The Guitars of R. E. Bruné

R. E. Bruné
800 Greenwood Street
Evanston, Illinois 60201

Phone number: (847) 864-7730
Fax number: (847) 864-8022

Email: rebrune@xsite.net
WebSite: http://www.rebrune.com/

Models:

Concert Model - $6,500
Renown for their singing trebles, volume, even sustain, color, balance and ease of playing, these guitars have set a very high standard of musical excellence the world over. Players as diverse as Andres Segovia, Earl Klugh and Pepe Romero have owned and used Bruné Concert Models. Each instrument is created according to the needs and desires of the player. Details such as tonal color, action, neck width, string spacing, feel, and appearance are carefully considered and discussed before beginning construction on your instrument. Each instrument takes into account nearly 35 years of experience making fine guitars, and the process today is just as exciting and joyous as it was when I began building guitars in 1966.

Flamenco Model - $6,500
Before making guitars, I earned my living as a professional flamenco guitarist. I am very familiar with the essence of the flamenco guitar. Rather than offer a fixed model, I am open to your wants and needs. I can make the instrument of your dreams, whether it is a copy of an older model such as Barbero or Santos or my own personal model, as played by Sabicas, Tomas de Utrera, and other notable flamenco figuras. My cypress is the real thing, imported and aged wood of the highest quality. If you prefer, I can make the negra style flamenco guitar. Naturally, the decisions of action, spacing, neck size, tonal response, and such need to be discussed before beginning construction. For the classical player, I would suggest that cypress wood not be automatically dismissed as being only suitable for flamenco players. This amazing wood is one of the most versatile that has ever been used to make fine guitars. Players of jazz, Latin and even early music may prefer the crisper clarity of my cypress guitar which brings out nuances not possible with the longer sustaining rosewood models. Of course, you can specify traditional wooden pegs if you prefer.

Fleta Model - $8000
The Bruné Fleta Model is patterned after the best examples of instruments made in the late 60's and early 70's by the Fleta family. It is an exact copy of the body, combined with the traditional Bruné neck and head. For many years makers automatically married long scale lengths with cedar tops. One notable exception was Ignacio Fleta of Barcelona, one of the great creators of 20th century guitar design. With a waiting list of nearly 20 years and impossibly high prices, these fine models were impossible to obtain for most players. For this reason I decided to offer my version of a Fleta model, which is based on the cedar top instruments made between the late 1960's and early 1970's. Played by masters such as John Williams, Andres Segovia, Alirio Diaz, and many others, these highly recorded Fletas redefined the modern classical guitar sound, offering new tonal colors and brilliance without sacrificing the essential nature of the guitar as an instrument of color. The Bruné Fleta Model has clear, colorful penetrating trebles which balance nicely with a firm focused bass resulting in an instrument that is much crisper and quicker in response than the traditional long scale Spanish models. With tremendous volume and projection, this model is particularly well suited for ensemble as well as solo work on the stage.

Artist Model - $10,000
The Bruné Artist Model is the culmination of the luthier's art in every detail. No effort has been spared to marry the very finest of materials with the most spectacular workmanship to produce the ultimate musical tool for the serious musician. Not a copy of any model, the Artist Model is the result of decades of experience and observation distilled into a personal model that is solely the creation of R. E. Bruné. Owned and played by artists as diverse as Andres Segovia, the Romeros, Earl Klugh, the Pearl-Gray Duo, and many other notable musicians, the Bruné Artist Model is the epitome of what a fine guitar should be: an instrument of infinite color, volume, clarity, balance, even sustain, easy playing, excellent projection, and elegant proportions. Each instrument is created according to the needs and desires of the player. The head is attached to the neck with a dazzling V joint as was used by Hauser, Romanillos and other great makers.

Click here to see Artist Model bracing

1937 Hermann Hauser Bench Copy - $15,000
The 1937 Hauser bench copy evolved after my 1991 visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for the Spanish Guitar Exhibit. I had the opportunity to measure and photograph Segovia's famous 1937 Hauser which he donated to the Metropolitan Museum in 1986. I published some of my photos and copies of my complete drawings and notes in the Guild of American Luthiers' American Lutherie #31. Subsequently, many have asked if I would make an exact copy of this magnificent instrument which was used by Segovia for over 25 years and featured in many of his recordings issued by Decca. In 1997 I began to offer exact copies of this guitar which have been very well received. These copies are exact in every detail from rosette to purflings to every interior bracing detail. I select wood of the same species and character from my vast reserves of naturally aged wood, and varnish using the same methods employed by Hauser to arrive at an instrument which is as close to the original as humanly possible. Naturally, these require more effort and time then my own personal models to produce, but for the purist looking for the exact original Hermann Hauser Sr. sound I believe this instrument is the best that can be purchased today save for finding an original at over five times the cost.

Projected waiting period for delivery:

Approximately 3 years

Sound the luthier is seeking:

The essence of the classical guitar is color. I strive for a balanced, colorful sound which has immediacy, clarity, and an energetic, singing quality. Playability must be effortless.

Preferred sound wood:

Spruce and cedar. I use various species according to the musical needs of the player.

Optional available sound woods:

Engleman Spruce, European Spruce (Picea excelsa, Abies pectinata) Red Spruce, Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar, redwood, Balsam fir.

Preferred back/side wood:

Brazilian Rosewood, Indian Rosewood, Spanish Cypress, Monterrey Cypress, European flame maple.

Optional available back/side woods:

I use many different species, depending on the musical needs of the player.

Comment on woods:

The woods are selected from my personal stocks which are all air dried and aged for many years before becoming eligible to be made into a Bruné instrument. Many of the woods were personally cut by me many decades ago and set aside to age naturally. Today I own more tonewood than I can possibly use in my lifetime.

Preferred scale length:

65 cm

Optional available lengths:

I offer scales from 640 mm to 666 mm.

Neck width (at nut):

Preference of the player (usually 51 mm).

Optional available neck widths (at nut):

Between 50 and 54 mm.

Thickness of neck (at first fret):

21 mm, 24 mm @ 9th fret.

Optional available neck thickness (at first fret):

Other dimensions, depending on the requirements of the player.

Other available options:

I am willing to consider any reasonable request for options/modifications that is based on musical needs.

Other comments:

I am a self-taught guitar maker, and began making guitars in 1966. I average about 20 to 24 guitars per year. As a former professional flamenco player, I have always had a passion for the guitar. I maintain a collection of rare guitars which have been my teachers, and I have developed one of the most extensive archives of photographs and measurements of rare guitars, along with an extensive reference library which I use to authenticate older guitars.

Click here to see rosette for 25th Anniversary Model

I have written many articles on the subject for various publications including American Lutherie, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Vintage Guitar Magazine, Soundboard, the catalog of the Exhibition of Contemporary Illinois Luthiers, Guitar Review, and Gendai Guitar. In addition, I have lectured on the subject for the Guild of American Luthiers, First American Guitar Congress, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other organizations.

Clients include artists as diverse as Andres Segovia, Julian Bream, The Romeros, Earl Klugh, Pearl/Gray Duo, Howard Levy, and Igor Kipnis, and numerous universities. Bruné instruments have been exhibited by The Smithsonian Institute, Museum of Contemporary Crafts of New York City, Illinois State Museum, and many other special exhibitions.

In addition to making classical and flamenco guitars, I also build lutes and harpsichords. I also take on important restorations from time to time. I have done major restorations of guitars by Hermann Hauser I and II, Antonio Torres, Santos Hernandez, Gaetano Guadagnini, Johann Gottfried Scherzer, Louis Panormo, Grobert, Jose Ramirez I, II, and III, and even a baroque guitar belonging to Marie Antoinette.

In addition to my activities as a luthier, I also am a dealer in rare and contemporary fine quality classical and flamenco guitars which we have on display in our shop showroom. We also import and distribute our own cases, case covers, and act as exclusive U. S. importer and distributor of Hannabach classical guitar strings from Germany.

This page was originally created on 2/15/96 and was last modified on 4/6/00.

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