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We’re excited to offer a like new, 2018 Traugott R in Jeff’s classic Brazilian Rosewood and German Spruce combo. This Model R has all the properties that we’ve come to expect from Jeff’s work: unique definition and responsiveness all along the fretboard, glassy playability, and immaculate string-to-string balance that lets the voice ring out in true clarity. All that in a practically new package; already the voice is inspirational, and we can’t imagine how all the ways it’s going to grow and open up in the coming months and years.
The fit and finish are flawless, executed in Jeff’s restrained style for an elegant, understated aesthetic that provides a hint as to the kind of precision and control that the voice will offer up when you put finger to string. This is an excellent opportunity to own an instrument from one of America’s finest luthiers: our 2018 Traugott Model R is money well spent.

Other keywords: lutherie, brazilain, fingerstyle, fingerpicking, jeff traugott, hoffee, gotoh, abalone, contemporary guitar, mint

Definition, power, and playability—we don’t know how Michael Kennedy builds such energetic guitars, but we’re sure glad he does. This is our latest Indian Hill Grand Concert in Mahogany and Engelmann Spruce, with a few extra features under the hood. Namely, a small upper bout soyndport to keep the player in the know, and the installation of a tornavoz around the inside of the soundhole.
This GC is a particularly lively and loud guitar, exhibiting all the woody, dry characteristics of Mahogany that make for a quick and responsive instrument. Played with either flatpicks or fingertips, this Indian Hill is immensely fun; it’s easy to lose track of time. The back and sides and neck are finished in satin, and your left hand slides oh so smoothly along the neck. It’s really one of those guitars that practically plays itself. The pinless bridge makes for quick string changes and eliminates the risk of launching a bridge pin off the top and into your audience—set off with spalted appointments here and the rosette.
Brand new but already a livewire tone machine! Our latest Indian Hill GC is a hearthrob you won’t want to miss.

Other keywords: lutherie, luthier, canadian, fingerstyle, dadgad, alternate tunings, gotoh

Michi Matsuda—a category all of his own. This man blends the disciplines of sculpture and lutherie with a contemporary artist’s eye for contour and color in ways that the rest of us are only just now catching on to. This M1 was originally built for one of our clients in 2005, and it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to revisit with an old friend. Suspicions have now been confirmed: even 13 years later, Michi’s guitars are gorgeous, timeless, and incredibly resonant.

Rich, red Brazilian Rosewood make up the back and sides, and there’s a tight-grained Italian Spruce on top with a little bit of aged toner in the finish which pairs nicely with the Spalted Maple rosette, waist, and florentine cutaway inlays. Twin koi fish are inlaid in Abalone from frets five to nine, and just after the scalloped nut there’s a final touch of Spalted Maple veneered to the headstock with gold Gotoh 510 tuners and Ebony knobs. The bridge is Rosewood, as are the bindings, and the heelblock features Matsuda’s swoop relief carved into the treble side to coax your left hand a bit closer to the fretboard when playing the uppermost frets.

There’s absolute magic in the naked strings. The treble response is haunting, replete with overtones and palpable sustain. Notes from this M1 hang in the air like a cloud. It’s rare to find a guitar which really feels as comfortable with picks as it does with fingers, but this Matsuda is one such guitar. How Michi manages to coax so much color and dynamism out of his guitars, we’ll probably never know—but we’re glad he does.

Other keywords: somogyi, ervin somogyi, gryphon strings, frank ford, sculptor, functional art, luthier