When a new guitar arrives from Michel I purposely don't schedule much to do that day. I have learned from experience that no matter what I might 'want' to do, once the guitar arrives I always end up lost for a couple hours just exploring the extraordinary nature of Michel's guitars. Like Dammann he is always striving to take his guitars ever farther, and each instrument i receive shows this steady evolution forward, it is quite remarkable really. This is a nearly indescribable double top, the basses are powerful and focused, the trebles clear, musical, round and 'full', and the overall tone is rich and noble and warm at once sounding powerful and contemporary while evoking the tonal character of the fine old European masters, a delectable combination of characteristics and personality. Michel used a gorgeous set of old Rosewood for the back and sides, Rodgers tuners, elevated fingerboard, twelve hole tie block and applied flawlessly French Polished shellac. Simply flawless craftsmanship too. This quote from my write up for the last Bruck applies equally to this instrument:

I am guessing that I have the opportunity to play, compare and contrast more double tops from the world's finest luthiers than just about anybody on the planet. Double tops from Matthias Dammann, Michel Brück, Robert Ruck, Jim Redgate, Fritz Mueller, Dieter Mueller, and Brian Dunn flow through the shop and it is truly an honor to play them, often side-by-side, and to appreciate the various ways in which each builder expresses himself through the highly popular double top concept. With double tops, in the opinion of many, clearly signaling one of, if not 'the', main direction for the future of the Classical Guitar, the evolution of these builders is in some ways reflective of the evolution of the Guitar itself in our time. Clearly at the vortex of all this is Dammann, who built his first double tops in the late 80's. But now, decades later, not only have the guitars of Dammann evolved spectacularly, but some truly exceptionally talented luthiers have taken the challenge, put in their hundreds of hours of building and experimenting, and are now creating superb double tops of their own. As I play them side-by-side it is apparent that each has it's own unique personality. Michels' guitars are perhaps the most 'Dammann-like' of all the double tops in some ways, and yet his guitars have a noble and unique personality all their own. Michel builds a very light and extraordinarily 'resonant' instrument, the entire guitar is involved in creating sound, with every aspect of the instrument seemingly involved. This produces superb volume and projection. Where Michel carves out his own personality is that he has for years cared for some of the finest guitar collections in Europe and so, has intimate knowledge of all the best builders, Torres, Hauser 1, Hauser ll, Simplicio, and the like. This deep understanding of these classic luthiers is clearly evident in the beautiful tone of his guitars, they have been referred to as " a fine Hauser ll on steroids ", simply stunningly beautiful tone reminiscent of the old masters but with the highly desirable attributes of today's modern guitars.

A double top for 'connoisseurs' of double tops, that will satisfy the most discriminating ear, and that will leave no desire of the player unfulfilled.

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