What makes this guitar worth your attention?
I’ve always liked guitars that take the basic premise of a Gibson ES-335 and allow a great individual builder to interpret it in his own way. The Rietbergen is Nik Huber’s interpretation, and this guitar is particularly special because it is #7 of the original 12-guitar Prototype Run.
Nik offered this guitar to me directly. I have a history of working with him on prototype runs and one-offs, and I’ve always liked getting these kinds of guitars for my customers. When a great builder is developing something new, you often see some of his very best woods and construction work go into those early instruments.
It has wonderful balance, comfortable string tension and spacing, and a relatively substantial neck—somewhat like a Gibson R9—which I find very comfortable. Tonally, it has a thick, bold primary voice while still producing wonderfully sweet highs. Pulling up on the tone control splits the Häussel humbuckers into single-coil mode, which brings out even more of the guitar’s acoustic qualities.
— Gary Thomas