2013 Edward Rusnack 10 String Steel String Guitar (NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

Edward Rusnak builds custom instruments, focusing on renaissance and classical instruments, including lutes, citterns, violins, violas, and baroque guitars. He's worked on this for over fifty years in Montreal, Quebec and is very well respected.

However, many custom instruments are also produced by Edward Rusnack, and a good example is this Rusnack 10 String, with steel strings. Most 10-strings are extended classical guitars and use nylon strings because of the greatly increased tension. Many of these guitars are patterened on the 10 string classical guitar built for Narcisco Yepes by Jose Ramirez III around 1963.

This unique, fascinating instrument features a spruce top with burled maple sides and back, a mahogany neck, rosewood bridge, and an ebony fingerboard with a three-inch nut width. To keep the tension down, the scale is somewhat short at 24.5 inches. For strings, the top six are a regular light-gauge acoustic set and the lower four are heavier singles, with gauges chosen for the pitches desired.

The finish is a light lacquer, a hand-applied french polish with a dark stain for the sides, back and neck. The finish is in excellent condition. French polish is not as glossy or thick as a sprayed finish, but allows the wood the greatest freedom to vibrate.

A custom black Calton case is included.