1890s Bruno (Bauer) Rosewood Parlor Guitar

If I had been clever, I would have gotten a video with this guitar. It has a sweet, silky, woody sound to it. The owner was told (when she bought it) that it was an 1897 build and I had it pegged as 1890s from across the room when she first took it out. It bears the retailer's mark (Bruno) on the headstock and in the interior on a label but I get the feeling that this was actually made by Bauer for the firm. The back bracing is and overall design elements are very similar to some Bauer guitars I've worked-on, but I'm not certain about it.

Anyhow, the owner had purchased this strung-up with steel and, surprise surprise! -- the bridge had come mostly off the top, It also generated a nice little "fault line" when it did so as there was already a patched area of top under the bridge from a previous repair job. There were some seam separations needing gluing, some hairline cracks needing cleating, and the frets needed a level/dress. All of this got done and most of it was handled by Ancel (thanks!), though I did set it up and do final adjustments and tweaks to it.

It plays spot-on with classical-style 3/32" action at the 12th fret and I've got it strung with Thomastik strings -- the Pearse PJ116 set rather than the Thomastik KR116 set which is my favorite for using on these period guitars (which need gut/nylon/classical strings and not steel). Both the PJ116 and KR116 sets are classical strings but made more like violin strings with rope-core steel for the treble side. This means that they have a "steel string" sound but intonate and tension-up like normal classicals. It's like having the cake... and eating it, too. We win!

Oh, and, last but not least -- check out the Brazilian rosewood on the back and sides!