Malachite Machinga Meridian--New Baranik Build!!!

[justonwo]

Totally amazing. Mike is such a perfectionist.

[cigarfan]

No matter where you look, there's the WOW factor! What a magnificent instrument. Enjoy Kevin! Wish you many happy musical years. Who knows, maybe when COVID is cured I will get a chance to audition this beauty.

[iim7V7IM7]

Congratulations on your new guitar.... I hope that it is everything you hoped it would be and then some...

[doodahdoug]

Congratulation Kevin and Mike on the completion of this beautiful instrument!

I recall seeing you both in a quiet hallway outside the exhibit hall at SBAIC,
test driving one of his show pieces and telling me later that you'd commissioned one for yourself. So nice to see it come to pass...enjoy it for many years!

[Nemoman]

Originally Posted by Machew

The most magical build thread I have ever seen!

Thanks, Machew--nice of you to say that. I like the sound of it too, The Magical Malachite Manchinga Meridian!

Originally Posted by nootis

Totally awesome.

I'm going to order my Baranik with Azurite components (closest thing to Malachite). That'll teach him to never say never!

Good luck with that, Dan--I think he's finished with the stone for awhile!

Originally Posted by mikealpine

I agree, and this is probably the prettiest guitar I have seen. The pop of color brought in by the Malachite, sparingly and tastefully used, is just awesome. Every detail is so well thought out and cleanly executed. I'm really blown away.

Thanks, Mike--the Malachite turned out to be a wonderful accent, even if a bit challenging. I'm really happy with the way everything turned out.

Originally Posted by Treenewt

This is simply a spectacular build. No other word for it. Dang.

Hey Thanks, Treenewt!

[Nemoman]

Originally Posted by justonwo

Totally amazing. Mike is such a perfectionist.

Thanks, Juston--Mike really stressed over getting all the details on this guitar perfect. He definitely succeeded on all levels.

Originally Posted by cigarfan

No matter where you look, there's the WOW factor! What a magnificent instrument. Enjoy Kevin! Wish you many happy musical years. Who knows, maybe when COVID is cured I will get a chance to audition this beauty.

Thanks, Dennis--I certainly hope you can give it a whirl one day and grace us all with some of your sweet vocals!

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

Congratulations on your new guitar.... I hope that it is everything you hoped it would be and then some...

Thanks, Bob--having it now in hand, it is far beyond what I ever could have expected. Thanks for commenting!

Originally Posted by doodahdoug

Congratulation Kevin and Mike on the completion of this beautiful instrument!

I recall seeing you both in a quiet hallway outside the exhibit hall at SBAIC,
test driving one of his show pieces and telling me later that you'd commissioned one for yourself. So nice to see it come to pass...enjoy it for many years!

Thanks, Doug--that day was almost three years ago now. But it was worth the wait!

[Nemoman]

So yesterday was the day--I finally got to see and play Tres M for the first time! In a word, it's magnificent, and I'm humbled and blown away to be the caretaker of such an incredible instrument.

It made for a long day what with a 4-1/2 drive each way to visit Mike's shop. But it was so worth it--it's always such a cool experience to pick up an instrument directly from the luthier. We made the best of it even with these current crazy times. Believe me, I'm grinning from ear to ear behind that mask!





I had an hour or so to play Tres M when I got home last night, and it was sweet indeed! I plan on doing a full review once I've had a few days with it. As luck would have it Dorian Michael was at Mike's shop on Saturday and graciously agreed to demo Tres M for us--what a treat!





As a very cool surprise by Mike, he put this label inside on the neck block. Love it!



Glamour shots and full review to follow in the coming days. Thanks again for all the comments and for following along!

[colins]

Kevin, with the world gone a little crazy at the moment it is such a treat to see that you have been able to hang out with Mike and Dorian, and pick up this wonderful guitar in person. Thanks man! We can't see your smile through the mask, but take it from me....We are all smiling as we read your thread.

Col

[TomB'sox]

Sounds and of course, looks fantastic. What a treat to have a player of that caliber give it a go in front of you!!! I think the drive was well worth it my friend!

[Nemoman]

Originally Posted by colins

Kevin, with the world gone a little crazy at the moment it is such a treat to see that you have been able to hang out with Mike and Dorian, and pick up this wonderful guitar in person. Thanks man! We can't see your smile through the mask, but take it from me....We are all smiling as we read your thread.

Col

Unfortunately, I didn't get to hang with Dorian as he made the recordings with Tres M on Saturday and we drove down on Sunday. But it was a fantastic experience hanging with Mike and this wonderful guitar! Thanks for the smiles, my friend--someday it will be nice to gather together again and exchange those smiles in plain sight for real!

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Sounds and of course, looks fantastic. What a treat to have a player of that caliber give it a go in front of you!!! I think the drive was well worth it my friend!

Thanks, Tom! It would have been nice to experience Dorian's playing in person, but we were a day apart. I felt fortunate that someone of his caliber could put this guitar through the paces so that we could all hear what it really can do. Tres M will never see that level of musicality at my house!

[Nemoman]

So a week ago this amazing journey came to an end--sad and exhilarating at the same time.

After playing Tres M for a week now I can only say, this guitar is a complete joy to play. It has been continually developing over this past week as it is discovering its voice. I have a hard time describing tone and sound, but here goes. Tres M is very responsive with sustain for days. I primarily play with a pick and it has a bright attack without being brash or abrasive. Piano-like highs, balanced and sharp mids, and a nice thump to the bass. I wanted a guitar that would give me a sound unlike any of my current stable and that is the case here--this guitar really has its own unique tonal palette.

Working with Mike on this guitar has really been a joy--he went above and beyond to take my initial design ideas, elaborate on them, and turn them into reality. The Malachite presented multiple challenges while working with it and Mike took it all in stride and delivered a masterpiece. This guitar is very special to me many ways, and I look forward to making sweet music on it for a long time to come. I highly encourage anyone considering a custom build to look up Mike Baranik and to become a Baranut!

Thanks to all who have followed along and for your comments along the way. The AGF is a supportive community to whom I will always be grateful for introducing me the world of custom luthier builds. I think I'm done for awhile though! Ha!

A few final pics to take us out...





















Thanks again--stay safe out there!

[colins]

And it sounds as good as it looks! Fantastic photos.

[Carpinteria]

What a gorgeous and distinctive guitar! Functional art! Congratulations. Dave

[riorider]

Originally Posted by colins

Kevin, with the world gone a little crazy at the moment it is such a treat to see that you have been able to hang out with Mike and Dorian, and pick up this wonderful guitar in person. Thanks man! We can't see your smile through the mask, but take it from me....We are all smiling as we read your thread.

Col

As Col said - smiles coming at you from all over! I appreciate you posting the vids of Dorian very much. He's able to pull out and present the guitar's voice so well!

Hope to see you one of these days! Best, Phil

[TomB'sox]

Really amazing photos of an amazing guitar. So happy for you Mr. Nemo.

Be good and take care and make some great music with this guy.