1990 Brian Cohen SP/IN

This 1990 Brian Cohen is a pre-owned classical guitar with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, made in England on the Hauser I model by the luthier who built guitars for Julian Bream.

A Brian Cohen Classical Guitar Based on Hauser I

Although the aesthetics are unique to Brian (including one of the most unique and beautiful rosettes we’ve ever seen from him), this classical guitar is structurally based on the designs of Hauser I in dimensions and bracing (even featuring a head-to-neck “V-joint”). Brian has spent considerable time over the course of his long career servicing and replicating original Hauser I’s – including the “Rose Augustine” 1940 Hauser immortalized by Julian Bream in several recordings and many concerts.

Sound

The sound is bright and clear in character, but with great warmth and sophistication. Quick in response with very good projection, this is an excellent instrument for the concert stage. In addition, we would expect this guitar to be a dream to record with.

Playability and Condition

Although it boasts a wide fingerboard, playability is a breeze, likely due to the slender and elegantly shaped neck contour. Additionally, the string spacing at the nut is quite average (43 mm), which just means the player has extra fingerboard on either side of the two E-strings, making it very challenging, if not impossible, to pull the strings off the edge – a welcome feature to guitarists playing repertoire full of slurs, hammer-offs and single-string trills. Its prior owner clearly took extremely good care of this instrument, and apart from a few minor blemishes in the finish, it is in exceptionally original and fine condition.

Brian Cohen: A South African-Born Maker in England

Although Brian Cohen is originally from South Africa, he has lived and worked in England since 1974 and has become known as one of the best contemporary builders working there – arguably the most respected in England. A professional guitar maker since 1972, his instruments have a reputation for their gorgeous quality of sound and easy playability. Since 1997 his workshop has been in an old glassworks in Guildford, Surrey, which he restored himself.

Training in England: David Rubio and Early Instruments

Brian had already started making and repairing guitars in South Africa, and he came to England looking for an apprenticeship. He had hoped to train with David Rubio; that never happened, but Rubio became a close friend and mentor, and Brian went on to work for him as an outside maker for some 25 years. Along the way he taught himself lute making, worked at the Early Music Centre in London and, in 1986, received a Crafts Council bursary to study classical Italian violin making.

Julian Bream and the Hauser Tradition

Brian has dedicated his life to guitars in the Hermann Hauser and Antonio de Torres tradition, and he is known for his history of working with Julian Bream – both servicing his vintage instruments (including the “Rose Augustine” 1940 Hauser, which he serviced regularly over a ten-year period) and building Hauser-style instruments for him. In the 1990s Brian built eight guitars for Bream, all Hauser models of ever-increasing refinement under Bream’s exacting standards. Working with a player who had a deep understanding of guitar construction and knew exactly what he wanted in sound was a profoundly important experience for Brian.

Guitars, Lutes and Bowed Instruments

Although Brian’s focus has been primarily on guitars constructed in the Torres/Hauser tradition, he has also built a variety of other stringed instruments, including violins, cellos, lutes, theorboes, chitarrones, violas da gamba and even an accurate copy of the ivory “liuto attiorbato” by Sellas. His work is also the subject of fine art photographer John Gallo’s essay “The Six Strings of a Guitar”, which follows the birth of one of his Hauser-model guitars from start to finish – see it on our blog.