2004 Blazer & Henkes Deja Vu Style 1 | Blog

DjangoBooks

Rare Gypsy model from these illustrious German luthiers!

MichaelHorowitz

Considering what these luthiers charge for flatops, this Selmer model is an absolute steal!

Frank Wekenmann

I can add some information to this guitar. Rudie Blazer is a close friend of mine and this guitar (along with another one which I kept) was built for me, when I asked him and his companion Willi Henkes, if they could build a Selmer Style guitar. As Michael has already mentioned, their craftsmanship and their replicas of old Martin and Gibson flattop guitars are second to none. The Selmer world was new to them at that time and the result were these two guitars that, appart from some cosmetic differences, were very similar. They used solid wood back and sides, a cedro neck, all hide-glue construction and a little thicker top, resulting in some flat-top characteristics which Michael described. They have a rather higher headroom in their sound than other Selmer guitars, which makes them carry a great distance when you pick with more power.
In the meantime, Rudie has built three more Selmers, one of which I play now. It was copied after a great sounding 1946 model and uses more traditionally correct building methods and has a sound very similar to the old Selmer. Still, the old ones are very nice guitar and really a steal for that price!
Several years ago, I made a video in the Blazer and Henkes workshop of the guitar which is now for sale (never mind the sloppy playing...)