New Lehmann & Cole Louis Panormo Brazilian/30-Year-Old Sitka

Luthiers Bernie Lehmann and Jeff Cole have teamed up to create a unique offering: a tribute to Louis Panormo’s “Spanish Style” guitars from 1830s London. Constructed with modern techniques and materials at hand, this Panormo marries the traditional–like Brazilian–Rosewood-and-Spruce laminated sides and a bees wax finished top–with the contemporary–see the graphite-reinforced neck, the bolt-on heelblock design. “I want people to be unsure if it is old or new when the first look at it,” says Lehmann. Of course, it’s a little bit of both.

The Sitka Spruce top is 30 years old, finished to a faint luster by bees wax and adorned by a pearl-inlaid bridge and rosette. Brazilian Rosewood for the fretboard, itself adorned with brass frets, mates beautifully to the ebonised Mahogany neck. Right down to the hand-turned Mammoth Ivory endpin and strap button, the attention to detail by Lehmann & Cole has paid off handsomely–and the voice is sweet, balanced, and surprisingly loud. For the Civil War buff or Early Romantic Classical musician, this Panormo is a one-of-a-kind right up your alley. And it comes with a custom coffin case from Lehmann & Cole, dark-green and burgundy like the original!