Ray Kraut Custom Modified Dreadnaught "WOW"

[Ron Potkul]

I decided to take the time to share my experience with my new Ray Kraut MD.
My first impression when I first played it was WOW!!
For those of you ( me being one) who followed the start to finish thread of justonwo (this is the url on AGF I am referring to) http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...t=kraut+guitar
I for one was amazed at the beautiful workmanship that I was privileged to view and follow on the AGF. Of course this wouldn't have been possible if Juston didn't decide to share this journey with all of us. It also wouldn't of happened if the Luthier Raymond Kraut didn't take his precious time updating and taking pictures of his workflow for all of us to see and experience. Since I had played a few of Rays OM recently of which I was truly amazed at the sound and the beautiful workman ship ( even tho I am a dreadnaught man) I decided to follow this thread very closely because I was considering a new dread to add to my studio guitars. I was looking at Ervin Somogyi Dreads, Jason Kostal, and Raymond Krauts dreads. Since Ray and Jason were both apprentices to the Master Luthier Ervin Somogyi and I love the unique Somogyi sound I decided to follow Juston's AGF thread on the building of his Ray Krauts modified dread. The art work that was being produced on Justons new build was right on target with my personal tastes. To make a long story short when the guitar was completed it was truly a work of art. The only problem was that when Juston received it wasn't the sound/voice he was hoping for. This turned a positive experience into a negative one in regards to the AGF thread. I decided to send Juston and private email message asking him if he wanted to sell this new guitar. When I decided to contact Juston in regards to this MD guitar I wanted to see if I could make this bad situation a win, win for all parties concerned, Ray, Juston and me. I also asked him if he could record the guitar with out any effects and with bare fingers(no picks) if possible email them to me in MP3 form. What I heard was the Somogyi magic that Ray had learned so well in his apprenticeship. The bass notes are so rich and deep they almost sound like a string oboe. Each string sounds so full and round and they ring out clear as a bell when you strum it. (I don't use picks) They don't muddle together like a lot of the traditional dreads. I still own and have own quite a few high end traditional dreads and this Kraut is in an entirely different realm. This guitar was just my cup of tea. It is a unique and a amazing guitar. The nice part is there is not another one like it, because Ray never does the same art work on any other of his guitars. Yes,needless to say I bought it and I love it. The first thing I did was to put a Trance Amulet SBT stereo pickup system in this dread. I put this system in every guitar I own because in MY opinion it is the best. I had Gryphon Strings in California (Luthier and installation specialist Brian Michaels do the work) He did an outstanding install and everything is perfectly balance across the strings. It truly captures the amazing sound this guitar produces. Brian was the gentleman who got me hooked on the Trance system originally. In fact this is what he uses in his personal guitars, and he can buy and use anything he wants at a major discount compared to the rest of us. In fact the first thing Brian said when he received the guitar was WOW, and he works on every make and model out there. In fact he ask me if I was serious about putting a pickup system in this beautiful high end guitar. Needless to say I still said yes. The first thing I did when I received the guitar at my home was to take the present set of strings off and changed the strings to Martin SP coated medium strings and at that point this beast came alive. The sound was un like any dread I have ever owned. I decided to call Raymond Kraut and let him know I purchased this guitar. He was very nice and we talked for quite some time. I ask him about the lifetime warranty which is normally given to the original owner. Ray was kind enough to extend it to me which is not his normal business model. He also was kind enough to allow Juston to sell off his deposit of which Juston had paid earlier, planning on what was going to be another Kraut guitar only this time an OM guitar. Again Ray went out of his way to help make this a win, win for all concerned. I guess the lesson learned is that everyone one has different wants, needs and taste in guitars. I believe most of the reputable guitar companies as well as custom builders like Ray normally produce a very good instrument. I do believe Rays guitars are truly exceptional and I have been played some of top guitars for over 40 years. The bottom line is if there is a guitar that you aren't fond of,it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the guitar, it is just means its not your cup of tea. Also, when you order a custom guitar you don't have the same opportunity to listen to it before you buy it, unlike going into your typical guitar center and trying any and everything on the shelf. In my case I was able to hear the guitar before I bought it and at this point I couldn't be more pleased. I would like to say thanks again to Juston and Ray ( who were both very nice gentleman ) for working with me and helping me to secure this Ray Kraut masterpiece and for helping me make this a win, win for everyone. Also, thank you AGF for this wonderful forum.

[mikealpine]

Congrats!! Glad it worked out so well for you!! Please post up some sound clips when you have a chance.

[royd]

let me add to the congrats... watching the build thread, it is clearly a GORGEOUS instrument. It was too bad that the voice was not what Juston was looking for... but I am glad that it is exactly the voice you were looking for and that so many pieces fell in place at the end.

[jackaroo]

Thank you...

[Billy Boy]

Congratulations, Ron! As you know, I was able to play your guitar before it was shipped, and I thought it had a wonderful sound and was an amazingly artful guitar. The notes seemed to explode from the soundbox, they did not get muddled together, the note-to-note separation was outstanding, and the clarity was crisp and articulate. I agree that simply because it is not one person's cup of tea doesn't mean that the guitar is not a wonderful instrument. I'm really glad this worked out for both you and Juston. Enjoy your new guitar!

[steveh]

Thanks for posting. I was left wondering how can a guitar sound so bad to one person and so good to another? I then remembered a guitar get-together I held at my place in Feb with some very high end luthier guitars.

A few weeks later I had some drinks with a pal who came along - our impressions of the various guitars were often quite different. One in particular I really liked and he really did not, and I just couldn't understand why, especially as our tastes are similar; it sounded great to me, played great, and was very well made.

One man's meat etc.

Really glad for you that this guitar has found a great home. I have one of Jason's MDs and I love it to bits. It is not a "vanilla" guitar though - MDs are hardly that and, in my experience, tend to elicit some quite strong opinions because they really don't sound like anything else.

Cheers,
Steve

[Ron Potkul]

Thanks Steve and Billy Boy for your kind comments.

I learned a long time ago that people simply don't hear the same, taste the same, see the same, ect. Some long time friends of ours always invite us to go out to the movies and to dinner. We usually liked the same movies but when it came to dinner that was a different story. Usually food that they thought was great was border line edible to us. We couldn't understand how their taste buds where so different than ours. To solve that problem we decided to take turns in picking out the restaurant and cuisine each time we went out, problem solved.

Of course with a custom built guitar, this is something you have to live with day in and day out and it has be a good match for your personal taste. It's really like a marriage but only on a different level. If you find a good wife you love and cherish her forever. I have been blessed to find such person and we have been together for over 38 years. She is so special and kind that when I told her I was buying a custom built Ray Kraut guitar she said what ever makes you happy. I guess I should have told her the price and the fact that the new guitar would be sharing our bed. (Just Kidding)

Little did I realize that she would be telling me a week later she wanted to buy a Verne Q. Powell Aurumite 9K Gold Handmade Conservatory Flute for $12000,00. Yes, she is a musician as well and a very smart business woman. She is also a wonderful mother and the love of my life. So to be a gentleman I told her I would have to get back with her on the purchase of the flute. After all this is a large purchase. You have to realize in my house I always get the last word, it's YES DEAR!! Needless to say she loves her new flute as well and I love my new Kraut MD. Again, a win, win situation for all concerned. Now if I could only get her to move over a little more in bed I 'm sure my new guitar would fit in nicely.

[theotigno]

Glad to hear it all worked out! Congratulations Ron on the Kraut guitar, but even more importantly, on 38 years of marriage!

[Nemoman]

This is really a wonderful ending to what was a troubled situation. Sure glad this worked out for all involved. thanks for sharing this, Ron!

[mikealpine]

I know I'm going to regret this post...however it didn't really work out well for all.

It did work out great for Ron, and that is totally fantastic.

I didn't work out that great for Juston. If you notice, the opportunity to sell the build slot isn't much of an opportunity for Juston as there isn't all that much incentive for the buyer - it doesn't come with what one usually expects when one buys a build slot; the position in the build list and the benefit of the pricing at the time the original contract was signed. The buyer gets the same slot and pricing as if they went directly. They may save a few hundred bucks, and I guess that's good if you were already planning on buying from Ray.

I think it would have been a far better business decision for Ray to refund the money (even if he took the few hundred dollars that Juston offered for time invested), or at the very least, allow the sale of the build slot to be the incentive it should be. He would have gotten great PR, worth far more than the whatever he's getting this way. And, if he is confident in his building skills (as he should be based on Ron's reaction), then he'll fill Juston's slot easily at today's pricing. In the end, Ray would have profited far more overall for turning bad press into good marketing,

In my mind, that would have been a great ending.

Please make no mistake...I am very happy at Ron's good fortune. I hope to be just as happy when my build is done. Just needed to get that off of my chest.

[Nemoman]

Well put, Mike. You make some very good points that I hadn't fully considered. No regrets--now get us some more pics of your build!

[royd]

Originally Posted by Ron Potkul

Little did I realize that she would be telling me a week later she wanted to buy a Verne Q. Powell Aurumite 9K Gold Handmade Conservatory Flute for $12000,00.

most of the folk here on this list don't realize that that number is not an unusually large one for a high quality orchestral instrument and don't know how good we have it as guitar players.

[Ron Potkul]

Hi Mike,

Just to clarify the win, win situation. When I spoke with Juston last and Ray they were both satisfied with the out come. In fact if you read the last page of that thread which I have copied and pasted below, I'm believe most people would agree with my summary. Of course everyone has their own opinion and as I stated in my original post, there is nothing wrong with your opinion it is just different than mine.I do realize you have the right to express your opinion and I do want you to know that I respect your opinion. I also understand your point of view. That's the great part about this forum we all get to share our experiences, good bad or indifferent.

Ray has graciously offered to allow me to sell my OM deposit. I believe this is a reasonable resolution given the circumstances, and I applaud Ray for it.

As has been subtly implied, this thread has run its course. I agree there is nothing left to add to the discussion. With the dreadnought sold and the OM deposit resolved, I think things have reached a proper end point.

I did very much enjoy sharing this build with all of you, and I wish the guitar's new owner many years of happiness playing it.


__________________

[geordie]

Originally Posted by royd

most of the folk here on this list don't realize that that number is not an unusually large one for a high quality orchestral instrument and don't know how good we have it as guitar players.

yeah Roy, I wont tell you what I spent on a violin not to mention the bow for my daughter when she was accepted into the national youth orchestra.


Good outcome Ron, I hope you get a lota pleasure from the guitar, I'd be very interested to hear it if / when you record a 'clip'.

[mikealpine]

Ron, resolved doesn't mean happy, just "over" lol. But that's ok at this point.

Really, more than anything, I'm happy you have a guitar that you feel fits you so well. The joy you'll get from it will long outlive the story of how it all came together. Enjoy!