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Barbarossa Guitars
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Patrick
Posts: 1189
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Portland, Oregon
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 RE: Barbarossa Guitars (in reply to kovachian)
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quote:
My advise, would be to just get the Barbarossa because THAT is what you are interested in and inquiring about. Go with your gut instinct.
Very good advice. I agree with Tom, but I promised some info on Sigurdson.
First off, my reason for responding in the first place was due to your intent to buy a negra. As I said earlier, I have owned and played a number of negra's. To be honest, I haven’t been overly impressed by a lot of them, but then some have been great. The problem is a builder has to really be on his game to build a good negra. A lot of builders for whatever reason build negra's with a deeper body and they turn out to be classical's with tap plates on them.
So why did I get a Sigurdson and why did I sell it? At the time (2003), I was on DeVoe's list and was looking for a reasonably priced negra to get me by until it (the DeVoe) was done. I had heard a lot of good things about Jeff from people I respected. I had Jeff build an East Indian with European Spruce top. The top was French polished with lacquer back and sides. I had him do a few up grades and I think I paid about $2,000 or a bit more. The woods (at least visually) were top quality. The back and sides and top were very nice straight grain quarter sawn. Construction was excellent. Not impeccable, but a very high standard. Jeff really knows how to set up a flamenco with the action right on the money (nice and low).
Keep in mind I have only played the Sigurdson I owned, but from the people I respect, mine seemed to be about the same as most. Jeff has really nailed the hard edge, abrasive tone you rarely hear in negra’s. Mine didn’t have a boomy bass like a lot of negra’s do. Very well balanced, with outstanding mids and pretty good trebles. Very, very easy to play. Nice dry (blanca) tone. This was the kind of guitar you like to come home to after a hard day at work. A very bright, in your face kind of guitar.
OK the weak points. After you took away the bright percussive tone, mine was a bit lifeless for a really world-class negra. What I want in a top class negra is modest sustain and wonderful overtones when you back off and play softer. This was the shortfall of this guitar and a lot in this price range.
So at the time I think I had a Tezanos Perez and a new DeVoe, so why keep the Sigurdson when it would just sit in the case? In retrospect, I kind of wished I had kept it, but I can always get another some day.
One thing you rarely hear about is a builders “business model”. Most builders use two major business models. The first is to turn out a bunch of guitars in the least amount of time with quality commensurate with the time spent on each guitar. The objective is to keep prices down and demand up. Quality of the product will likely suffer, but the advantage is a lot of business in the pipeline (hopefully).
With this model you hear a lot about a builder because they grind out a lot of guitars, but you also hear a lot of comments like “great guitar for the price”. It’s human nature to believe a high price will produce a better product. Even if the product is world-class, the low price tends to keep the “perceived” quality down. Now value is another thing all together. This model usually produces exceptional value (a lot of guitar for the buck). Jeff tends to (or he did when I bought one) use this model.
The second model is the exact opposite. This model basically works backwards. A builder pretty much knows how many guitars they can construct in a year maintaining the level of standards they are trying to achieve. Lets say he can build fifteen guitars a year and maintain standards. If he wants to make “X’ amount a year, he adds in his overhead expenses and divides this number by “X”. This establishes his selling price per guitar. Most builders that use this model are of a different mind set from the first (model). The mind set is “if I can’t produce the finest product”, I am not going to put my name on it.
The downside to this model is a lower number of guitars in the public’s hands so it can take much longer to become known. Most builders using this model hope for at least a two to three year back log. Again the human mind tends to perceive a higher price and a long wait with a higher quality of product (and we expect it). DeVoe has about a three-year list. I believe Aaron (Green) is at least two years if not more. Robert Ruck has about a ten-year list and is closed to new orders. Again value is another issue. Do we receive value with this model? We may be paying three to four times what we would for a guitar built by the first model. So is the guitar worth four times a much? It is, if it is to you!
No clips or pics available.
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Date Feb. 19 2008 6:18:58
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, bad part is that I'd have to wait between 18 and 24 months 
I could stick it out though, I got other toys that can keep me busy in the meantime. 
. I think that's what Patrick is trying to say, that at this price range Jeff provides a good guitar, but you can't expect it to sound as a much higher priced model, either his or from any good luthier.