The Prairie Grass
The Great Basin
The Big Skye
Originally designed for players who prefer a smaller bodied guitar, as opposed to a larger dreadnaught shape, the PrairieGrass is a Slope Shouldered Small Dreadnaught measuring 15 1/4″ across the lower bout with a 4 3/8″ body depth. This size and shape provide a naturally strong bass with rich trebles and a vibrant midrange. A favorite with flatpickers and fingerpickers alike, it has a broad dynamic range that responds well to both a light touch or a hard attack.
Various tonewoods can be blended to shape the guitar’s voice to the player’s preferences. Built standard as a 14 fret, a 12 fret option is available as an excellent choice for the fingerstylist who doesn’t need access to the highest registers. Can be ordered with a contour cutaway.
The Great Basin is a Small Jumbo shape measuring 15 5/8” across the lower bout. Having a naturally powerful bass response, it is voiced to assure strong trebles and a well balanced mid-range. Built with lower density body woods such as Walnut, Koa, or Mahogany, it offers a bright, crisp, well-defined voice. Using denser woods such as Ziricote and the various Rosewoods gives character and warmth to the low end and a distinct complexity to the treble and mid-range.
The Great Basin is available with 12 frets or 14 frets to the body, and can be ordered with a contour cutaway for access to the highest registers and a smooth transition between the neck and the body. Various tone woods can be matched to the players desires.
The Big Skye
This small bodied addition to the Randall Kramer Guitars line measures 14 5/8 ” at the lower bout. The Big Skye has surprising volume with wonderful balance across its entire tonal spectrum. With its small body and big voice it has been well received by guitarists looking for a more comfortable body size. Often ordered with Rosewood back and sides, it has also proven successful as an all Koa bodied guitar. Available with a contour cutaway, and with 12 or 14 frets to the body.
The Quartet is a collaboration with Eric Schoenberg. Eric and Stephan Bruton (portrayed by Jeff Bridges in the film Crazy Heart, loosely based on Bruton’s life), had discussed a Martin style 0000 12-fret guitar for many years. When I, having already built Dreadnaught guitars for Eric, suggested we do a 12-fret Dread, Eric said: “No, let’s design and build the 0000 12-fret.” I did some drawings, Eric refined some changes, and the first Quartet was born. It has been an incredibly successful design, and has what Eric describes as Grand Piano Tone.
In honor of Stephan Bruton, who died before the first Quartet was completed, all cutaway Quartets are designated as the “Stephan Bruton Model.”
All Quartets are labeled as “Schoenberg”; and all include a contour cutaway (unless ordered otherwise). They are available in all tone wood combinations and either a solid or slotted headstock. Quartets can be ordered directly through me or through Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon, California.
One of our favorites has arrived, by Randall Kramer. This one is out of Panama rosewood and Italian spruce. This is our Grand Piano model, a full 16" across and only 4" deep, 12- frets to-the-body with cutaway. The quality of detail is stunning, with the highest grade woods, subtle bindings and purflings, contour-following cutaway joint, while at the same time, this guitar has astounding tone. It's designed to be more balanced and less tubby than your average dreadnaught, with a clean yet full depth and a powerful treble. It only needs to be played to be believed.Eric Schoenberg
A mightily successful combination of traditional and contemporary design and construction, this wide-top, 12- fret cutaway guitar is light of weight but large in voice. With impressive projection and effortless volume, it has the woody, full-bodied lows of a cello, trebles that sustain like a well-played violin and some of the most richly complex chords this side of a baby grand piano.Todd Phillips see full review