Here for sale is a very beautiful and unique guitar, and would be a stellar addition to any collection.
The guitar is made in France, by a boutique builder "Brua
Guitars". He has been building since 1993 and has been working out of
his workshop located in the south of France. He learned lutherie at the
Roberto-Venn School in Phoenix, Arizona. Pierrick builds archtops and
acoustics, as well as electrics, and in 2007 earned the title of
"Meilleur Ouvrier de France," or "Best Craftsman of France." His
magnificent creations generate excitement and inspiration in the eye of
the beholder and in the mind and hands of the player.
The guitar was designed with ergonomics as a consistent concern,
along with the playability and practicality for the musician. A comfort
curve allows the musician a clear view of the fretboard when he has the
guitar on a strap. The scalloped fretboard reinforces the
playability in the upper frets and the upper horn is elongated, allowing
different possibilities for fixing the strap and optimal balance of the
guitar when played standing. The neck is attached to the body
by means of a system of male/female rails, providing more convenience in
the maintenance of the guitars than that of a set neck, e.g.
refrettings, but also making a more permanent and stable attachment than
the conventional 4 screw arrangement. Hence the idea of the rail
system.
The Gotoh vibrato bridge has been modified with a hydraulic oil spring
that is placed on the other side of the standard springs, which enables
the vibrato to reposition itself perfectly. Along with the Hipshot lockable tuners and the rail based neck joint,
the hydraulic spring enhances tuning stability of the guitar and allows
setting up the bridge in a floating position on the instrument. The
musician can then loosen or tighten the strings by the action of the
vibrato.
Focusing on convenience and efficiency, the electronic wiring is
deliberately simple. There is a double wafer switch with 5 different
combinations of sounds along with the volume and tone.
All components are top quality, including CTS potentiometers and high resolution tone control.
Knobs and switch are located on the guitar to fall well under the hand
and the jack plate has been positioned at the rear of the instrument.
The vibrato backplate is mounted on magnets, making it easy to remove
and replace the strings.
The pickups were specially manufactured by Benedetti on Pierrick's
recommendations. Based on the blues pickup, Pierrick asked for Alnico 3
magnets on the neck pickup to replace the Alnico 5. He also asked
Benedetti to build a 3 point pickup base to allow the player to adjust
the angle of the pickups relative to the strings. The pickups are
adjustable from the back of the guitar, thus avoiding having the
adjusting screws on the face of the instrument. Pickup covers are custom
made by Pierrick himself.
The nut consists of 6 stainless steel
screws adjustable in height. Changing the strings is very simple thanks
to the locking tuners. The string is passed thru the head, the screw is
tightened and locking is complete.
Here is a video by Lance Keltner, for an idea of the tonal palette of this guitar.
Search "Brua Phantom" on Youtube
Ours is custom finished with
gold leaf, and thus Pierrick himself has named this the Phantom
Pharaon. It is one of the MOST unique guitars that we've had so far, and
to top it off, it comes with a custom flight case! Please feel free to make an offer. Thanks for looking.
