building the most optimally responsive acoustic guitar possible since he apprenticed with Ervin Somogyi over a decade ago.

Ray makes three different models of acoustic guitars, and I selected his newest and smallest design, the 00 model. It is a little less than 14.5 inches across at the lower bout and about 4.25 inches deep at the tail. I liked this model because it has great articulation, bloom and balance with just enough low bass. It is also very comfortable to play.

Enough of the introduction. Here are some photos.

Ray flew to Switzerland last year, and picked out twenty or so master grade spruce tops. Here is the one I chose, with no runout, great silking, uniform fine grain, and a very high stiffness to weight ratio:


This is the set of Brazilian rosewood I selected. Ray has had this set in his shop for several years.




Finally, I located a unique set of handmade Reischl tuning machines for this guitar. Unfortunately, these tuners are not being made any more.


I will post more photos shortly, so thanks for looking and stay tuned.