1964 Framus Falcon 12

My apologies for the shaky video...I'm a bit gimpy & also had to dodge kitties. I will try to do a better video at a later time, but I wanted to do this one today.

This guitar is my heart & soul - I would no more part with it than I would a body part. It was built in the first Framus factory in Bavaria using European Spruce for the face & maple for the back & sides. The pick guard is a "copy" of the Gibson Hummingbird & Dove combo...Framus chose a lark for theirs. It makes more sense to me too since larks sing, hummingbirds & doves don't.
We discovered it has similar bracing to that of Martin guitars, which I found out when a Martin employee had to fix & refurbish a crack in the lower bout for me.
This makes sense because if you trace back the story of C. F. Martin, you will find he began in Markneukirchen Germany too & studied the art of musical instrument making from the same luthier company that Fred Wilfer, the founder of Framus guitars did. That they would use the same bracing just makes sense.

My guitar was purchased in Canada in 1965. There are many Framus guitars around but this one of mine is a bit different in that it has the mustache shaped bridge but a very different inner workings. To begin with, the bridge itself is able to be raised & lowered by turning two large screws at either side of the bridge. And instead of the standard saddle that most guitars have, it has six adjustable bone wedges (one for each set of two harmonic strings) to shorten or lengthen the strings for better action.

I've only ever had to have the neck adjusted once & that was last year, 2010. Even then it wasn't out a great amount.
It's a remarkable instrument & sounds like angels playing harps to my ears.

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[sgtstardust]

Sgt sir? That's an insult. NCOs work and are never (except in Marine corps boot) referred to as sir. Officers sit around and think of make-work. They are referred to as sir (or ma'am) and are best avoided. NCOs run the day-to-day military. Better than the frat boy officer corps, for the most part.

[Gingerjake2]

@sgtstardust My most sincere apologies...my knowledge of the military stops with brass buttons & snarling drill sargents in movies. I just went with the most respectful title I could... I'll work on that a bit harder. ;)

[sgtstardust]

High Ginger. I still think you should give Larravee another look/play. Nice looking guitar, btw!!

[Gingerjake2]

@sgtstardust Yes sir! Sgt sir! Maybe....I think I've reached my max with 4 guitars tho'...

I think my Baby looks beautiful but then I'm very biased. =}

[Sunambra]

I have to buy a Framus 12 string now lol anything I get is going to be a let down after seeing this :-))

[Gingerjake2]

@Sunambra just keep looking around. I was messaging with a guy a few years ago who found another like mine on ebay. He bought it. So they must be out there...they're just rarer.

[Sunambra]

@Gingerjake2 Great looking forward to it.

[Gingerjake2]

@Sunambra I could send it to you thru' Sendspace which is a large file sender I use. I have pictures now but I'll try & get you one without clutter in the background. Then it would just be up to you to get a good printout at your end.

[Sunambra]

@Gingerjake2 Great I'd like pic of the front of your guitar maybe you could send me the digital file it would have to be a big file right enough mmm can't email big files can we. I just looked at the pic on my channel he did and I can see every eyelash individually practically.

[Gingerjake2]

@Sunambra I think Martin (the guitar) is all about sound. Even I admit to being a Martin loyalist & own two...if they've ever made a bad guitar I don't know about it. But the Framus was the #1 guitar in Europe for so many years & you can't ignore that fact. I've had mine pretty much my whole life so it means something else to me as well. I will try to get a good picture or two to send along to you. I do have a good camera - a Nikon D80, which should do it for me. =) Your son is incredible tho'!