Craig Bumgarner

#82 is a Selmer size petite bouche in the style that is continuously evolving here. A custom order. Very happy with this one. Snappy and articulate with huge dynamic range. Lutz spruce top for high stiffness to weight ratio, four braces like Selmer 503 but narrower, taller and elliptical, again for higher s/w ratio. Curly walnut back and sides, walnut neck, ebony fingerboard, nickel silver frets. Miller hardware, Ebano* bridge, French polish finish.

*Ebano is (was) a “man made wood product” that resembles ebony. I used it for fingerboards and bridges for 40 guitars after I developed a sensitivity to rosewoods. I was pleased with it as it was lighter than ebony, very stable and uniformly black. Unfortunately, it is no longer offered. I bought up a bunch of blanks for bridges before they were gone, but was too late to get a stock of fingerboards for future use. I’m now using ebony for fingerboards and can’t say I’m totally unhappy about it but I do note ebony is quite a bit less stable during humidity changes resulting in changes in neck relief. Well, that’s why I use an adjustable truss rod.