This article was quite timely for me, as last
Friday a box arrived unannounced from the small town of Chelsea,
where Sergei and his family live in a rural setting and of course,
where his beautiful shop is located. Can you imagine opening a box,
taking out the case, unlatching it and pulling this guitar out in
the middle of a busy business day? Talk about a store-stopper!
I don't think I've ever heard a hush come over the store with all eyes
on the same guitar like it did when I pulled this instrument out,
turned it slowly to take in the initial visual impression ... and then
played a short passage to get a feel for the tone. It really was
a memorable moment for all of us!
Of course it is impossible not to be mightily
impressed with this absolutely STUNNING cut of pomelle figured African
sapele that Sergei somehow got his hands on! It is not unusual to
find sapele (Entandrophragma Cylindricum) with fiddleback, striped,
blistered, wavy or "pomelle" figure, but I have never seen anything
like this! The depth of flame/quilt in this set is almost super natural.
Everyone who picks this instrument up just has to run their hands over
it ... it just looks so three dimensional but is of course, perfectly
smooth! Have you ever seen a deeply figured back that bookmatched
down the center seam so perfectly? This is a very, very special
set of wood ... especially when you tear your eyes away from the back &
sides and realize that the top is an Engelmann spruce cut with Bearclaw
figure! In the Fretboard Journal article, Sergei makes reference
to the extraordinary sonic properties of this one billet of Bearclaw Engelmann
that he has almost completely used up at this point.
Extraordinary? Yes, that might come
close to describing the hair-trigger response, the LUSH overall sonority,
the enormous dynamic range and the glittering overtone layers that this
instrument displays. I would rate this guitar in the top 1% of any
instrument we have had come through our store in the last thirty years!
Seriously.
You would think that the recognition that comes with
building at this level would have gone to Sergei's head a little?
I don't think so. After a review I did of a recent de Jonge guitar,
I received an email from him stating; "Dave, I'm going to have to
get a new B.S. meter. Mine blew up when I read your review of my
guitar." Yep, same old Sergei. |
