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Mystery Guitar (Busato-ish)
paulmcevoy75
Portland, MaineNew
(Note: at some point when I figure out what this is, I'll change this into a for sale posting).
So as not to clog the other thread, this is my mystery guitar. I traded Travis Bleen for it. It wasn't super playable when I got it. Recently I got to work. It didn't need a ton, I planed the fingerboard into a 12" radius, took some weight off the bridge, got the replacement tuners fit and took the finish off the back of the neck and oiled it. It plays pretty great now. I could lower the strings a touch but it works pretty nicely as is.
It sounds really good in an old Manouche guitar that is set up well way. Has some growl and overtones. Definitely not a modern guitar and as far as could be from what I'm making, in a cool way.
I have not much idea what it is. It has a sort of Busato shape to it. The rosette is nicely done. The purfling is elaborate but sloppy in sections. It's individual purfling logs set into a rabbet I think. The "binding" is painted on.
The headstock looks like most other Parisian guitars I've seen. I wonder if the same guy was making the necks for everyone? They all look the same-ish to me.
The back and I think the sides are laminated. There's a minimal neck block. It is one of the lighteat guitars I've ever held. I would think it's fragile but it's survived well the intervening 80 or so years. Neck is beach I think and the fingerboard is some tropical hardwood, I'm not sure if it's Rosewood or something else.
If anyone has any idea what this is please let me know. I am absolutely not an expert in these guitars. My guess would be someone who was involved in the Busato shop but quality wise I don't think it's a Busato.
Comments
Here's a little clip of me hacking away on it.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oh5a5jTkRotGpMh97
This was a really unique instrument. The honkiness of the sound and natural reverb immediately reminded me of the Tchan Tchou Vidal recordings (the original La Gitane). It has a curved back, a slight bowl shape to the back, which I think gives it more natural reverb. A friend once commented it sounded kind of like a banjo. I didn't know how to take that comment, haha, but most agreed it had a cool old sound. I had just traded it because I really enjoyed playing one of Paul's guitars, which cuts through a lot sharper at loud acoustic jams in NYC restaurants.
I had purchased the guitar in Amsterdam a few years back. It originally belonged to Tessa Spaaij (you can see her playing it here pre-pickguard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbcZWi73DtM)
Here are some more clips of it in the field....
https://youtube.com/shorts/vLM9WjN89xM?feature=share
https://youtu.be/wuMoRrEHklo