Build Thread: Traugott BK Cutaway (Brazilian/German)

[Marcus Wong]

Congratulations on the new guitar Brett! I bet it's phenomenal Can't wait to see the finished photos + video of it

[Larry Pattis]

In regards to recording...it's always nice to have the new instrument in-hand, and to be greatly inspired...this is a desired part of the new-handcrafted-guitar process, in fact.

That said, I want to hear the guitar a couple of years from now, after some major playing time...!

[steveh]

Originally Posted by Portland Bill

With that in mind you know where I am if you ever want to move H on
Regards Tony

haha - yes. Everything comes to those who wait. At the moment I'm not selling.

...and I hope that Brett's new Traugott is similarly far from The Block. It certainly looks like a lovely instrument and Jeff's guitars are utterly sublime.

Really looking forward to those pieces - I have to be in the right mood to record, what with "red light fever" and all of that, which is a particular issue for those of us that are rank amateurs. Can't have a car crash up on YouTube for all to see!

Cheers,
Steve

[Oxwood_Handmade]

What an excellent and thoughtful reflection. I know we've all been watching for years as your guitar journey has taken place. I absolutely love the ability of the folks on here to not only distinguish, but interpret the tonal aspects of these guitars, and then share them with us. Can't wait to hear the beautiful music you make on it! Congratulations!

Originally Posted by bdm0509

Nothing to upload yet... I'm still getting set up, and waiting for a tripod to come in. I'm hoping to just get some really simple stuff uploaded soon, though, maybe a Carulli short prelude or something I can get under my fingers. I'm rusty! Still, it will be pretty soon, I'm not gonna prolong this :-)



It's quite a guitar. I'm really happy after a few days. It does have a ton in common with my first R, and with some time to think about it, I suspect that's why I sold the first R and why this guitar impresses me so much.... my own evolution.

It does –not– have as much in common with the Kostal, other than both being amazing instruments. Those are two very different things.

To my ear, the Traugott is the flattest, most neutral guitar I've ever played. It doesn't have giant lows, or ridiculous highs, or anything like that. In many ways, it's most impressive in that everything is totally and completely even. It's what I would call equivalent to a brilliant set of mics: it doesn't do anything to the sound. It's that weird phenomenon of paying a lot of money for something to just not "mess with" the sound.

(I would say that the BK has a little more bass depth than the R... not different, just deeper. Hard to imagine, I know, talking about sound, dancing about architecture, etc.)

But now, a little older and a little more aware of what I like, I freaking LOVE the purity of the Traugott. It's just so true... you get out what you put in. But here's the thing: in many ways, the Traugott is sneaky like that, and easy to overlook. It doesn't overwhelm you (or at least me) in any particular way. It doesn't have that Somogyi bass thing, or the crazy chimey trebles of a Greenfield (especially with the negative neck angle). It's just... pure. Clear. Unchanged.

At the same time, it's merciless and unforgiving, ha ha. It's GREAT to play, don't get me wrong; wonderfully set up and a brilliant neck and action. But it's so clear that the slightest mistake rings out just as clearly and obviously as a well-played note. Every nuance is revealed, and for mere mortals like me, those are the mistakes :-) It will absolutely make me a better player.

As a slight aside, the Kostal was also brilliant, but it had (again, to my ear) more immediate "wow" factor. I wouldn't say that it distorts the sound, but is more a mic that I'd call "warm and clear." The Kostal had more character in the sense that it had a distinctive sound; it had shades of that crazy Somogyi thing. The Traugott has character in its ability to be what the player gives, with a terrifyingly accurate representation of the fingers on it. The Kostal, to my ear (and keep in mind I'm doing this from memory), was a bit more forgiving, in that notes had a bit more bloom and reverb built in.

(Now, if Jason wants to send me a guitar to play side by side, I'm –happy– to do that. Ha!)

Given the chance, every player should have both! Given that I can only currently have one guitar, the Traugott suits me right now. It's going to make me become a better player... I've started working with Mike Chapdelaine again, and I think this will be a fine palette on which to "paint." I'm sure I could do the same with the Kostal, and I've told Jason I'm quite sincere in saying that, much as it was my second Traugott that I believe will stick, let's hope one day the same is said for my -second- Kostal, heh.

So, bottom line: Traugott = beautiful, neutral, fine work of art. Incredibly refined and pure.

Videos to follow!

-Brett

[Richard Mott]

+1 on this great insight. I remember first playing a Traugott (and a Claxton) 15 years ago, back when Healdsburg was held at Villa Chanticleer. And thinking, "OK, what is all the fuss about?" There was no hand-waving, no bells & whistles with those instruments, and it took me a while (a couple of years) to realize how profoundly lovely their restraint was. Kind of like Miles Davis's remark about the notes you don't play.

"To my ear, the Traugott is the flattest, most neutral guitar I've ever played. It doesn't have giant lows, or ridiculous highs, or anything like that. In many ways, it's most impressive in that everything is totally and completely even. It's what I would call equivalent to a brilliant set of mics: it doesn't do anything to the sound. It's that weird phenomenon of paying a lot of money for something to just not "mess with" the sound."

[JJI]

What's the word?!

[iim7V7IM7]

Brent, I noticed that the Traugott that you received in June is no longer in your signature. Is it gone as well?

[bdm0509]

A conclusion to this thread...

As most of you know, I had a Traugott R a number of years ago, one that I still rank as one of the best 2 or 3 guitars I've ever played. I foolishly sold it for a laundry list of reasons that aren't particularly worth reiterating. Getting this BK from Jeff was very much an attempt to re-capture that magical sound, tone, playability, etc.

Once I got the BK, I initially reported it was quite neutral, which was true. But I held off on recording it as I wanted to spend time playing it... which I did. (I have a complete setup waiting to record, but I simply never did.) I held onto it for several months, and I played it a ton, as well as getting some buddies to play it so I could listen from out front. The neutrality continued, but to my ear, it never blossomed into what that original R had right out of the gate.

Eventually Jeff and I discussed my impressions, as well as his as to when the guitar left his shop. The long and short of it is that, after a lot of discussion, Jeff and I both agreed that this guitar wasn't as close to the R as I'd hoped. Jeff confirmed that to his ear, it had less low end response, probably due to having his newest bracing on the top but a generation back of bracing on the back. It hard a GREAT voice, mind you; but this project was very much an attempt to recapture something specific... that R, or at a minimum, a BK version of that R. Sisters, at least, if not twins :-)

While I would not at all say that Jeff was disappointed in the guitar, I think it would be fair to say we both felt that it wasn't as much like that original R as we might have expected. Jeff was gracious, of course–even after several months of me waiting to see what changed and settled!–and gave me several options. We discussed, and the one we went with was to send the guitar back and he sent back my payment... in full. We both left happy, I believe, and this for me was about as good an experience as I could have hoped for.

So while I do still wish that the guitar that showed up had the qualities that made that original R so special, I am thrilled with this outcome. Jeff and I are on good terms, neither of us "lost," and I'm neither messing with the resale market or bummed that I have a guitar that didn't hit the tonal target at which we were aiming.

So all's well that ends well, here. Still missing that R, but also still very much playing.

-Brett