The Luthier’s Blog

Welcome to the Lehmann Guitars blog! I'm Matt (alias: The Maestro) and this blog is a collaboration between me and Bernie Lehmann, guitar maker extraordinaire. Master luthier Bernie Lehmann has been building stringed instruments based on reliable and true models since 1971. I'm lucky enough to know one of the world's greatest guitar makers and this blog is my attempt to share some of his unique craft with you.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Cocobolo



Well, Bernie's fininshed another instrument. This time it's a flattop. Number 398. As you can see from the photos, it has a cutaway and features Bernie's unique pierced headstock. I think these two features just look awesome together.

The top is wide-grained Adirondak spruce to give the instrument warmth and a lively tone. The sides and back (which you can see in the other photos) are Cocobolo. This is in the same family as Brazilian rosewood. The cocobolo used in this guitar is very dense and strong. With such a dense material Bernie was able to make it thinner than normal while still retaining the vibrance and volume of sound in the guitar. All this with looks too! Just take a look at that back - remarkable!

Bernie says he's pretty happy with how the instrument came out. "The tone is really the thing here. That's my first priority and why I'm so pleased with this guitar. What good is a great looking guitar if nobody wants to play it? (That said, have you seen the back?)"

With the cutaway and his special side sound port I don't think Bernie has much to worry about - this is clearly a player's instrument.

Well, I'll close with one more pic of Bernie's latest, but not before I recommend checking this space again soon to see what Bernie has up his sleeve next!


1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bernie, beautiful guitar. My name is Greg Turner, I purchased a flatop from you in 1979 #18. I still use it daily in the elementary music classes I teach in the Brockport Central Schools.It still plays and sounds great. Maybe its time for a newer model. Sincerely,Greg Turner
gturner@bcs1.org

12:32 PM  

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