Richard Jernigan -> Good guitars and great guitars (Dec. 17 2014 22:35:52)
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I spent yesterday afternoon at Richard Brune's shop in Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Richard and his son Marshall were vey amiable and congenial hosts. As well as a famous luthier, Richard is a fine flamenco player. He worked as a pro at Manolo Caracol's Club "El Rincon de Goya" in Mexico City. After business was taken care of, Richard started bringing out guitars from his collection. Keep in mind my previous caveat that I would make no serious decision about a guitar without playing it for at least a few days. But Richard has one that I had no doubt about as soon as he started to play. Richard's showroom is good sized, a fair amount bigger than my practice room of 15 x 20 feet (5x7 meters). It has a nice hardwood floor--a good room to play the guitar in. Among the first he and I played was a Manuel Reyes. Richard described the trebles as "glassy". They even seemed to overpower the basses a bit, but that may just have been the strings--or me. A loud and brilliant guitar with trebles both firm and glassy. There was a Conde Hermanos blanca from the 1970s. It had a firm pulsacion, was even across all registers, an excellent guitar, but didn't seem to me as brilliant as my '82 Arcangel Fernandez blanca which we had in the room. Still, it might be just the ticket for a different player. A 1930s Santos Hernandez is in perfect condition. A beautiful instrument and a pleasure to play. It is brilliant, balanced, has a singing tone, and is percussive in rasgueados. This is the kind of guitar I was talking about having to get familiar with. I was more comfortable with my Arcangel, but I have been playing it for years. An Arcangel Fernandez negra didn't immediately attract me. Maybe I would like it more if I learned how to play it better, but it didn't grab my attention like the blancas we had been playing. (This wasn't the guitar Ricardo Marlow played--Richard said he sold that one.) A 1923 Domingo Esteso blanca has a quality I have seldom encountered in a blanca, but a quality a like very much. The trebles have a depth, a singing tone like a great mezzo soprano, but when pushed they turn coloratura, pushed further they are percussive. The basses are bold and colorful. A really great guitar. As soon as Richard started to play his 1948 Barbero, I exclaimed "Damn! What a guitar! Wow!" It has a character somewhat like the Esteso, only much more so. It reminds me of great Torres and Manuel Ramirez guitars I have heard, only more brilliant and percussive when pushed. It was easily the loudest of the bunch, by a wide margin, yet its boldness projected refinement, not harshness. I am near crossing the border into **** here, because words just fail me. You would simply have to hear it. When he handed it to me, the sounds just jumped out of it as soon as I played a note. It was not only the loudest, the most brilliant, the most refined, the most flamenca, it was the easiest to play. Damn! But I repeat myself... The Barbero has had a long and eventful professional career. It shows it. Marshall said, "Probably more notes per year than any other guitar I have seen." Richard observed that all that playing had opened it up. I'm still happy with my Arcangel. The Esteso has more cantabile, but maybe a little less brilliance. I like my Arcangel better than any of the others, except of course for the Barbero, but I have lived with the Arcangel for quite a while now, and know it better than any of the others. Thanks to Richard and Marshall for a very enjoyable afternoon. RNJ
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