John Renbourn's 1973-79 C Series Gurian J-R Jumbo
Michael Gurian brought his guitars to market in response to the other instruments on the market during the late 60's to early 70's, competing with the dip in quality at Martin and Gibson. Not unlike Mossman, his instruments are unique in their voice and feel and represent Gurian's particular bent on building acoustic instruments. This example is a C series guitar (C-2927) that would have been built in the Hinsdale, N.H. factory between '73 and '79, a time when Brazilian rosewood was still being used. This guitar has rosewood rims and back ( that I think might be brazilian as it has the grain and voice that I'm familiar with, but at this price, it doesn't matter really), with a good silky sitka spruce top and beautifully bound with rope twist inlays. It has a tremendous voice......loud and responsive with a typical Gurian thinner nut width for playability. Body shape is slightly like a modern Lowden with the deeper rims and softer undulations in it's overall form.
This particular example was part of the stable of John Renbourn's, making it a unique thing in the English folk world. This guitar comes from the estate of John Renbourn thru his family, initially sold at Gardiner Houlgate. He is reputed to have owned more than one Gurian and a search will turn up another sold by Chiswick Auctions a while ago but I'm not sure of the provenance of that instrument.
£2,850.00
