#16
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Yes, Martin had a Traugott at one time (it's on the "Four Martins" DVD for example) but I think its long gone - I was told by a luthier that he passed it to a guy who ran a music retail outfit who had the hots for a top-drawer American guitar. I was then told what the guitar was worth - I nearly fell over; it was my first encounter with what Mr Traugott's guitars fetch. At the time I thought Collings were about as expensive as it got. Time for a little readjustment. This is all long before I'd heard of Claxton, Greenfield, Somogyi, Wingert, Ryan, etc etc. Cheers, Steve |
#17
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Choosing a Set of Brazilian
And the odyssey continues on...
So as I mentioned, I had three sets of Brazilian from which to use. (If you need to, look back a few posts to see those choices. Or maybe you just want to. I spend more than a fair amount of time looking at those sets... over... and over...) Based upon the photos, I really, really liked this set: The striping; the color variation; the dramatic contrast... all of this really appealed to me. I just loved the thick bands of color and pattern, and this was almost exactly what I'd described to Jeff. I emailed Jeff, and told him, "That's the one." Given my wondering how this would all turn out, I did what any geeky guy would do: I cracked open PhotoShop. I found a good angled view of one of Jeff's guitars. It had neither a cutaway nor a fan fret, but I wasn't interested in that. I was interested in seeing what these pieces of wood looked like when cut into the size of a guitar. (At this point, I should mention that while I'm a very good programmer who makes my living doing freelance web design and programming as well as doing teaching, training, and writing, I am -not- a PhotoShop guy. I subcontract out that portion of my design work. Fair warning, graphic arts folks!) I first dropped my original choice onto the "template" guitar I had built in PhotoShop. Here's the result: Yes! Now we're talking. Suddenly this wood came alive for me. It seems to so closely follow the lines of the body of the guitar. So there you go; decision made. While my picture is a pale, washed-out version of what will one day show up on my doorstep, it did give me an idea of what an amazing guitar is being built by Jeff. More to come soon, involving a unique inlay, and soon after that, hopefully we'll all be looking at progress pictures. -B
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Brett McLaughlin CF MARTIN 1930 OM-18 - Mahogany/Adirondack GIBSON 2018 Memphis Limited 1963 ES-335 - Maple/Maple MCCONNELL 2021 Electric Semi-Hollow - Wenge/Sitka [SoundCloud | YouTube] Last edited by bdm0509; 03-12-2015 at 08:17 AM. Reason: Updated links and text to get things working |
#18
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This would have been my choice, were it only my choice to make.
Steve
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Still crazy after all these years. |
#19
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There are so many great makers out there now - Baranik, Greenfield, Hamblin, Sheppard, Somogyi,Traugott, Wingert et al - it's a little overwhelming at times.
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Richard Baranik, Bourgeois, Brook, Collings, Fischer, Fylde, Kinnaird, Lowden, Martin, Oddy, Taylor For sale: Bourgeois JOM custom - Adirondack/koa Brook OM custom (maybe!) - Bubinga/Sitka Lowden F 25th anniversary model - European/Brazilian David Oddy J - Englemann/Brazilian David Oddy mandocello - European spruce/flame maple David Oddy A4 mandolin |
#20
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That would be my choice as well based on what your criteria was for aesthetics of the wood.
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We can share the woman, we can share the wine... _____________________ Suggestions 1:1 Slackers 1:51-52 FSM |
#21
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Nice use of Photoshop, Brett!
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Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora LarryPattis.com American Guitar Masters 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay Classical guitars by Anders Sterner |
#22
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I was mighty impressed at well... I actually think that is my BK he superimposed his back on. I don't know if I'm more impressed with his photoshop skills or the wood he chose.
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We can share the woman, we can share the wine... _____________________ Suggestions 1:1 Slackers 1:51-52 FSM |
#23
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Great choices so far! Traugott is really the one guy I don't know how and where to sort tonally. Maybe someone can lighten me up. What did you make choose a Traugott?
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#24
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The Tone of a Traugott
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For me, I'm looking less for a specific tone than for a tonal palette from which to draw. I play a lot of styles in a lot of tunings, so I'm not sure (given the luxury of a few really good guitars) that a slow air in DADGAD fits a particular guitar as well as a Delta blues piece, or a fast, driving Kottke piece. So for my slower pieces or lyrical pieces, I love the feel of a Kraut, or even a Somogyi. (I keep telling myself I'm not going to get a Somogyi, I'm not going to get a Somogyi. But we'll see. The force is strong in that one...). There's something magical about the depth and resonance and, as someone recently described it to me, the strong clear note ringing out, yet surrounded by all these marvelous overtones. On the other end of the spectrum to my ear is Jeff Traugott. His guitars are strongly fundamental, with an astounding balance. (I see Ray Kraut's guitars, as well as Somogyi's, as almost having two sets of tones: low tones, which are neither in or out of balance with the higher tones; they're just in a different sonic place altogether. That style of guitar, again, to my ear, gives me two totally different sonic spectrums: lows and mid/highs.) Jeff's guitars are obviously responsive, and his trebles are spectacular. They don't have the big thick fatness of a Mike Greenfield; they're just incredibly clear and vibrant and majestic, without becoming thin or biting. When you play a note on a Traugott, make no mistake: you hear that note. There's no confusion. It's, in my opinion--and I think this about all the great guitars--completely unforgiving. You hear everything. To try and give you some more tonal signposts... my Ryan is warm and resonant down low, and after years, I've figured out how it wants to be played, and wants to be touched. You can pull out a lot of fundamental in a Ryan. However, I find the trebles thin for my taste. They're not what I think of as "Taylor-thin" (I know, all you haters, just let it go. It's my opinion, that's all it is, and not worth the time it would take you to tell me I'm wrong.) But they're not as pure as the trebles of a Traugott for me. Additionally, the Traugott has a strength that for me, the Ryan trebles don't. Again, for a ballad, the Ryan is great (although I'm obviously putting my money and belief into a pair of Krauts). But the Traugott is going to spit out notes, fully formed in their intensity and sound, faster than a guitar like the Ryan, where notes tend to want to bloom a bit. Finally, realize that by putting a long scale on the Traugott (27" to 25.65"), I'm essentially saying that while it may make it up to standard tuning, it's going to live in something like drop D. So it's meant to growl. We avoided a Brazilian rosewood bridge and fretboard for just this sort of reason: to leave every bit of attack in the guitar that we can; we're not going for "extra" warmth beyond what the natural Brazilian and German provide, but rather a strong, wood-laden tone that is clear, that develops quickly, and that rings until I choose to stop it with right-hand technique. Well, that was far longer than I meant. Hopefully it will help, both in terms of what I hear from the Traugott and how I'm positioning this particular guitar. Questions? Ask away... -B
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Brett McLaughlin CF MARTIN 1930 OM-18 - Mahogany/Adirondack GIBSON 2018 Memphis Limited 1963 ES-335 - Maple/Maple MCCONNELL 2021 Electric Semi-Hollow - Wenge/Sitka [SoundCloud | YouTube] |
#25
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Thanks, Brett, great description.
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#26
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I think for all the skeptics out there that like to assume many people that buy expensive guitars don't really play much and simply buy them to collect them and look at them as objects, I feel the need to add that Brett is a heck of a player... actually he's one of the better players I've ever had the luxury to hang out with. He's a VERY well rounded player that plays many styles of music extremely well... celtic fingerstyle, bluegrass/flatpicking, classical arrangements, contemporary fingerstyle, altered tunings / standard tunings, delta blues & rock blues, folk & country... the guy plays it all and plays it all well. I've played with better players that were pure fingerstyle guitarists, or pure flatpickers, or pure blues guitarists, etc... but most people (unless they are pure virtuoso professionals) are usually only exceptoinal at a certain style or two on the guitar and can struggle with stuff outside their comfort zone. I don't think I've played with someone as well rounded as Brett in relation to how well he is able to play just about every style and adapt to the different styles and tunings... I actually felt unworthy of owning my guitars after he was done playing. So, I guess what I'm saying is that when he talks about different guitars for different styles of music and with different playing styles in comparison to what he hears and feels, he truly is experienced in what he says and knows what he is talking about.
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We can share the woman, we can share the wine... _____________________ Suggestions 1:1 Slackers 1:51-52 FSM |
#27
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Wow.
#humbled What wonderful words. Back to practicing after that...
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Brett McLaughlin CF MARTIN 1930 OM-18 - Mahogany/Adirondack GIBSON 2018 Memphis Limited 1963 ES-335 - Maple/Maple MCCONNELL 2021 Electric Semi-Hollow - Wenge/Sitka [SoundCloud | YouTube] |
#28
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For a poor player like me it sometimes feels unfair that I can afford a guitar like a Stehr, a Gwaltney or an Olson while others that play much better can't, but I believe that I still get a lot of the benefits a truly outstanding guitar provides. |
#29
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Very interesting thoughts on having a great selection of guitars.. To me as a painter it totally makes sense it terms of 'palettes'. Some days a simple limited palette is in order, and other days ya really just want a full blown color palette. It just depends on what strikes your mood, or in this case, a particular piece you want to play. Thanks for your insights.
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#30
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@Brett
Very nice build, Im sure it will be fantastic.... Great and vivid description on the Traugott... Thats my experience also... The tone is just pure and clear... Among my guitars I gravitate towards the Traugott and the Somogyi more... |