Bob has made a name for himself over the last few
years as an aficionado of the Franco-Italian guitar designs of Selmer,
Maccaferri, Busato, Favino, etc. He spent years studying vintage Selmer
style guitars including nearly every Selmer, Favino, and Busato that
has come through our shop. He has taken on the challenge of making new
guitars that have the elusive and ineffable qualities heard in the very
best vintage Selmer type guitars. Few will doubt he has been incredibly
successful in his quest, as his guitars are now in the hands of many of
today's leading players: Rocky Gresset, Stephane Wrembel, Mathieu Chatelain, Neil
Andersson, Alfonso Ponticelli, etc. Bob has essentially been a "luthier
for the stars" these past few years...but now you can take home one of
these gems yourself!
This is Bob's Modele Nouveau which is played by Alfonso Ponticelli and Mathieu Chatelain.
The body is standard Selmer
size (15 3/4") and the scale is 670mm.
This guitar is impossibly light at 3.9lbs! Most Duponts are around 4lbs, Dell Artes around 4.5 lbs.
The top is made from aged cedar, back and sides are highly figured Honduran rosewood. The neck is made of walnut and features a Busato style
rosewood spline. There is no truss rod, but the neck is
reinforced with carbon strips which will keep it eternally straight. The
fingerboard is made of rosewood.
The Rosewood bridge is a new compensated design....looks really cool and does a great job intonating the guitar.
Bob's first passion was Busato's guitars, but over the years he has been studying and refining the Selmer design. This instrument shows just how far he has come in understanding what makes a Selmer Maccaferri tick. A good Selmer requires a precise balance between the low end and mids that so few contemporary luthiers can achieve. So often it's too much of one or the other, which leaves the guitar sounding muddy, flat, and lifeless. This model Nouveau has just enough low end to give chords some depth while the abundant midrange thickens your lead lines. This excellent tonal foundation is topped off with some crispy highs that add just enough sizzle. Loud and open in tone, this guitar will easily fill any room with it's balanced, confident voice.
It should be mentioned that while this guitar is very Selmer like in tone, it is by no means a strict copy. Bob does build bench copies from time to time, but generally only does this for his own enlightenment. When constructing his retail models he prefers to use his expansive knowledge of both vintage and contemporary luthiery to make something that is ideal for today's professional player.
All in all, a fabulous guitar for a price far below what most luthiers charge for fine work like this.
This is the CASH price...add 3% (4% for International orders) if
you'd like to pay with a credit card
