Rod Capper "Celaje" guitar 2000 / Augustin Claudot guitar (1810 - 1820)

In Auckland New Sealand the birth of this guitar

took place. It has been built in 2000 by Rod Capper.

He gave it the name "Celaje"  which means "Painting

of the sunrise" very poetic indeed. It is in now good

condition and has a warm and friendly tone.

The back and sides of this guitar have been executed

with Indian rosewood. Rod Capper is known to use

native woods as the climate in New Zealand allows 

it to grow useable hardwoods there. The bridge has 

been made out of a native wood called Jarra. Maybe 

not visible on this picture the back is showing some

deep carvings on this furthermore very nice looking

instrument. Together with the relaquering of the back 

the frets will be dressed and the fingerboard will be

flattened out if needed.

The headstock that likely is provided with Schaller tuners 

to my believe. They do their job very well. This guitar will

also be equipped with an ivory topnut as string spacing

in fact is a bit of a personal one and I like  slightly more

"room" between the first string and the outer end in order

to be able to make a proper pull off execution.

The rosette is quite intriguing as it is very refined.

Though the combination with the darker cedar would

ask for another color setting to my opinion it remains

a remarkable one. My taste for Rosettes is personal

of course.

Under his label he placed another smaller label where

one can find his signature. On the bigger label one can

find the year and month of production: May 2000.

The number is 5 so it probably was the fifth guitar

in that year. In an E-mail states Mr. Capper this to

be a concert instrument and it has those qualities.

By clicking on this picture you are able to study the 

bottom of the bridge slot which is surprisingly V

shaped. According to Rod this is to increase the

contact area and thus boosting the energy transport

of the strings to the body.

I think it will not be very surprising but to bring a guitar

back in an immediately playable condition and have the

lacquer brought back in a like new condition asks for

some hours investigating. But the guitar is worth all

that additional work. Of course a good set of strings

will be the final move on this instrument that normally

finds itself in the 5000 Euro's price range.

Augustin Claudot

This french early romantic guitar has been built

by Augustin Claudot who was a member of the

well known Claudot Family of violin makers at
Mirecourt. Though affected by wood insects this 
particular instrument still has a wonderful sound.

This picture clearly shows us the soundboard before
restauration. In fact I was forced to make some radical 
decisions regarding reparation. It all worked out very 
well! As you will understand: Not my daily guitar.

The back of this Augustin Claudot guitar has been

done with maple as are the sides of this instrument.

This whole instrument has been treated with

Gamma rays in order to kill eventually existing

insects. It should last now for the future.

As on his violins Augustin Claudot allways stamped

or branded his instruments. His violins are said to be 

made with nice woods and great craftsmanship. This 

guitaris not a one of a kind as the guitar museum in 

Mirecourt holds an exactly the same looking instrument!

A detailed shot of the bridge that clearly shows

that there are no bones used. The neck angle has to be

perfect in order to be able to have a comfortable

playability. That is still present to these days.

Ivory knobs had to be there as was original.

The same counts for the ivory inlaid fretwork.

Sitll a beautiful figured maple back

The soundboard that suffered from wood insects but 

still absolutely straight which was a pleasant surprise.

Not the entitre soundboard but some spots look worse.

The same counts for the back but this is the only worse

spot on the back and not that vital for the strength of

the guitar.

A better and a more worse part with inlay.

In fact this instrument was praised for the beautiful and 

original bridge. No bridgebone but in ebony executed.

A simple soundhole decoration and 

ebony wood for the highest frets

Maybe someone tried to fill the small holes in the past

but there are certainly better alternatives though they

all will affect the sound the way it is now.

The inlay on these edges could have been done 

better. But that is not a big issue to repair.

The fingerboard indeed is rounded as it came

to us this way. Most likely original as Augustin

Claudot was better known as a violin luthier.

The bottom of the guitar has an ebony inlay. You are 

able to take look at the firmly glued bridge as well.

A rather small instrument, but: Total Length: 90 cm

Scale length: A surprising 642 mm Width topnut: 47 mm

Newly added tuning keys.

The head of this guitar that probably has been 

veneered quite recently.

Most likely the back has been painted and/or sprayed.

The neck is absolutely straight and has been veneered

with ebony as was common on higher end instruments.

The outer heel still fits perfectly to the body.

The side are not bad at all with only one insert near the heel.

And the other side. You are able to enlarge the pictures

by clicking on them.

A rather big soundhole for such a small bodied guitar.

A finherboard in line with the soundboard as was 

common untill appr. 1840.

And the bottom of this guitar. A exact second example 

of this instrument can be seen in the Mirecourt museum

in France and maybe even on their website.