Australian luthier Bryan DeGruchy developed a stellar reputation for his meticulous traditional craftsmanship using top quality tonewoods. This dreadnought guitar dated March 1984 is an excellent example, featuring a tight-grained, forward X-braced Sitka Spruce top, Indian Rosewood back & sides, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay, fretboard and bridge, and a vintage-style soft V profile neck with 1-11/16” nut width.
With the restrained aesthetics that characterised his work, on this guitar Bryan opted for a 5-ply Maple / black binding on the top, 1-ply Maple on the back, black pickguard, and traditional herringbone sound-hole purfling. The tuners are quality Gotoh SG301s, and two strap buttons are fitted.
The guitar came to us from its original owner, who had it in storage for several years. We determined that a neck set was in order, and this work has just been completed by Canberra luthier Michael Hargreaves, who also crowned and polished the original frets. The guitar plays beautifully, with impressive volume and sustain.
There are some playing marks on the top and a small discolouration on the very bottom of the bass bout, but no serious bumps or wear on this fine, mature 41-year-old instrument. Highly recommended to anyone contemplating a high-quality ‘life-time’ dreadnought.
