Buscarino Artisan

[kid335]

Three luthiers in the Bay area that you could try reaching out to that all make archtops are:

Mark Blanchard
Blanchard Guitars- Handmade Acoustic Guitars

Michael Lewis
Michael A Lewis - Guitars & Mandolins - Custom Made | Contact

Tom Ribbecke
Welcome to Ribbecke Guitars

Like John B. they all may be very busy with their own projects but you never know. They also might have some recommendations for someone reputable that does have the right skills and time to help you. Lastly, give Bruce Sexauer a call, particularly because he is in Petaluma.

Bruce Sexauer's thoughts on the world of guitarmaking

Bruce no longer sprays nitro (he uses oil varnish) or takes on many repairs but he knows everyone in the Bay area in lutherie. He might offer up some good suggestions after a direct examination of your guitar.

Good Luck...

Thanks iim7V7IM7. Bruce is a person that I plan on meeting soon.

Tom R would probably be my top pick of that list. He did a great job on a repair for me last year. I also had a lot of fun hanging out in his shop, listening to his stories and playing an amazing archtop he was selling for a client. I wish I was in a position to be able to commission a new build.

A couple of other names that belong on the list:

Gary Brawer/Tim Frick in SF:

Gary is a legend and is my go to guy. Tim is a fantastic luthier in his own right and works in Gary's shop.
Tim Frick Guitars

Barry Grzebik of Grez Guitars:
Barry does great work and is sort of the new guy on the block. Word of mouth is getting out quickly and his business has really taken off.
http://grezguitars.com/index_Page3.htm

[vinnyv1k]

@vinny1k, not my experience at all.

Hmmm ! edh may I ask what you they did wrong with your guitar? Also you must be a Bay Area guy so can you recommend me a better Luthier. I used to be exclusive to Gryphon but Frank Ford doesn't do the work anymore.
Jist a bunch of young kids. I am always searching for a top notch luthier.
Also edh can you tell me if it was Kent or Eric that did a bad job on your axe. Please pm me if you want to keep it private but would really want to know. Thanks....Vinny

[QAman]

Kid335,
Beautiful guitar ! Like Joe D said - if you love it - get it fixed. Also, my recommendation for future purchases of this
value, always ship NEXT DAY - fully insured......its worth the extra money. Wishing you a sucessfull outcome.

[kid335]

Kid335,
Beautiful guitar ! Like Joe D said - if you love it - get it fixed. Also, my recommendation for future purchases of this
value, always ship NEXT DAY - fully insured......its worth the extra money. Wishing you a sucessfull outcome.

Steve,
It is literally more affordable to get a round trip ticket, rent a car and pick it up myself than to ship it next day. In retrospect, that is probably the only thing that could have been done to force a different outcome and is exactly what I will do next time. As Vinny said, putting it in the air is a crapshoot. The guys/gals who decide to toss packages could care less if it was shipped next day or 3-day.

FedEx Worker Caught Throwing Packages on Video Video - ABC News

[QAman]

Steve,
It is literally more affordable to get a round trip ticket, rent a car and pick it up myself than to ship it next day. In retrospect, that is probably the only thing that could have been done to force a different outcome and is exactly what I will do next time. As Vinny said, putting it in the air is a crapshoot. The guys/gals who decide to toss packages could care less if it was shipped next day or 3-day.

FedEx Worker Caught Throwing Packages on Video Video - ABC News

Kid335,
Im fortunate - I run an Aerospace business and get discounts on all our transportation costs - so I just play it safe and do "next day". I do wish you the best of luck with getting things worked out.

Ive also bought from Soundpure on a few ocassions and Robinson is a great guy with integrity. In fact, Im thinking about buying a custom Buscarino Starlight.

Stay well,

[kid335]

Kid335,
Im fortunate - I run an Aerospace business and get discounts on all our transportation costs - so I just play it safe and do "next day". I do wish you the best of luck with getting things worked out.

Ive also bought from Soundpure on a few ocassions and Robinson is a great guy with integrity. In fact, Im thinking about buying a custom Buscarino Starlight.

Stay well,

Hey Steve,
Wow, you are literally a rocket scientist. Nuff said!

The starlight seems to be a very compelling instrument, especially for a gigging nylon player. The guys at Sounpure are a gem and will take care of you. You get to find out how people and companies truely are during adversity. Shit happens, its how we deal with it that defines us.

[iim7V7IM7]

As I mentioned earlier in this post, here is a short video showing the two acoustic 16" archtops that Bruce recently made in his Petaluma, CA shop.

[kid335]

As I mentioned earlier in this post, here is a short video showing the two acoustic 16" archtops that Bruce recently made in his Petaluma, CA shop.

His "personal" archtop is a cannon for a 16". Looks like the body is aprx. 3 1/2?

I checked out some of his other videos and really liked the Koa accoustic he made a while ago. I'm going to have to pay him a visit one of these days.

[iim7V7IM7]

Yes, it is deep for a 16" archtop at 3-1/2" at the rims...

His "personal" archtop is a cannon for a 16". Looks like the body is aprx. 3 1/2?

I checked out some of his other videos and really liked the Koa accoustic he made a while ago. I'm going to have to pay him a visit one of these days.

[Jabberwocky]

Yes, it is deep for a 16" archtop at 3-1/2" at the rims...

Sounded pretty harsh in Mr. Sexauer's own videos. It's the phosphor bronze strings possibly. I'd string it up with some pure nickel rounds or flats or monels. I didn't hear much of an archtop tone. Compare them with the Gibson 1928 L5 in the Steve Green/Bernunzio's video demo or the 1929 L-10.

[iim7V7IM7]

Sounded pretty harsh in Mr. Sexauer's own videos. It's the phosphor bronze strings possibly. I'd string it up with some pure nickel rounds or flats or monels. I didn't hear much of an archtop tone. Compare them with the Gibson 1928 L5 in the Steve Green/Bernunzio's video demo or the 1929 L-10.

No, I believe he has Martin Retros (Monels) on it. I personally, don't pay too much attention to the actual audio fidelity of YouTube videos. I can tell you that Bruce's shop is a very bright, acoustically reflective environment. He was recording direct with an older, small Sony video camera. I was more sharing it because he lives in the same town as the OP. Steve's video did sound great but I have no idea how it was recorded or the environment.

For what its worth, I auditioned the maple JZ-16 at last year's Woodstock Invitational Luthier Showcase. I thought it was a best acoustic archtop at the show and I auditioned archtops by Stephen Marchione, John Monteleone, Ken Parker, Tom Ribbecke and Dale Under. It was responsive, had tremendous cut, volume and a nice timbre. I didn't find it harsh. It was more acoustically "alive" than the other guitars and I suspect it would feedback easily.

[kid335]

Hey Guys,
Bumping this thread to give a shout out to Robinson, Travis and Doug at Soundpure. While I'm sure it was a pain in the rear for Doug to go through the bureaucracy of filing the shipping damage claim, he made it completely drama free for me. Like everyone else, I have enough on my plate and appreciate not having to worry about one more thing.

At the end of the day Doug made sure that the consignor was made whole, I received a reasonable settlement, Robinson received his small commission (whatever it is is not enough) and the store made a couple of bucks. Doug actually was going to stop negotiating when the buyer and the seller were made whole, but I insisted that he continue until a number was reached that would make Robinson and Soundpure whole, or close to it. I feel honored to even own this instrument and wanted to make sure that nobody got the short end of the stick.

These guys have old school customer service values and take care of their customers, full stop. As far as I am concerned, if they have what I need then I know where I am going to buy it. Even if it happens to be few bucks more (probably won't be), I don't really care because peace of mind in invaluable. I think I remember Vinny saying something similar about TMZ a while back. These guys are a gem and I can't recommend them enough.

[vinnyv1k]

Right on kid !!!

[Max405]

I am really happy for you kid335.
You are ALL class. Good things happen to good people. Here is proof.
Joe D

[Cunamara]

SoundPure also does the best instrument demos on YouTube.

[kid335]

I am really happy for you kid335.
You are ALL class. Good things happen to good people. Here is proof.
Joe D

Thanks buddy, I appreciate that!

[kid335]

SoundPure also does the best instrument demos on YouTube.

Yes, definitely! Even after I purchased the guitar Robinson asked me if I wanted their guys Derek Day do a quick demo that they had previously scheduled.