David Lockington (cello) and Yaniv Attar (guitar) perform Saint-Saëns’ The Swan
Guitar as described in the post Cedar and Padauk – a good guitar combo
A super (!) email from a long-time Ganz Guitar player
I do get emails from guitarists, usually early in the “ownership cycle” telling me how awesome the Ganz guitar they just bought is. Those are great. I also get notes from people who have had a guitar for a long time, and have communicated with me quite a lot over the years. However, this one is slightly unusual in that I haven’t heard from this individual in a few years. Here’s the note:
Hey Steve. Just finished spending some time with the beautiful Maple guitar I purchased from you many years ago. It is my go-to guitar 80% of the time. Also the easiest of my guitars to play (David Russell considers that his number one criteria for an instrument) and does everything amazingly well. I can get pretty much any kind of tone out of it that I want and it has super separation. Whenever I pick up any other of my guitars*, aside perhaps from my Hauser – and that’s pretty refined company – they all seem boomy. So I just thought I would let you know how fantastic it has turned out to be. It is also strikingly beautiful. I hope you are well and taking care re Covid.
Best regards, Michael
That’s a nice note from a good player who has several high level guitars, including a Hauser and other iconic builders. Thank you Michael.
So, these pictures were made with my first digital camera, but you can see part of what Michael is talking about when he says “beautiful”… Here are some more Guitar of Month – 2007 Maplenillos
Note* : Michael’s other guitars include a Fleta and Bernabe Imperial.
Posted in Hauser, testimonial, Uncategorized
Tagged ganzanillos, maple, romanillos, testimonial
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Anna Pietrzak and Carl Petersson in recital – 17 December 2020
This recital was actually recorded in October 2020, but premiered on YT a couple of days ago. I’ve written about Anna and Carl in this blog before. Both immensely talented, which means they had a good start in music and worked hard! They make a good ensemble. This recital has a nice variety of solo and ensemble offerings. If you go to the youtube page (available only until January 16, 2021) You can pick where to start the video if you go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xXoIi7oPto
Let me start at the guitar solo section. Anna plays Sérgio Assad’s Seis Brevidades on a Ganz (Romanillos Homage) that I built a few years ago. I particularly like the Ginga.
Carl plays a couple of piano pieces that might be familiar to some readers/listeners: Fryderyk Chopin: Grande Valse brillante in E-flat major, Op. 18 and Isaac Albéniz: Iberia, book 1, with an amazing rendition of the Corpus Christi en Sevilla
The duos are amazing. Luigi Boccherini: Introduction and Fandango arr. Julian Bream; Marek Pasieczny: Eight Miniatures for Piano and Guitar based on and inspired by Polish Folk Music (2018); and Ren Guang: Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon (arr. Burdeti Duo)
So many amazing guitar/piano pieces. I think the Pasieczny Nocturne is my favorite rendition at the moment. I like moody stuff. However the articulation in Folk Song on ‘5’ is pretty amazing.
What a pleasure to hear this artistry from Carl and Anna.
Posted in audio, Uncategorized, video
Tagged Anna Pietrzak, Carl Petersson, guitar, Marek Pasieczny, piano, youtube
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Cedar and Padauk – a good guitar combo –
Padauk is an interesting wood for guitars. The first time I tried to bend it for sides, it cracked, and those had to be discarded. 🙁
But it is used for bridges by some luthiers. It has a good resonating quality, and is a good weight – not too heavy or light. I found out that my first experience with bending was a bit of a fluke. It bends beautifully and works well! I’ll get a sound sample together to post on the blog soon.
The wood is remarkable for it’s color… reddish/orange. Over time (years) it will change color to a brown color especially if exposed to unfiltered light.
HERE COMES THE SUN !
A nice morning here in Blaine. Spirits lifted.
Jacek Kado plays the uplifting Here Comes the Sun… From 2011, when his friend was being treated for a serious disease. Thanks Jacek. For me, this is an important role of music.
Anna Pietrzak interprets…
…Sicilienne. A beautiful, moody and moving piece composed by Henryk (Harry) Freedman.
I’ve written about Anna on this blog before.
Her website is http://annapietrzak.com/en/anna-pietrzak
Performed on a 2016 guitar I built: “El Negrito”.
A nice guitar is a available….Third party.
A longtime customer called me this morning, and due to a combination of medical, family, and financial concerns, he is considering selling his Ganz guitar. The guitar has had plek job, and has an internal passive pickup. 640 scale length. Spuce top, Macassar ebony back and sides. Here is a recent recording that the owner, Rich Rorex made recently. Rich has loved this guitar and used it in lots of gigs.
https://www.facebook.com/richard.rorex/videos/3448663905225345
Contact: Rich Rorex, contact information at https://www.richrorex.com/
Unwrapping and trimming the purfling
Another silent movie
Gluing/laminating purfling lines
A few minutes of bliss
Nico’s Baritone is finished.
All strung up. The top is a satin finish with a golpeador, also low gloss.
Cypress back and sides, spruce top. 700 mm scale. Tuned a fourth below normal.
Nico Audy-Rowland is a composer and musician in the Seattle area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nico_Audy-Rowland
Here is some stuff you can check out. https://www.youtube.com/c/TrocaderoNet/videos
Here is a sound sample… Forgive the luthier playing. Note the sustain near the end of the piece.
