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Post by surfguy13 on Feb 23, 2015 18:42:37 GMT
Hi Guys
Wondering if anyone has owned, or knows much about Mike Baranik's guitars? I have to say that I had never heard of him until recently but from what little information I do have his guitars are well considered.
I am in the process of discussing a possible trade for a Baranik JX (engleman top and panama rosewood back and sides) for one of my old '66 teles. The guitar is a bit of a strange one in that it has what to all appearances is a jumbo body but it is asymmetrical and this results in it feeling less bulky and more like a 000 or OM when playing seated. Not quite sure I understand this concept. It has a 16" lower bout which sounds big to me and as I currently play a 0 and a 00 I'm concerned it may just be too bulky. However, you don't know until you try and that's the next step.
Thanks
Guy
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brianr2
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Post by brianr2 on Feb 23, 2015 19:10:41 GMT
Forum member Trevor TAMCO sells Baranik guitars - see HERE. He may be able to advise. Brian
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Post by earwighoney on Feb 23, 2015 19:56:11 GMT
Hi Guys Wondering if anyone has owned, or knows much about Mike Baranik's guitars? I have to say that I had never heard of him until recently but from what little information I do have his guitars are well considered. I am in the process of discussing a possible trade for a Baranik JX (engleman top and panama rosewood back and sides) for one of my old '66 teles. The guitar is a bit of a strange one in that it has what to all appearances is a jumbo body but it is asymmetrical and this results in it feeling less bulky and more like a 000 or OM when playing seated. Not quite sure I understand this concept. It has a 16" lower bout which sounds big to me and as I currently play a 0 and a 00 I'm concerned it may just be too bulky. However, you don't know until you try and that's the next step. Baranik guitars are great, excellent instruments. I'd categorise his guitars as 'modern' guitars and they suit particular tasks and players more so than others. Less a jack of all trades guitars than a Martin OM perhaps. When it comes to size, I'd say it's more than likely it'll be too big for you if you are used to playing 0/00 sized guitars. Sound is another thing. A lot of people think a large guitar produces 'a better' sound but it might produce too much bass. For my playing style I myself think the 12 fret 00 produces the right amount of bass; and I'd be reluctant to go larger than a OM for 6 strings anyway. If you like 00's, I myself would be more likely to exchange the Tele for the BRW 00-21 they have in NoTom guitars.
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 23, 2015 20:47:12 GMT
I think that is fair advice. He has a great reputation but these new makers aim for a sound that is not classic Martin or Gibson, say as opposed to Santa Cruz and Collings who are aiming at that classic (albeit vintage) sound. Have you pl;aye this guitar?
This guitar might have a 'Manzer wedge' where the depth of the guitar on the top bout is less than on the bottom bout, to make it more comfortable. I have this kind of wedge on my Adrian Lucas guitar and it makes life a lot more comfortable — a jumbo can feel like an OM.
I must say I'd want to play this thing before I made a decision.
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Post by surfguy13 on Feb 23, 2015 20:54:48 GMT
Forum member Trevor TAMCO sells Baranik guitars - see HERE. He may be able to advise. Brian Thank you Brian! It really is a small world though, apparently it was Trevor that sold the Baranik to the guy who now has the guitar!! I may well get in touch as I'm sure Trevor will be able to offer an informed opinion on this particular guitar.
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Post by surfguy13 on Feb 23, 2015 21:08:24 GMT
Hi Guys Wondering if anyone has owned, or knows much about Mike Baranik's guitars? I have to say that I had never heard of him until recently but from what little information I do have his guitars are well considered. I am in the process of discussing a possible trade for a Baranik JX (engleman top and panama rosewood back and sides) for one of my old '66 teles. The guitar is a bit of a strange one in that it has what to all appearances is a jumbo body but it is asymmetrical and this results in it feeling less bulky and more like a 000 or OM when playing seated. Not quite sure I understand this concept. It has a 16" lower bout which sounds big to me and as I currently play a 0 and a 00 I'm concerned it may just be too bulky. However, you don't know until you try and that's the next step. Baranik guitars are great, excellent instruments. I'd categorise his guitars as 'modern' guitars and they suit particular tasks and players more so than others. Less a jack of all trades guitars than a Martin OM perhaps. When it comes to size, I'd say it's more than likely it'll be too big for you if you are used to playing 0/00 sized guitars. Sound is another thing. A lot of people think a large guitar produces 'a better' sound but it might produce too much bass. For my playing style I myself think the 12 fret 00 produces the right amount of bass; and I'd be reluctant to go larger than a OM for 6 strings anyway. If you like 00's, I myself would be more likely to exchange the Tele for the BRW 00-21 they have in NoTom guitars. I think this is a VERY good point.....the Baranik guitars all seem to be cutting edge whereas I have to say I'm used to more classically styled guitars like Martin, Collings etc. Both my acoustics are 12-frets and I think it will be quite a radical step to go back to a 14-fret, let alone coping with a large body size. I totally agree that 00 guitars produce an almost perfect bass response.....I have a Collings 00-1Mh which is an all mahogany guitar and I was amazed at the richness of the bass. I spoke to someone I know who played a Baranik CX when in California recently and he said he felt the guitar, although beautifully made, was possibly a little thin. Larger bodied acoustics do offer more volume but the bottom end is often a little fuzzy whereas 00s are far tighter in my experience. I have had a quick look at NoTom Guitars and they do have some amazing instruments but I couldn't find the BRW 00-21. What does BRW stand for? It's probably blatantly obvious but.........!!! I think your suggestion that an OM is probably as large as I should go makes perfect sense.
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Post by surfguy13 on Feb 23, 2015 21:15:12 GMT
I think that is fair advice. He has a great reputation but these new makers aim for a sound that is not classic Martin or Gibson, say as opposed to Santa Cruz and Collings who are aiming at that classic (albeit vintage) sound. Have you pl;aye this guitar? This guitar might have a 'Manzer wedge' where the depth of the guitar on the top bout is less than on the bottom bout, to make it more comfortable. I have this kind of wedge on my Adrian Lucas guitar and it makes life a lot more comfortable — a jumbo can feel like an OM. I must say I'd want to play this thing before I made a decision. Thanks Andy and......you are dead right, I need to play this guitar before doing anything else. However, I really didn't want to waste the seller's time (or mine) if the guitar was unlikely to hot the spot. I'm starting to think that maybe the J sized body, asymmetrical or not, combined with a 14-fret neck may just be too much after 0s and 00s. Also, it is a very, VERY expensive guitar with a value of around £4000 so I need to be 110% sure before I take the plunge. By the way, is there a 'multi quote' option? Much easier to reply to comments in one post rather than several separate ones.
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Post by ocarolan on Feb 23, 2015 21:29:52 GMT
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Post by surfguy13 on Feb 23, 2015 21:48:53 GMT
Many thanks Keith, I shall go and check it out!!!
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Post by earwighoney on Feb 23, 2015 22:23:53 GMT
Baranik guitars are great, excellent instruments. I'd categorise his guitars as 'modern' guitars and they suit particular tasks and players more so than others. Less a jack of all trades guitars than a Martin OM perhaps. When it comes to size, I'd say it's more than likely it'll be too big for you if you are used to playing 0/00 sized guitars. Sound is another thing. A lot of people think a large guitar produces 'a better' sound but it might produce too much bass. For my playing style I myself think the 12 fret 00 produces the right amount of bass; and I'd be reluctant to go larger than a OM for 6 strings anyway. If you like 00's, I myself would be more likely to exchange the Tele for the BRW 00-21 they have in NoTom guitars. I think this is a VERY good point.....the Baranik guitars all seem to be cutting edge whereas I have to say I'm used to more classically styled guitars like Martin, Collings etc. Both my acoustics are 12-frets and I think it will be quite a radical step to go back to a 14-fret, let alone coping with a large body size. I totally agree that 00 guitars produce an almost perfect bass response.....I have a Collings 00-1Mh which is an all mahogany guitar and I was amazed at the richness of the bass. I spoke to someone I know who played a Baranik CX when in California recently and he said he felt the guitar, although beautifully made, was possibly a little thin. Larger bodied acoustics do offer more volume but the bottom end is often a little fuzzy whereas 00s are far tighter in my experience. I have had a quick look at NoTom Guitars and they do have some amazing instruments but I couldn't find the BRW 00-21. What does BRW stand for? It's probably blatantly obvious but.........!!! I think your suggestion that an OM is probably as large as I should go makes perfect sense. Here is the link for the guitar in question notomguitars.com/collections/flat-tops/products/1964-martin-oo-21BRW = Brazilian Rosewood A bit on the expensive side, but I imagine they might lower the price with a little gentle persuasion...
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Post by surfguy13 on Feb 23, 2015 22:34:05 GMT
I have to say, that's pretty much my ultimate guitar, brazillian rosewood or not. Many thanks for the link, i will give them a call tomorrow. If they would be interested in the tele it's a definate maybe. They really do have some amazing guitars.
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Post by earwighoney on Feb 23, 2015 22:52:58 GMT
I played a Indian Rosewood 00-21 in No Tom and it was superb. I saw the 00-21 hanging on the shelf when I was there, and it looked beautiful. The saddle looked on the low side of things and it might be due a neck reset at sometime but that could let you negotiate things in your favour. I'm fairly sure they'd be interested in a '66 Tele. Crikey, I just came across this. Is your Tele a Custom? www.normansrareguitars.com/fender-1966-telecaster-custom-sunburst.html
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Post by Trevor TAMCO on Feb 24, 2015 7:23:21 GMT
Its a great guitar but might be too big for you, the only way to be sure is to try it.
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 24, 2015 7:50:01 GMT
£4,000 is a lot of money to spend. If you are looking or something different I would recommend thinking about a custom build from one of our luthiers here in the UK. Having recently done this I wish I had explored this option earlier. It's an interesting process to go through and, of course, you can tailor the design to the things that are really important to you. There are great luthiers here who will be build you a guitar for far less.
Finally, a reflection on the jumbo size. I used to play a jumbo for many years but moved down to an OM because of a series of niggles and problems that I put down to the size of the guitar. When I commissioned my main guitar last year I imagined I would be looking at something broadly similar to OM size. I played the luthiers own guitar, more of a jumbo sized instrument and was knocked out by the sound. I was also impressed by the comfort of playing it — this was not a Martin shape. I went for the jumbo but added a wedge option to ensure comfort. I am very pleased that I went down this route. The playability of this guitar — the fingerboard dimensions — and the woods and the sound are all superb and easily compete with imported guitars that I have played that are over twice the price.
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Post by surfguy13 on Feb 24, 2015 16:32:34 GMT
I played a Indian Rosewood 00-21 in No Tom and it was superb. I saw the 00-21 hanging on the shelf when I was there, and it looked beautiful. The saddle looked on the low side of things and it might be due a neck reset at sometime but that could let you negotiate things in your favour. I'm fairly sure they'd be interested in a '66 Tele. Crikey, I just came across this. Is your Tele a Custom? www.normansrareguitars.com/fender-1966-telecaster-custom-sunburst.htmlFirst of all the tele custom isn't it mine although it looks really lovely! I had a long chat with Ron (owner) of No Tom Guitars this afternoon and I have to say he was a very pleasant bloke. He ran through the Martin and told me that the guitar is in close to mint condition and has had no repairs, neck re-set or mods of any kind. However he said there was only a couple of mm in the bridge and therefore a neck re-set was probably on the cards. But.....he also said the offer a 3-year guarantee on all guitars so if anything needs attention in that period (he mentioned neck re-set and re-fret as examples) the guitar will be covered and they will do the work in their workshop. I think that's a pretty damn good service. The problem is that we're only looking at £2500'ish for the tele and that's only half the cost of the Martin so sadly it's out of the running. Shame though and it sounds like a gem of a guitar and I really appreciate you mentioning it. No (sadly!) the tele custom isn't it mine although it looks really lovely! This is mine that I was proposing to swap for the Baranick....tucked up in its Selmer case:
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