Kraut OM Ziricote

[steveh]

I played a ziricote guitar today and it was FABULOUS - a Ralph Bown OM. Really opened my ears to how good this wood can be. I've tended to ignore it because it's very figured (I like plain guitars) but wow this guitar sounded every bit as good as its brazilian OM cousins.

cheers,
Steve

[cpabolting]

Originally Posted by JoeNewbie

There aren't that many options and in terms of measurements I only worry about having at least 1 3/4" nut width.

My hands aren't particularly large and there's a lot of stuff that I play on which a shorter scale could potentially help -- but I hate it. If I can't reach a super duper chord, I just substitute it and it usually sounds just as good and nobody notices.

I could get used to a short scale for sure, but playing a Martin OM and 000 back to back gives me all the reassurance that I need to keep on playing longer scales.

That being said, a properly set up short(er) scale guitar will no doubt be more comfortable. I would consider it as a more "specialized" instrument in my stable.

FWIW, Ray's waiting list is growing and his price list is meant to be adjusted this summer (you'll find his options are very reasonably priced compared to the good stuff from Circle Pines). It means you get "added equity" (to quote Jim Olson) before you even buy the instrument...

His work is beautiful!

[Welshboy]

I've loved the ziricote guitars I've played - a Bourgeois Slope D, a fantastic Berkowitz F6 (currently still in Trevor's shop in Brighton) and a couple of others. In fact, the only thing that stopped me buying that one is the nut width - it's 45 mm and I tend to prefer 43 mm these days.

Ziricote is very high on the list of possibilities for my next build.

[JoeCharter]

Originally Posted by drcmusic7

Congrats! On of my regrets of the Healdsburg festival was not playing one of Rays guitars. I love his style.

I'm looking forward to watching this thread and seeing how the guitar comes a long.

Kindly,
Danny

Thank you. This is a total departure in style for me and I'm really looking forward to the build.

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

The guitar Ray built for me has a special 24" scale, and this ended up working very well for me, scale-wise. The guitar was built with 13 frets to the body, rather than the usual 14 fret arrangement, and this allowed the bridge/bridge-plate to remain in Ray's sweet-spot for his top-building/voicing.

I've always laughed at fan frets but Ray's Woodstock build looks gorgeous. So maybe a multi-scale for me...

Originally Posted by steveh

I played a ziricote guitar today and it was FABULOUS - a Ralph Bown OM. Really opened my ears to how good this wood can be. I've tended to ignore it because it's very figured (I like plain guitars) but wow this guitar sounded every bit as good as its brazilian OM cousins.

cheers,
Steve

I'm the opposite -- I buy guitars for their looks as most of the decent ones sound good anyway...

Originally Posted by Welshboy

I've loved the ziricote guitars I've played - a Bourgeois Slope D, a fantastic Berkowitz F6 (currently still in Trevor's shop in Brighton) and a couple of others. In fact, the only thing that stopped me buying that one is the nut width - it's 45 mm and I tend to prefer 43 mm these days.

Ziricote is very high on the list of possibilities for my next build.

I usually look at a builder's vibe and decide what kind of wood I want. My preferred tone wood is Madagascar rosewood but its tone and visual appearance aren't appropriate for all types of builds.

I went with ziricote here just because it seems to blend well with Ray's design. No further scientific reason...

[Tom Doerr]

I had a opportunity to meet Ray and check out his guitars at the Healdsburg show. Very nice guy and great guitars. Good choice with Rays guitars. Nice set of ziricote btw!

[kirkham13]

Beautiful set. I'm sure Ray knows his wood and chose the set for more than its nearly perfect distribution of character lines (or growth rings?) The sides are going to look just as wild 3D as the back.... I love the way this school of luthiers apply inlays in the soundboard/neck/etc. It will be interesting to see how Ray compliments the complexity of the B/S...

[geordie]

Originally Posted by JoeNewbie

I like to think that I'm a reasonably intelligent man but I'm a big zero with 3D visualisation, whether in IQ tests or real life situations like this. And this is the kind of thing that definitely does not get better with age...

hey Joe, get yourself an axe and a log and go to work, you'll learn a lot.

A Bown in Ziricote Steve ? sounds interesting, any pics ?

[steveh]

Originally Posted by geordie

A Bown in Ziricote Steve ? sounds interesting, any pics ?

No - it was brought along by a guy who bought my OMX to complement it, so I only had my hands on it for a short while.

It was a really, really beautiful instrument both sonically and visually. Sound-wise, it reminded me of the brazilian Bown OM you played at HB1 and which you described as a "Master instrument" subsequently. The ziricote OM also did everything, really well - like a good OM does I suppose. Impossible to throw anything at it that it couldn't cope with.

Cheers,
Steve

[JoeCharter]

Ray's approach allows for a unique guitar as you can significantly alter the looks of your instrument with just a few options, which are all very reasonably priced.

Here's a fine example:

[Romo Fingers]

That is an awesome pic! Thumbs up for Kraut!

I have a Ryan Ziricote Nightingale with a Caspian Spruce top. Love it! Wonderfully rich sound!

[bdm0509]

Originally Posted by JoeCharter

Ray's approach allows for a unique guitar as you can significantly alter the looks of your instrument with just a few options, which are all very reasonably priced.

Here's a fine example:

Ok, to be totally fair, that guitar (which is mine) has about every option you could think to add, so I'm not sure it falls into the "reasonably priced" category, unless you're comparing him to some of the elite guys, Ervin and Jeff Traugott and Mike Greenfield.

But I would say you get a ton of value from Ray... at any price. He puts enormous time into inlays and the aesthetic, without cutting out the tonal work.

-Brett

[JoeCharter]

Originally Posted by bdm0509

Ok, to be totally fair, that guitar (which is mine) has about every option you could think to add, so I'm not sure it falls into the "reasonably priced" category, unless you're comparing him to some of the elite guys, Ervin and Jeff Traugott and Mike Greenfield.

But I would say you get a ton of value from Ray... at any price. He puts enormous time into inlays and the aesthetic, without cutting out the tonal work.

-Brett

That's a terrific guitar you've got there, Brett. Your Greenfield also looks quite stunning.

I actually asked Ray about these options and made the "reasonably priced" comment in comparison to the $6K of paua inlays on my upcoming Olson SJ...

My Kraut OM will probably be a bit more traditional looking than yours but I guess we'll all find out in just a few weeks...

[JoeCharter]

For those who might be interested in this set of ziricote from Ray, it is still available...

Ray made the mistake of mentioning another really nice set that was slightly more expensive -- and after a bit of thought I decided to take the plunge. I'll start a new thread...

Here are some new pictures of the ziricote set:

[Tom Doerr]

Originally Posted by JoeCharter

For those who might be interested in this set of ziricote from Ray, it is still available...

Ray made the mistake of mentioning another really nice set that was slightly more expensive -- and after a bit of thought I decided to take the plunge. I'll start a new thread...

Here are some new pictures of the ziricote set:

Hey Joe, If its still available asked Ray how much I can buy it for so I can build with it

[Billy Boy]

Hey, Joe! I'm really looking forward to the progress of this thread as your guitar works through the build process. Ray is a great guy! I may be heading down his way on Saturday. Congratulations!