William Coulter's 1998 Koa Traugott BK
Featured on below album covers
1998 Koa Traugott BK
With a background in old Martins, I thought I would never find a newer guitar that could match the sound of the old wood. I was wrong. I did find a very special newer guitar. The instrument was created by Jeff Traugott in 1998 who is considered by many to be the number one acoustic guitar builder in the world today. Traugott guitars start at $30,000 and the waiting list is several years long. I was fortunate enough to acquire this instrument in 2004 and have been enjoying countless hours of finger-style playing on it.
The guitar was owned by famous guitarist, William Coulter, who toured the world with the instrument and recorded 3 CD's on it including Celtic Sessions, Crooked Road and Song of Our Ancestors. I was told that it was William's number one guitar and that he played it exclusively on tour as well as in the studio for 6 years. It is a Model BK, with gorgeous KOA back and sides and Spruce top with a wider spaced 1 7/8 finger-style neck. The dimensions are: Scale Length - 25.375 ", Box - 15.5" LB, 11.5" UB, 19.5" Length. Below are pictures of the instrument when it was owned by William Coulter. The KOA and Spruce top make an especially nice combination for open style tunings such as DADGAD, and the wider spacing is suited well for finger style playing. I feel that the wider neck adds richness to the sound of the guitar and it just sounds better to me, for fingerstyle especially.
The well traveled Calton case with stickers from all over the world from Bill's tours can be seen on the below album cover. It is also pictured on the cover of the Celtic Sessions album below. Yes the one with the flute and violin leaning up against it. Come to think of it, the guitar can also be seen and heard on a DVD made in 1998 called A Fingerstyle Summit with Adrian Legg, Martin Simpson and Ed Gerhard. William Coulter host's the event and plays a superlative rendition of Si Bheag Si Mhor in the DVD.
The instrument has some state-of-the-art electronics built in made by the famous Rick Turner in California. Of course, it was done without cutting into the KOA. It has Rick Turner's D-Tar Timberline pickup under the bridge and there is a jack in the end pin. There is also a small mic that can be attached so the guitar can be amplified in stereo.More information about Jeff Traugott can be found at his web site at:http://www.traugottguitars.com. More information about William Coulter can be found at his web site at:http://www.williamcoulter.com/ To hear this instrument beautifully played by the man himself (William Coulter) you can go to his above web site and purchase anyone of the following CD's ......Celtic Sessions, Crooked Road and Song of Our Ancestors. You can also purchase the DVD made in 1998 called "A Fingerstyle Summit with Adrian Legg, Martin Simpson and Ed Gerhard."
For more information about purchasing this fine instrument I can be reached at 301-802-2228, or email me at Mark@MarkLovettStudio.com
For those of you who have never heard of William Coulter, below is his bio:
WILLIAM COULTER BIO
William Coulter's love of traditional melody is framed by a classical sense of composition and realized with an impeccable and sensitive guitar technique. William's well exercised craftsmanship and his unusual ability to direct the voices of the guitar as if they were a steel-string choir make the music come to life in his hands.
Born in Ridgewood, New Jersey in 1959, William's first musical influence was his father, a classical singer who founded the professional choral group "The Pro Arte Chorale". This fortunate childhood exposure to choral ensemble technique - building musical arrangements from the creative use of independent voices - is echoed throughout William's solo guitar work. William began piano lessons at the age of nine on a borrowed piano. Several years later the piano was returned to its owner, and his parents replaced it with an electric guitar. "I spent the next few years in the basement jamming loudly with my Neil Young records."
At age 18, William heard the great Andres Segovia perform in concert. It was then that William traded the electric guitar for a classical guitar. After high school he traveled and played in a variety of bands. In 1980 He settled in Santa Cruz, California, where he returned to school to study classical guitar. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from UCSC and a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory. During his classical studies William was always drawn to traditional Celtic and American folk music, and continued playing steel-string guitar as a soloist and in bands. This led to a second Master's degree from UCSC, earned in 1994, in ethnomusicology with an emphasis on traditional Irish music, language and song.
With his extensive discography and history of acclaimed performances, William Coulter continues to approach the music he makes on the guitar with an essential humility. He lets the music speak and sing for itself. He creates the impression that his music rises up from the curved wood and shining strings on its own spirited impulse, a song made by the wind rather than by frets and fingers.
William has recorded three solo albums - Celtic Crossing ,Celtic Sessions, and The Crooked Road - as well as three albums of traditional Shaker melodies with cellist Barry Phillips - Simple Gifts, Tree of Life and Music on the Mountain - all on the Gourd Music label. William has appeared on compilations produced on the Narada label, Windham Hill and Hearts of Space. Four of these recordings have appeared on Billboard magazine's top-ten lists. In 1998 William produced Celtic Requiem for Windham Hill Records, which features vocalist Mary McLaughlin. He was recently featured on a sampler produced by the Columbia Record Club featuring violinist Hillary Hahn and Móire NI Bhraonóin, the lead singer of Clannad. In 2001 William teamed up with long time friend Benjamin Verdery to record a debut duo CD called Song for Our Ancestors. This led to the duo touring from Portugal to New Hampshire to San Francisco to Hawaii.
As well as performing and recording, William works as a producer and recording engineer, and teaches guitar at the University of California, Santa Cruz. During the summer he teaches at a number of music camps including the National Guitar Summer Workshop, Alasdair Fraser's Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School and the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop.