ARCHTOP GUITARS
78-7905 Benedetto (new) Bravo in Claret, #S1260, with hard shell case.
16” wide with a single built in humbucking pickup. The List Price is $5500. Your cost, however, is just $3969 or, at our cash discount price, $3850.
78-7596 Eastman (new) Model AR805CE in vintage sunburst finish (absolutely gorgeous!), #3377IMB, with hard shell case.
The Eastman List is $2395 but your cost is only $1916 or at our cash discount price, $1859.
78-7627 Gibson 1929-’34 L-5 acoustic archtop guitar, refinished sunburst (possibly by the Gibson factory), in very good restored condition with a worn but serviceable 1950s type brown tolex covered, faded purple flannel-lined hard shell case made by the Stone Case Company (“House of Quality”) in Brooklyn, NY.
This guitar has been fitted, in the past, with a triple-bound in crème-black-crème replacement tortoise shell celluloid pickguard, and it displays the same binding pattern on the prewar, almost-snakehead style peghead that bears a straight-across “The Gibson” logo in script and a torch inlay in abalone. The ebony, single-ply bound fingerboard is inlaid with 6 pearloid blocks; the bridge is a Gibson style rosewood replacement (from the ‘50s), the tailpiece is the original trapeze and bears the inscription “Patented July 19, 1910.” Tuners are replacement Kluson Deluxe (again, from the ‘50s), and it has a black bell-shaped truss rod cover held in place by two screws. The back is two-piece maple redolent of bird’s eye grain; the sides are fairly plain maple and the neck is three-piece and shows nice figure on the extremes. The back of the headstock is heavily checked, there is a small repaired top crack from the bass f-hole down; there is a now-repaired seam on the back lower treble edge; there are cracks in the pickguard binding and finish disruptions along the back edge which have been closed-up seam separations; there are areas of chipped finish here and there. Our workshop will have replaced all of the frets, doing so carefully since the fingerboard was planed to thin at the time of its last refret, we will also re-contour the bridge top for maximum playability and comfort. On the lid of the case is a nearly faded out decal that reads “Harmony Boys.” Although the history books say that the pre-late-1934 Gibson L-5 measures 16” in body width, this measures 16 3/8”. It is a reasonably large guitar, and so it produces the sound that drives the orchestra. Elegance and beauty, and a level of playability like a MagLev train. Prewar panache for only $6,181 or, at our cash discount price, $5,995.
78-7084 D'Angelico (by Vestax) (used, June 2003) Model NYL-5 thin-bodied archtop guitar, in all blonde finish, #003020511, in excellent plus condition with original D’Angelico hard shell case.
This model is made with a solid German spruce top that is pressed (and not carved), and laminated sides and back. Features include the pearloid (looks like pearl) stair step truss rod cover positioned under the mother of pearl and etched inlaid New Yorker stair step logo, split block pearl fingerboard inlays in an ebony board, , an overlay on the back fo the headstock with an inlaid pearl diamond, some of the finest blonde flame maple as you have ever seen, a stair step gold plated tailpiece and a replica D’Angelico bridge and pickguard. It is, by anyone’s standards, one of the best sounding of the affordable, modern D’Angelico imports, as made in Japan by Vestax Corporation, and no longer available as a new instrument. Made in the late ‘90s and early 2000s they have already become legendary. WAS $3,840 but NOW ON SALE for $2985 or, at our cash discount price, $2,895.
78-7611 Ric McCurdy (used, January 2005) Perfecta, 16” wide, 1 ¾” deep, titled “Vie et Arte” (for Life of Art) thinline electric archtop guitar, in “Cremona Amber” (basically blonde) translated as “Life and Art,” blonde, #100348, with brown Cedar Creek dark brown alligator exterior, burgundy interior super plush lined, 5-ply hard shell case with the McCurdy logo on it.
Richard B. McCurdy, Jr., maker of fine hand-made guitars, resides at 19 Hudson Street in New York City. He says of his guitars: “For 25 years, I have committed myself to designing and building for people who love to play fine guitars, guitars that respond to your musical knowledge, your skill and your touch... guitars that inspire you to continue to grow as an artist and musician. I came to this life's work through a series of fortunate encounters with great people who inspired me on my creative path. Since setting up shop in the heart of New York City, I have built and repaired guitars for many exacting musicians -- like John Ambercrombie, Joe Beck, Sheryl Bailey, Jimmy Vivino, the Blue Man Group, John Fohl and Kenny Loggins, to name a few. I had the good fortune to spend time with Bob Benedetto, who graciously shared a lifetime of his unique knowledge. Over the years I have had the opportunity to play, study, and repair many D'Angelico and D'Aquisto guitars, experience which helped me appreciate the acoustic potential of carved archtop instruments in the tradition of Stradivarius. After experiencing how a great archtop can sound I'm always reaching for consistency of each note on the neck, with the same volume, richness and tone in every position and in every key.I have found through continuous experimentation that this level of musical output can be achieved while delivering to guitarists comfort and playability which, I am told by my clients, they have never experienced in any other guitars. My goal is for you to enjoy playing hour after hour, to own a guitar that maintains its stability but grows in volume, richness and investment value year after year. I hope you enjoy my web site, but please remember that playability and tone are what make it a McCurdy guitar.” If you’d like to hear Ric’s guitars being played in the hands of several master musicians, click on www.mccurdyguitars.com and then click Music/Video. You’ll hear delicious performances by Jimmy Bruno & Joe Beck, John Abercrombie (who plays his classic tune, “Timeless,”) John Zweig, Matt Munisteri, Sheryl Bailey and Jack Wilkins.
Ric uses nitrocellulose lacquer, Seymour Duncan pickups, and works at a very high level of design artistry and construction acumen. This guitar has a long scale of 25.5” and a comfortable nut width of 1 23/32nds”. The bridge spacing at the saddle is a most unusual 2” even. The headstock is Gumbyesque and hosts the bright pearl McCurdy logo in block letters with an art deco stylized keystone in 5 pieces of contrasting pearl and abalone, and, in a manner both shocking and bold, a truss rod cavity with no cover. Tuners are black Gotoh with ebony buttons. The ebony fingerboard is demarcated with 10 pearl blocks positioned vertically along the bass edge of the board but extending out to mid-board, the 12th fret being a double block; twin uncovered Seymours (Antiquity Bridge, Alnico-II neck) reside in black pickup surrounds; the tune-o-matic bride is black chrome-plated and the tailpiece is “Moderna style–“ an ebony hinged construction reminiscent of J. D’Aquisto. Twin black corrugated knobs are easy-spin, and a black capped three-way toggle resides below. The lower control for tone is push-pull and acts as a coil splitter for the neck pickup which “gives great rhythm sound when combined with the bridge pickup” according to the builder. Its soundholes, also in the D’Aquisto tradition are cigar- or spliff-shaped and the guitar comes with custom made foam soundhole covers so that the guitar can be played at ear-bleeding levels while the player grins in the rictus of bubonic death. Top, sides, back are laminated European curly maple; the neck is plainer, being bleached mahogany, straight-grained and has shadowy (grayish) highlights in several positions – we think this is the way the wood grew and not reactions to a stand or a capo. The neck profile is slim and yet the frets are jumbo, the fingerboard is Gaboon ebony; this guitar is sans pickguard. The instrument displays finish checking lines over most or all surfaces, but this is of course innocuous. The first owner was told by the builder, who shipped it in the wintertime “Please don’t open the box for 24 hours.” but the first owner couldn’t wait. So – crazing lines. The back of the headstock is finished in black coming down to a birds beak, widow’s peak or gardening tool blade; the builder provides a black chrome strap pin in the back of the heel, black bordered maple body bindings, three-ply top and back binding, and a chrome plated strap button at bottom that is part of the tailpiece. $4,118 or at our cash discount price, $3,995.
78-7610 Gibson (used, 2002) L-5CESN (blonde, now orangey blond that’s morphed to mellow) electric archtop, #20932007, incredibly flamed tiger striped maple back, sides & neck, in near mint condition with a special $700 Cedar Creek Case that looks like (but isn’t) snakeskin exterior with gold interior, with a tooled leather “belt” trim around the lid (it’s wild).
At the top of the Gibson electric archtop line in 17” guitar is found the lofty and loved L-5CES. This model debuted in 1951 with a rounded (Venetian) cutaway, solid carved spruce top, carved maple back and maple sides, with single-ply bound f-holes, multiple-bound top (in this case 6 plies) and headstock (in this case 4-plies). The 4-ply bordered (with 2-ply on the side) white bound fingerboard terminates with a carat at the bottom and its 1 11/16th” expanse of ebony is marked in 8 fret positions with large mother-of-pearl blocks. The polished ebony headplate is inlaid with the block postwar Gibson logo. a 2 1/8” long flowerpot and attached at bottom is a bell-shaped truss rod cover that reads “Custom L-5.” The gold- and silver-plated right-angle tailpiece at the bottom of the face is likewise etched “L5” (no dash” and with a filigreed diamond. Twin gold-plated humbucking pickups are nested in black plastic surrounds; the tortoise shell pickguard is four-ply bordered and white bound; the gold-plated tune-o-matic individually adjustable 6 saddle bridge has an ebony base inlaid with twin fleur-de-lis. Four gold high hat knobs inhabit the Lower East Side and a three-way toggle with a circular black rubber surround is receiving visitors up in Spanish Harlem (El Barrio). The woods chosen for this best-of-the-best and most widely accepted jazz guitar are spectacular. The spruce acquired for a blonde guitar needs to be worthy of genuflection and this is no exception; the maple on sides, back and all three maple sections of the 5-piece neck are tiger striped to the point of being nearly quilted, and, as well, three-dimensional in their reflective introspection. The back of the headstock is painted black and culminates in a knife-point. Tuners are gold-plated “Gibson” logo sealed backs with completely unworn gold-plated tulip buttons. In fact the entire guitar is wholly unworn – no fret wear and 99.5% free of any sign of human contact. If one were obsessively picky he might find the need to point out some aberrations such as a small vertical area on the back of the neck from frets 7 to 9 in which the finish in the center section is disrupted, the small finish flaw on the binding at the cutaway, the fact that the word “Gibson” and the associated flowerpot are “sinking” a bit into the finish on the headstock and showing an outline in clear lacquer, around each letter, leaf, and base. Is the guitar “perfect?” No, but it’s very close to it. It is beyond beautiful, stately, majestic and very hard to find. $6,959 or, at our cash discount price, $6,750
78-7952 Gretsch (new) Country Club with Bigsby, G6196T, #JT05107034 with hard shell case.
The Gretsch List is $3725 and the Gretsch MAP is $2980.
78-7553 John Buscarino (used, 2001) Gigmaster, acoustic archtop guitar with Buscarino black floating pickup, blonde finish, in near mint condition with original alligator style hard shell case.
John no longer makes the Gigmaster, but for a while there in the 1990s and up until 2005 it was the least expensive guitar in his line. Partially made in another country, and partially made using "laminated materials," the guitar's fretting and final assembly were performed by the hands of John Buscarino (just his hands, he was in California visiting his wife's relatives). This ultimate completion event includes John's installing all of the frets, the components, leveling, polishing and setting-up. This model is constructed with a solid spruce top, pressed into its graceful arch. The finish is nitrocellulose in a deeply hued vintage sunburst; this is a 17" wide guitar having a 25" scale, a body depth of 3" and a nut width of 1 11/16th". Back and sides are maple of the fairly heavily flamed persuasion, the 3-piece neck (having a center stripe of a darker wood) is otherwise maple, and the rod is adjustable. The fingerboard is inlaid with 8 actual mother of pearl blocks from actual sea-going mollusks, the body is bordered in 5-plies, the headstock and fingerboard in three-ply and the f-holes, they are bound in single ply. The black floating humbucking pickup bears the Buscarino logo, the fingerboard is ebony and so is the pickguard, bridge (compensated of course), and tailpiece; the tuners are gold-plated Schallers bearing ebony buttons. The headstock is asymmetrical and fancies a black (probably ebony) overlay inlaid with the script Buscarino logo; inside the case pocket are twin custom made rubber soundhole covers for them what might wish to play louder while reducing feedback. John Buscarino who, of course, is one of America's finest archtop and nylon-string cutaway builders, was trained by both Bob Benedetto and A. LoPrinzi (at different times). He has made instruments for such illuminati as Gene Bertoncini, Russell Malone and George Benson. This model, however, is his homage to the working musician - affordable and yet elegant and professional in every way. Although the back and sides are made from laminated materials the sound of the instrument is expressive and fulfilling, the neck is comfortable and fast, and the finishing, fretting and feel are phenomenal. It is housed in its original faux alligator case within which are all sorts of original Buscarino papers. $4,118 or, at our cash discount price, $3,995.
78-7356 Corrado Giacomel (new) Archtop Guitar, sister to the matching Giacomel J-5 mandolin - both in aging toner finish, the mandolin in a hard shell case, the guitar housed in a blue zipper gigbag.
Corrado Giacomel.works at Via Zamperini 48 16010 S.Olcese, in Genova, Italy. If you happen to be in Genova, do say Ciao. The website is: www.corradogiacomel.it His mandolins and guitars are imported into the USA by mandolin monster David Grisman, and Mandolin Brothers is the newly selected East Coast Display Showroom (and non-denominational chapel) for this brand. David is shown holding his own (matching) Giacomel mandolin on the cover of his recent duet album with John Sebastian and he uses it in concert. The builder’s website states (edited): Giacomel mandolins and mandolas (and, we guess, his archtop guitars, also) are the result of a study of the American mandolin-building tradition, revisited according to this Luthier’s own taste and experience. These models have technical and sound features typical of the American instrument, optimized by careful tuning of soundboard and back and by the interplay between them. This is achieved through a system that, utilizing a frequency generator, excites the woods and tests their response at different frequencies. Both soundboard and back are hand-carved, separately tuned and subsequently assembled; this way the instruments need no further adjustment. Each Giacomel instrument has a balanced and warm sound, plenty of volume and a natural reverb at the highest frequencies. The building process follows the traditional steps, thus requiring longer completion time. His mandolins are built one at the time by the same hand, presumed to be his own hand, resulting in a limited annual production. All the woods come from Italy and are personally and carefully selected by the Luthier. The varnishing process follows the tradition of the Italian school -- it starts with the sealing of the wood, then the applying of a natural layer, and finally the application of a vegetal poly-resinous varnish that the cats and kitties that live around the Coliseum lap up like mother’s milk. Each component (the bridge, tailpiece, pickguard) are hand-crafted one by one dedicated Luthier named Corrado Giacomel.
Brace yourselves like an Italian spruce crossbar, here come the statistics: The back material on this guitar is curly maple, the top material is evenly and straight-grained spruce, the neck material is likewise curly maple, the rim material – you guessed it - curly maple; the truss rod is steel, and adjustable; the fretboard material, that would be ebony, the bridge is ebony and adjustable; on the guitar the tailpiece is carved of what appears to be walnut with nickel-plated bracket at the bottom side. The guitar’s tuners are black-plated Grover mini-Rotomatics with black mini buttons. The nut width on the guitar is just under 1 11/16th (or its metric equivalent) the scale length is 25.5”, the body length is 20 1/4”, the body width is 15 ¼”, the body depth just 2 5/8”, and the overall length is nominally 42 3/8”.
Its comely features are most unusual. On both instruments the body shape is almost trapezoidal – the upper bass scroll, known in these parts as “The Claw,” looks like a slot into which you swipe your credit card; the f-holes are modern and sweeping and like everything else, quite original; the right-angle tailpiece is 4 ½” long measured diagonally and 8 loop ends can be easily posted to 8 gold-plated (or brass) pins; the bridge is a hand-carved two-piece ebony adjustable, the pickguard is slightly contoured and carved to a controlled arc and touching it makes your fingers go “whoo-whee.” The headstock is large, rosewood bordered and ebony-capped and bears the Giacomel script logo and a stylized 7-part flower pot and flower; said headplate is bordered in maple, as is the rosewood bound ebony fretboard which is cantilevered over the body so that top vibration remains unimpeded. Both the face and back display a central area that takes the form of a recessed circle of (in this instance) bear-claw spruce – truly, uniqueness abounds. On this guitar, the maker provides no fingerboard markers but he does bind the board and headstock in that same beautiful walnut-hued wood and there are pearl inlaid markers on the side of the board at frets 5, 7, 9,12 and 15 . The ebony truss rod cover resembles a rocket ship. On the guitar the abbreviated pickguard, also carved of wood, hosts one bulbous, rubber-covered volume knob and this connects to a chrome-plated floating pickup mounted just below the 21-fret fully bound fingerboard. The body is likewise bound on top, back, all body points and the area inside the morphed scroll, in walnut.
We should mention the sound – for a young guitar (and his mandolin) each has a degree of maturity of tone and volume unfounded in lesser models. The sound of the Giacomel instrument is throaty, resplendent and rich, replete with acoustic density and mass and yet retaining shimmering highs and effervescent mids. One is enthralled by its considerable clarity in every range, hearing it makes one think of a piece that is considerably older. Each has a sound, right out of the crate that is colorful and confident. Reflecting on the credentials of the genius player who imports these instruments, and taking into consideration the other-worldly vision that created such a modernistic fantasy and made it into such a fine guitar and mandolin, a Giacomel will be a more-than-worthwhile addition to any musician’s permanent collection. With blue zipper gigbag, the guitar is priced at $11,857 or, at our Cash Discount Price, $11,500.
78-7515 Gibson 1966 ES-125 electric archtop #806678, in very good condition with a newer Gibson black hard shell flattop carrying case.
This a fine player, a modestly priced collectible, having a slim neck width of 1 9/16th, a short sale of 24.9", crème colored binding on both top and back of body, a nickel-plated strap pin insinuated into the back end of the heel, treble side. It has its original tortoise celluloid pickguard, a dog-ear P-90 pickup with raised, adjustable, screw-top pole pieces, a Brazilian rosewood two piece adjustable bridge, and a chrome plated trapeze tailpiece with a single raised diamond. It has twin gold high-hat knobs in the lower treble bout, for tone and volume. It also has a metal washer surrounding the jack on the treble side where cracks surround the input; it shows fretboard erosion in the lower fret positions on the Brazilian rosewood fretboard, finish checking, normal dings and scratches and our old friend crazing. It seems to have jumbo frets so we presume it was in the past refretted. For a guitar that has received a lifetime of playing - it continues to play well and, amplified, it sounds wonderful. $1953 or, at our cash discount price, $1895.
78-7349 Gibson (used, 1955) L-7CN, #A20497, acoustic, with a newer TKL hard shell case.
Made of the same materials as the lordly (and far more expensive) L-5CN, this somewhat more modestly appointed L-7CN was produced in a run of exactly 41 in this color in 1955. Between 1951 and 1958 Gibson made just 284 in total. This rare model is delightful in all-blonde. Sure, it has finish crazing on just about every square inch of its pulchritudinous surface including the black, inlaid headplate, but it is largely free from normal signs of use and wear. Since signs of playing are so sparce, notable is a nick on the bass side near the lower point of the bass f-hole, some extremely light buckle marks and dings, and a small amount of tactile sensation on the treble side of the cutaway where the neck joins the body (shrinkage, you know). Its tuners are unsigned (as they would be) Kluson Deluxes with tulip buttons that are holding up nicely. Our workshop has re-radiused the bridge which allows the guitar to play and sound its best. The Gibson L-7C has painted edge f-holes instead of bound, it has a simple Gibson postwar script headplate logo in yellowed-lacquer over pearl with a Gibson crown (or flower) below; it has a bone nut, a double- parallelogram fretboard inlay pattern nestled within its Brazilian rosewood fretboard that’s crème bound; it has yellowed crème binding on top and back; a three-ply bordered black pickguard that is deflecting slightly, and said ‘guard has its original metal L-bracket. It has that Brazilian bridge and a standard Gibson trapeze tailpiece with three raised diamonds; the top is bordered in crème-black-crème; the back of the neck has a walnut center stripe. The blonde finish is both beautiful and uncommon, and so is the lovely, languorous and memorable sound. $6,443 or, at our cash discount price, $6,250.
78-7352 Eastman (used, 2005) Model AR810CE #951, in “Acid” Blue finish – enough to give some players instant flashbacks back to the 1960s, made of solid maple sides and back with a solid aged spruce top, a three-piece maple neck and with a solid ebony fingerboard.
This guitar has an upgraded Kent Armstrong floating humbucking black pickup which provides its user a stronger, mellower sound. Its blue carapace is housed in its original black shiny fiberglass Eastman hard shell plush lined case. This piece is in excellent plus condition – showing only a few infinitely small dings on the face, tiny nicks and scratches overall, one or two minor marks on the headplate (from string changing), a small line in front of the bridge from where the bridge apparently once resided in an incorrect spot. There is an insignificant rise in the board over the body to neck joint which, when played normal-like affects neither sound nor technique. There is a gold-plated strap pin in the heel cap and the gold plated end-jack doubles as a strap pin at the bottom side. It is an instrument that sounds lush and luxurious, sonorous and at all times sensitive to the jazz musician’s needs. $1,804 or at our cash discount price $1,750.
78-7102 Bob Benedetto (used, 1982) one-of-a-kind nominally 16” arched top guitar, #8882, “Custom Made for Chuck Wayne,” in excellent condition with original Benedetto gigbag.
Chuck Wayne (Feb. 27, 1923 – July 29, 1997) was, of course, one of America’s finest jazz guitarists. Diane Wayne’s notes from his memorial service say it better than I could: Chuck was a self-taught virtuoso whose elegant legato style and rich harmonies influenced a generation of guitarists and other instrumentalists. He was able to incorporate such diverse influences as Charlie Christian and Coleman Hawkins with those of classical artists like Andres Segovia and Maurice Ravel into a unique style. In addition to his conducting, arranging and performance skills he was renowned as a singer’s accompanist working with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Vic Damone, Johnny Mathis, Steve and Edie and Tony Bennett. He recorded with George Shearing, Dizzy Gilespie, Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Joe Puma. He played in the orchestras of Gary Moore, Carol Burnette, Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin. Diane says: Chuck was compassionate yet disciplined, empathetic yet uncompromising, often brilliant, always driven by a commitment to excellence. Similar attributes can be said about Bob Benedetto who built this unique instrument for Chuck Wayne in 1982.It has many unusual features including the floral headstock cap, carved in relief above the tuners at the top, a radiused fingerboard with a 1 23/32nd” nut width, a short scale of 24 ¾” nut to saddle, a string spacing at the bridge saddle of 2 3/16th”. Tuners are gold-plated Schaller Minis with gold small buttons; the nut is carved of bone and is fluted (quite beautifully). The unbound fingerboard is inlaid with 9 pearl dotmarkers in 8 positions. Below the squared end, elevated fingerboard is a Gibson Johnny Smith gold-plated humbucking pickup with exposed magnets. The pickguard is the abbreviated ebony version Bob uses on his Manhattan but there the resemblance ends as this guitar has “fiddle edge” sides, in which the top and the back are built out slightly wider than the side resulting in an architectural detail worthy of inclusion in the finest museum collection. The back and sides are flamed (figured) maple while the top and back raised edges are birds-eye maple. The top is carved of close and parallel-grained spruce, the back is two-piece. The actual width at the lower bout is 16 3/8ths” because of the fiddle-edge sides; the upper bout is 12 ¼”, and the waist is 9 ¾”. The builder provided a gold-plated strap pin in the upper bass side near the neck and the tailpin doubles as a phone jack. The guitar features the Benedetto ebony harp tailpiece (a feature that Diane Wayne says was initially suggested to Bob by Chuck Wayne) and a Benedetto carved ebony two-piece adjustable bridge. A dark wood truss rod cover is pressed to the headplate by one recessed screw; a volume control depends off of the treble side of the pickguard. Large open F-holes are long and languorous measuring 6 ¾” in total length. The condition is excellent showing minor signs of use (yes, but it’s Chuck Wayne’s DNA on that fretboard), a small vinyl burn on back of headstock, some chips around the edges, bings on the bindings, dings on the dorsal and ventral surfaces. We need to point out that there is an area of split wood running horizontally, against the grain, in the upper treble cutaway bout on the side. Leroy Aiello, our head of repair, says that this can happen anywhere that wood is bent, and that, since the guitar has two raised wooden caps on the top and bottom sides, this stressed area will probably not continue to spread. Our workshop has performed masterful skills to level the frets, allowing the instrument to be eminently sonorous and easily playable. You have a guitar here with a remarkable provenance, made for and owned by a highly influential professional with a world-renowned reputation, and made by the hand of one of the finest arched top guitarmakers extant. $56,705 or at our cash discount price, $55,000.
78-7335 John Buscarino (used, 2001) Monarch acoustic cutaway archtop 17” guitar, #SM0859401, with floating pickup, in violin sunburst finish, in near mint condition. It is housed in a Mark Leaf case.
About this model, the builder states (paraphrased and revised): Regal without pretensions, the Monarch was designed in collaboration with master archtop maker Robert Benedetto. It follows in the tradition of the master handing down years of perfected methods and designs to his apprentice. Possessing all the features of the upscale Artisan, the Monarch boasts several attractive additions. Crowning this guitar is a large Benedetto-style headstock with mitered purflings and pinstripe-enhanced binding; the f-holes are fully bound and also trimmed with mitered pinstripe purflings. Only the finest quarter sawn seasoned instrument woods are used in its construction – the back and sides of this guitar are dramatically tiger-striped. As with every archtop guitar in the Buscarino lineage this one is meticulously assembled and tuned. The Monarch headstock face is constructed from solid ebony with a beautifully ornate inlay which was originally designed by Bob Benedetto. It appears to be a keystone wearing a diagonal banner like the grand marshal in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, sitting in a modern, boxy arm chair. (In the version the keystone is not holding a pink jackrabbit.) The model comes standard with full binding and intricately mitered purflings and this one was ordered with highly figured flame maple body and neck bindings as well. The Monarch has a three-piece multi-laminate mostly maple neck constructed from seasoned rock maple. The back of the headstock is laminated with a solid fiber composite veneer which adds strength and is then finished in the classic "V" archtop design. Sculptured from a solid block of ebony with a machined solid brass hinged bracket for coupling this tailpiece to the body, the tailpiece is a true Buscarino innovation that adds sustain and warmth to the performance. The Monarch comes with a one-piece solid ebony 3/16" thick beveled and abbreviated pickguard whose compact design does not restrict the f-holes as to allow the sound to freely transfer from the body. In the lower treble corner of the pickguard is a single black corrugated volume control. Elegant touches include Schaller gold-plated precision tuning machines with solid ebony buttons, and the custom Buscarino Signature floating humbucker designed by Kent Armstrong, the carved ebony two piece adjustable bridge. This pickup is specially tuned to maximize the performance and enhance that classic jazz sound; it was designed with special feedback reduction features and is molded into an ebonized epoxy compound for long life and superior performance. In all, this guitar is beyond gorgeous and sounds exquisite. $10305 or at our cash discount price, $9995.
88-1905 Epiphone (used, 1954) Zephyr Regent, blonde, cutaway, #68014, with DeArmond pickup and original brown hard shell case.
This massive missive measures 17 3/8" in body width. It bears a date stamp, on its interior back, of June, 1954, although the serial number would suggest 1955. It has one DeArmond built in single coil black pickup, surrounded by a shiny metal rectangular plate, with two clear cylinder shaped rotaries for volume and tone angled on the face - each of them glass-barreled. This is a handsome and heavy electric archtop with the enameled metal pointy plate with the Epi block print logo and the inverted World War II style Howitzer shell beneath. This is affixed with 3 screws into what might be a Brazilian rosewood head plate, a white-black bordered Conehead shaped truss rod cover, six etched rectangles inlaid into an ebony fretboard bound on both sides with ivoroid. Said ivoroid does not quite reach the nut on each side of same and also doesn't quite connect to the crème crosspiece at bottom side of the board. A strap pin has been added to the treble side of the neck heel at the cutaway. The tailpiece is a simple nickeled trapeze, the bridge a two-piece rosewood adjustable set precisely as any player would want it - not to high, not too low - just right. The top and back are bound in crème ivoroid, and the heel cap is ivoroid also. Tuner buttons are Epsilon with a V backed caramel candy shaped buttons of pearloid. F-holes are open and like Prometheus, unbound. There is a jack at the side, a deep nick on the cutaway (side) and overall it shows normal signs of use and wear including at least 3 dings on the back of the neck, other dings and finish checking elsewhere, but, overall, the guitar shows less signs of wear than most you would see from fifty years ago. There are two breaks in the binding on the bass side and minor chips out of the body binding. The hard shell case is pink-lined with an Epsilon inside of it. This guitar plays beautifully, and, plugged into a good tube amplifier, brings back memories of the era of the big band, when the guitarist was king. WAS $2778 but NOW ON SALE for $2469 or at our cash discount price, $2395.
COMING SOON: “The Loar” brand Hand-Carved '20s Replica Acoustic ArchtopModeled after extremely famous American designs from the early 20th century (think: The Grand Old Opry and “Wildwood Flower”), The Loar’s new archtop guitar is hand-carved from select, graduated woods and features a nitrocellulose lacquer finish and unparalleled acoustic projection. The Loar Hand-Carved Archtop (LH-600) is an authentic replica of the original archtop acoustic guitars from the 1920s. This all-solid model features a top that is hand-carved from graduated spruce, and hand-carved back and sides made from highly flamed maple.The LH-600 also features a hand-rubbed, vintage tobacco sunburst finish with nitrocellulose lacquer for superior acoustic projection, Gotoh tuners, and a compensated adjustable ebony bridge. With its exceptionally loud tone, carved body, and vintage design, the archtop attracted considerable attention at the NAMM Show in January. The amazing part is that the LH-600 has an MSRP of only $1,195 and includes a featherweight case. The Loar, a division of The Music Link, specializes in handcrafted musical instruments inspired by the Golden Age. They also make mandolins, open back and resonator back 5-string banjos.
78-7103 C F Martin (used, 1937) Model F-7 archtop guitar, #65794, in magnificent Brazilian rosewood – straight-grained – sides and back, in very good plus condition with a newer standard black hard shell replacement case.
C F Martin made very few of their top of the line F-7 and F-9 guitars. Here are the figures: Between 1935 and 1942 Martin made 187 total F-7s, including 36 made in 1937, and the made 72 F-9s. Needless to say, of these 259 guitars, probably all but 59 (just a guess) have been vivisected by individuals who said “Hey, let’s change the top and the neck and make M-38s out of them! These are the same individuals who are, as we speak, dining on Northern Spotted Owls with a side of marinated Snail Darters. The F-9 is fancy with the “C Martin F” vertical large abalone headstock logo on an ivoroid bound ebony headplate; the ebony fingerboard is bound with ivoroid and has two more ivoroid vertical lines that border its 6 large pearl hexagonal inlays. The f-holes are long, continuous and six inches long measured diagonally. The top is bound in four-ply, the back and end graft in 2-ply. The bridge is the original ebony adjustable 2-piece, and the tailpiece, which reminds us of so many D’Angelico early tailpieces, bears the “Grover Pat. Appl’d For” legend.We feel that F-7 and F-9 guitars exist for a reason – there are probably diseases that can be cured by playing music on them and that their vast and beneficent healing potential will be lost to humanity if the last 59 are eradicated from this earth (through conversion, or assimilation as some people call it). These are, in their own way, strikingly beautiful, and being Brazilian with a carved spruce top, and 71 years old, they also sound full, warm and bountiful. This particular instrument appears to have been oversprayed in places, with particular attention to the headstock, though it is possible that only its back, sides and headstock have been merely touched up while the top largely remains largely original finish. A metal strap pin has been positioned into the heel of the neck; it is missing its pickguard but the holes remain on the face near the fingerboard and on the treble side. The top shows considerable sign of use and wear, some areas of deep erosion. Overall the guitar shows normal signs of use and wear including chips around the top edges of the headstock, finish crazing, scuffs, scratches, scrapes and dings. There is a 5 ½” crack from the bass f-hole down to the bottom side. This guitar comes with two bridge saddles. Our crew of dedicated professional craftspersons will have performed a much needed refret and they intend to also replace the large chrome Grover Rotomatics that were on it with smaller and more appropriate-looking replacement tuners. This is an exceptional remembrance of the guitars of the jazz age, made in such a small quantity as to give one the shivers, and then reduced in population by a horde of followers of one particular singer who saw fit, in the ‘70s, to convert it to flattop, and so approximately 200 others followed suit. Or maybe it was made people than that. Maybe this is the last remaining intact F-9. We just don’t know. This Brazilian rosewood 16” wide wonder, with the 25” scale length and the 1 ¾” nut (how perfect is that) is only $6705 or at our cash discount price $6500.
78-7227 D’Aquisto (new) New Yorker Electric, in honey blonde, #710054, an extremely fine modern archtop guitar, with a floating pickup, housed in a hard shell case.
Your cost and also the MAP is only $2999.99 at our discount price.
78-7292 Benedetto (used, 1997) #40197, a 7-string full-depth archtop, in excellent condition with original hard shell case.
This superb and wholly professional 17” archtop shows some normal dings here and there, finish blistering on the offset (7-string) headstock around each capstan, small ding on the neo-classical (no inlays) fingerboard at 8th fret, but overall extremely clean and original. This guitar starts with four-ply purfling with ivoroid outermost on the headstock, fingerboard, six-ply on the top and back. Tuners are gold-plated Schaller sealed backs with large ebony buttons, the neck is five-piece with twin ebony vertical laminates; the back of the headstock is painted black and comes to a bird’s beak behind the second fret. A gold-plated strap pin protrudes from the ivoroid double-bound heel cap. Two sections of the back of the neck are highly flamed tiger maple, the back and sides are big-leaf widely grained maple, the top is evenly grained carved spruce. The bridge is ebony, carved and two-piece; the tailpiece is ebony and harp-shaped, and the floating (elevated) humbucking pickup that’s attached to the abbreviated Benedetto “Manhattan” style pickguard is black and bears the Benedetto logo. This guitar was made while Benedetto Guitars was in E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; Bob signed the label in pen. The headstock bears the script Benedetto logo in white pearl and there is a flower above and below. The pickguard hosts a small black volume knob; the f-holes are individually three-ply bordered. The guitar is presently strung with six tape wound strings and one metal wound low A. This is a classy, hand-made Benedetto 7-string guitar, in solidly excellent condition. $13,660 or, at our cash discount price, $13,250
15-6993 Benedetto (used, c. 2006) (hand made in Corona, CA, USA) Frank Vignola Standard, #164, near mint with original TKL 5-ply faux alligator covered deluxe hard shell case
with a thermometer inside (the humidity-testing portion of that device has gone to hygrometer heaven). We have spoken with Bob Benedetto about these two superb Frank Vignola model guitars. According to Bob Benedetto, the Frank Vignola model has a different body shape, different bridge and tailpiece than other Benedetto guitars. For these models the body lines were chosen as homage to the Selmer Maccaferri. Another difference is that, compared to other models, the top and back were both carved – the neck specs were 1 ¾” at the nut with a 25” scale. There were two models offered: a Standard model that had mahogany back and sides and a Sitka top; and the Deluxe that had European maple sides and back and a European spruce top. Interestingly, not many were made. Guild started making them just at the time that Bob ended his contract with Fender. Here are the production totals for the Frank Vignola models that were produced: there are only 13 made total. Eight of those were the Vignola Deluxe (their serial numbers are: 087, 163, 179, 205, 214, 229, 230, 248. Five were the Vignola Standad Model (serial numbers: 086, 164, 201, 234, 231. That’s not a lot of guitars.This Standard is the simpler of two versions of this short-lived model. Features include solid mahogany sides, carved back and neck with a magnificent, parallel-grained carved spruce top, a jet black headstock overlay tracing the bell-curve at center top, with a raised, gold, modern script “Benedetto” logo and, other than the ebony truss rod cover held in place by a single recessed screw, nothing else. Its tuners are black chrome Schaller minis with ebony buttons. The fingerboard, which measures 1 ¾” at the nut, is jet black, bound in polished ebony, with an inlaid small Benedetto signature flower at the 12th and running down into the top of the 13th fret. Tasteful? Don’t ask. The pickguard is likewise ebony and both abbreviated yet pointed, the bridge is graceful, pointed at each end of the base and carved beautifully of ebony, the tailpiece is an ebony harp inlaid with the words “Frank” and “Vignola.” Side bindings are tortoise shell colored celluloid, top is decorated with a thin black-white four-ply and the back in three-ply. A black chrome strap button is provided in the vertically challenged ebony heel cap, and there’s one also at the bottom side. F-holes are not f-shaped at all but are more “birdie’s wing” and bound in tortoise. This particular guitar is equipped with an actual DeArmond (Reg. US Patent, Howe Industries, Toledo, OH) burgundy-center floating pickup – the pickup jazz guitarists crave beyond all others. There is no jack on the side – the owner chose to leave the guitar whole and intact with no alteration or penetration. This is the DeArmond that attaches to the strings between bridge and tailpiece – so the guitar remains a virgin. This guitar was “final approved” by Bob Benedetto on 8/25/05; the interior label bears his signature. The sound is smooth and mellow, played acoustic or amplified you may qvell with both pride and promise. $7211 or, at our cash discount price, $6995.
15-6981 Heritage (used, 11/19/89) Super Eagle, 18” wide, in sunburst, #F09601, in solidly excellent condition with original hard shell case.
The Heritage Company began doing business in 1984 taking over, on Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the factory buildings that formerly housed another well-known firm. Their claim was that they were continuing the heritage of the former tenant. One thing they did that is greatly appreciated by today’s musicians is to continue to make high quality archtops. This guitar bears a second interior label on the treble side that is signed by not only the supervisor/principals of the company but also by many of the workers, and bears the legend “First Acoustic Model, 11/1/1989.” It is a fancy thing, having four-ply headstock purfling, “The Heritage” in script mother of pearl inlay into a polished ebony snakehead style headplate, a large, etched, pearl eagle alighting on a leafless branch and, there under, a mother of pearl truss rod cover. Tuners are Grover gold-plated sealed-backs with stair step buttons; the five-ply bordered ebony fingerboard, that forms a bird’s-beak at the bottom, is inlaid with blocks in 8 positions, the first 6 of which are “split” in alternating instances of two-diagonal at center and one-diagonal at center, and then the last two are solid blocks. The scale length is 24.4” and the nut width is 1 10/16th”. The flame maple pickguard is four ply bordered, the bridge is all wooden, adjustable and the trapeze tailpiece at bottom is a construction of gold plated metal that’s etched “The Heritage,” an ebony trapezoid and a plastic crest etched “Super Eagle.” F-holes are single-ply bordered, back and sides are two-ply, and there are flying birds inlaid in pearl on each side of the bridge foot. The guitar shows normal signs of light use and wear, dings and things, some scratches on the heel, along with other impressions and scruffs but far less than one would anticipating seeing for an 19 year old guitar. Since there is an end jack/tailpin we’re going to presume that there’s a Fishman bridge pickup or a soundboard transducer inside. Very practical, without interfering in any way with the considerably beauty of an 18” behemoth (the moth that does not fly), professional jazzer’s joy. $4118 or, at our cash discount price, $3995.
88-2278 Hofner (new) Thin President Hollow Body in sunburst, serial #E07122, with hard shell case.
Höfner’s handcrafted excellence and uncompromising flexibility invigorate the familiar platform of the Thin President, although we’re not sure which of our last half dozen Commanders-in-Chief was the thinnest. Solid hand-carved German AAA spruce top, highly-flamed African maple back and sides. The asymmetrically profiled crème-bound European maple neck hosts a 24-fret ebony fingerboard with genuine mother-of-pearl inlays in 10 positions – 9 of which are block and one of which is split block. All of this combines to produce great sound and feel. Although (apparently) some Hofner Presidents come with a sustain block inside the body made of a solid piece of high quality timber that’s hand-fitted to both the spruce top and the flamed maple back, this example didn’t come with it. It is thusly a true hollow body. The ebony headplate overlay is crème- bordered and inlaid with a convoluted flower, bud and vine motif. The master volume and tone controls for the Höfner standard-size humbucking neck and body pickups are tastefully covered by gold high-hat knobs. The tuners are Schaller sealed-backs with nickel-plated metal tulip buttons; the tailpiece is the three rung-ladder (like a twice rung bell) with the French curve in nickel- or chrome-plate at the top, and the bridge is a six-string version of the bridge you would find on a Hofner Beatle Bass – ebony, two piece, adjustable, with 6 individually removable and adjustable saddles. The Current List Price is $3398. Your cost however, is $2234 or, at our cash discount price, $2167.
15-6927 John Zeidler (used, January 1999) Jazz Deluxe 18” wide cutaway archtop guitar, in near mint condition, #0164, with original hard shell 5-ply case.
John Zeidler of Phildelphia, PA. was, of course, one of America’s greatest luthiers. He passed away in or around 2002 but left behind a legacy of fretted instrument construction that knows no peer. His attention to detail is legendary, as is his artistry, wood choices, and sense of proportion and style. His execution is, as well, incomparable, in other words, being such as to have no equal. This is a large and formidable instrument – 18” makes for an intimate relationship between the player and the guitar. It hides the shy and at the same time makes a powerful platform for the practicing extrovert. It also produces an enormous amount of volume, and, considering that this is an acoustic guitar suitable for use as either rhythm or lead in a small ensemble, concert band or orchestra, it fulfills its purpose admirably. The purple heart headplate, that takes the classical form with the crème-black-crème so-tiny-you-can-hardly-see-it purfling around the border of the headstock’s Spanish architecture headstock, with ebony outermost on top and back of the plate. The triple-purfling-bordered underlay and the wood and golden proprietary tailpiece are also purple heart. The top and back are bound in prewar style tortoise shell celluloid, extra wide at the cutaway, with 7-plies of wood and celluloid purfling around top and back, and five plies on each of the sides. The ebony fingerboard is bordered in a continuous trim of white-black-white that contours to the same flourish of carved wood at the bottom as Zeidler supplied his “Carrara” model mandolin. This means it has 20 full frets and four partials on the peninsula. This has the long scale of 25 ½” from its fossil walrus nut to its compensated, hand-fashioned two-piece adjustable ebony bridge. The nut measures a generous 1 13/16ths”. The string spacing at the nut, 6th string to first string, is 1 9/16th”, the body depth at bottom side is 3”. The f-holes are 7” long, measured diagonally, sweeping and graceful. The headstock logo is a stylized large letter “Z” bisected by a banner that reads “Zeidler” with the initial Z becoming an underline that extends to the “d.” The top is a delightful book matched piece of wide-grained Adirondack, flawless and without brown “character marks” while the back, sides and neck are made from Western Pacific Big Leaf Maple, three dimensionally figured to catch and refract light from many angles. Tuners are gold-plated Waverly brand with open gears and butterbean buttons, the heel cap is purple heart and so is the large pearl dot inlaid strap pin in the heel cap and at the bottom. This guitar sounds as big as the Great Outdoors, like thunder over the Gallatin Mountains, with a voice as fresh and bracing as a northeasterly breeze over Lake Winnipesauke on a brilliant June morning at sunrise. $26,801 or at our cash discount price $25,995.
15-6302 Gibson (used, 1957) L-7C, #A-25941, in excellent plus condition with original Gibson brown tolex covered hard shell case.
This is one of the most beautiful (and remarkably clean) examples of the cutaway, all solid wood, “Working Man’s L-5C” as we have had the good fortune to see. Yes, it does show extremely mild signs of use including some dings and the occasional light scratch on body and neck, minor reflections of string-changing with wild abandonment on the black headplate. Said plate is inlaid "Gibson" in postwar pearl script with a Gibson crown there under; it has a Brazilian rosewood squared-end fingerboard inlaid with twin mother of pearl parallelogram inlays in 8 fret positions. The guitar is currently fitted with an EMG black rectangular floating pickup mounted to a replacement triple bound pickguard that has volume and tone controls on the 'guard - however the first of the two knobs is missing its silver insert exposing the screw. The bridge is a lighter color Brazilian rosewood; tuners are replaced Kluson Deluxes with the oil hole for the "o" with tulip shaped pearloid buttons; the back of the neck is oversprayed. There is an added nickel-plated strap pin drilled into the bass side of the neck heel. There is a finish disruption on the treble side of the neck at the cutaway; the tailpiece is original with three raised diamonds; the top is bordered in white-black, the back, fingerboard and headstock in single ply crème. Our shop has humidified and glued a six-inch seam separation in the lower back. The original pickguard (without side clamp which was probably used on the newer guard) and an original (valuable) DeArmond pickup reside in the case. The f-holes are unbound. The back shows some mild figure through the uniform brown, the sides almost no figure but the maple portions of the neck (three-piece) are nicely figured. The overall condition is amazing - certainly this is one of the most nicely preserved L-7C guitars we have seen and the original brown Gibson leatherette case with the flannel lining is in condition equal to the guitar. NOW ON SALE. This was $6,445 BUT IT IS NOW ON SALE for $5412 or at our cash discount price $5250.
15-6757 Gibson (used, 1963) L-7C in sunburst top, #63164, in very good plus condition with a DeArmond pickup.
There is little sonic difference between an L-7C and an L-5C. Both have the soft cutaway, the 17” wide body, and are carved, like a Boston Market sandwich, of all solid woods. The eternally sought-after 5-digit serial number is pressed into the back of the headstock below the center indent, and there are a few scrapes on the edges of the board. The neck is three-piece, stained dark walnut, as is stained the sides and back – but the center section of the back of the neck and the sides show nice flame in the maple while the back is plain. This guitar shows light normal signs of use and wear including dings on top, sides, back, head and headstock, finish checking, some buckle marks, a dent in the crème binding on the back near the tailpin on the bass side that continues into a scratch. It has had a phono jack installed in the lower treble side which resulted in at least 5 tiny cracks emanating there from, around the perimeter. The frets, when we obtained it, were worn out, and the pickguard, which is 5-ply bound, was showing signs of entropy. Our illustrious workshop will have performed a masterful refret and will have made a perfect replicative pickguard out of original materials and with matching binding. They will reinstall the DeArmond, and when you next see this piece it will not only look important, it will also play important. Its venerable tuners are original Kluson Deluxe with oil hole and amber tulip buttons. A strap pin has been installed in the center of the neck heel, which isn’t a bad place if you’re going to deface your instrument by drilling a hole in the poor mute, helpless [thing]. The side clamp (L-bracket) is likewise replaced with one that is considerably different from a Gibson original part and this resulted in new screw holes and finish damage. The truss rod cover is medium-width white-bordered and bears the word “Custom” in vertical letters down the center. The crème-bound-on-three-sides Brazilian rosewood fingerboard is inlaid in 8 fret positions with twin pearl parallelograms. The bridge is the original rosewood two-piece adjustable; the hinged nickel-plated tailpiece shows normal oxidation and it has three raised diamonds on its crosspiece. The black headplate with its nicely yellowed Gibson postwar logo, Gibson flower and truss rod cover is both crazed and scratched from string changing. It is a fine example from a great vintage period, and it has that expensive and superb sounding DeArmond pickup. They seldom get better than this. $4,639 or, at our cash discount price, $4,500.
15-6733 D’Aquisto (new) DQ-JZ “Jazzline” archop guitar in the Violin ‘Burst finish, #0708054, with hard shell case.
$3093 at our discount price, or at our cash discount price, $3000.
15-6584 Ted Megas “Apollo” Oval Hole acoustic-electric archtop with two oval side ports on the bass rim, #1755, dated July 2005 at Portland, Oregon, housed in an original Cedar Creek hard shell plush lined case which lacks one latch. “Of course it has two ports, it was built in Portland!”
The guitar is in near mint condition - the top a tight grained spruce, possibly German/European with heavily tiger striped maple on the sides and back. It features a Pick Up The World transducer under the bridge, requiring only a small hole underneath the bridge center that leads the wire into the chamber, and, as well, a strap pin/tailpin on the bottom side. The head plate is jet black, reflecting the starkness of outer space whose solitude is broken only by the white Megas inlaid pearl logo. Tuners are sealed-back Schallers with ebony buttons; the fingerboard is black ebony with flame maple binding on each side, and the body, top and back, is bound in flame natural maple although the rest of the top and back is finished in a very dark, deep vintage sunburst that brings out the flame maple in a most dramatic fashion. The vertical oval soundhole is also bound in natural finish maple. Mr. Megas’ bridge is a massive ebony construction with twin corrugated gold plated elevators; pickguard is unbound ebony and abbreviated in the modern style, while the tailpiece is as bold and elegant a statement of architectural beauty as has ever been used to capture one’s balls on the southern terminus. The heel cap is finished in blonde flame maple; back of neck is painted black leading to a single black line down the center of the back of the headstock. The gold jack pin is the end pin. This is an extremely fine sounding, most unusual looking, golden-toned instrument whose voice and appearance will impress both the player and the listener. $6701 or at our cash discount price, $6500.
15-6581 Epiphone (used, 1941) Deluxe, acoustic archtop, blonde, #16481, in very good condition with a period or slightly later Gibson style brown leatherette pink-lined hard shell case.
The Epiphone Deluxe is one model below the famous Epiphone Emperor. It is a fancy guitar having 6 large mother of pearl cloud inlays in the fretboard starting at fret 1 and then a block at the 15th fret, and a small but robust vine inlaid in pearl with leaves, vine and flowers on the black ebony headplate, under the large, script, pearl inlaid Epiphone logo. The ebony fingerboard, that nominally measures 1 23/32nds” at the nut, bears two lines of white-black-white on its surface. The string spacing at the bridge is 1 15/16”. This is a spruce top instrument with figured maple sides and back. It has a protozoan-shaped replaced pickguard of tortoise shell celluloid with white-black-white border, that has been fitted with an EMG pickup and two knobs – one for volume, one for tone, in the lower treble quadrant. The top is bordered in four-ply white-black with crème outermost on both sides; the back, oddly, is bordered in 5-plies of black and white with crème outer, the heel cap in three-ply, the back of the maple neck is five-ply; the tuners are gold-plated, sealed gear, caramel shaped buttons with the Epsilon and diamond etched on they respective back The back of the neck shows more than normal hand wear (rendering the space between nut and 12th fret rather dull and gray – appearing similar in color and texture to Vlad Lenin in his tomb when he was still receiving visitors.
There is what appears to be a small hairline crevice on each side of the base of the neck near the pickguard, of no consequence in terms of longevity. There is a long repaired vertical crack under the treble foot of the bridge, a small seam separation at the treble waist on the back. On this guitar you will note that both the pickguard and the the two-piece rosewood adjustable bridge is replaced, the back and sides are oversprayed and a modern EMG floating humbucking pickup has been installed off of the pickguard and hangs down a little to the bass side. This pickup is cleverly powered by a watch battery under the pickguard and there is a phone plug off the lower treble bulbous portion of the pickguard. There are small holes in the lower bass side of the fretboard suggesting that, in the past, somebody glommed the DeArmond pickup it used to have. The f-holes are single ply bound, the tailpiece is the original gold plated “Frequensator; Patent. Pend.” There are indications of a slight but not moving seam sep at both the top and the bottom of the back seam. It shows dings, nicks. Scruffs, mars, indents, pick erosion, wear or wens (just like the cabaret standard by Rodgers and Hart) overall; there are small cracks in the binding, one tiny piece of replaced binding at top of the back. It is a player, and, even though “only” in very good condition, a possible collector for the person desiring a classy, venerable Epiphone from the New York Factory days, made during the heyday of orchestral jazz and band performance. THIS WAS $5563 but is NOW ON SALE for $5149 or, at our cash discount price, $4995.
15-5965 Gretsch (new) Model G6120DC, Chet Atkins Hollowbody – JT06116489, with hard shell case.
The Gretsch List is $3575 and the Gretsch MAP is $2324. You know what to do with that telephone. Thank you. Our number is 718 981 8585; or you could email.
15-6170 Gary Mortoro (used, May 1999) thin-body "Free Bird," archtop, #4399, blonde, in excellent minus condition with tweed color gigbag.
Gary Mortoro is an archtop guitar builder in Miami, FL. About his own Mortoro guitar, [he still owns another Mortoro] the famous guitarist Rodney Jones says: “Gary Mortoro makes a player's guitar. They have a great feel, beautiful tone and are finely crafted. There is no finer archtop available today. Simply put, they are the D'Angelicos of tomorrow. I love mine." Rodney Jones has been the guitarist for the Rosie O'Donnell Show and for Lena Horne, recently played on Billy Joel’s All My Life album and has toured with Queen Latifa., About Mortoro, George Benson said: “Gary's guitar has a lot of acoustic value; more so than the standard electric guitar. He's one of the few guys that has given a nice acoustic sound to the instrument. It's value, for me, is that it has both electric and acoustic elements. A friend of mine was playing it recently - fingerstyle. He was going 'Wow! Wow!'” The Free Bird (Uccello Libero) is described by the builder as follows: “’Bird’ soundholes occur in places where f-holes usually are, as well as a "bird" cutout on the side of the upper bout facing the player.” This model guitar is free of binding, it has a traditional pickguard. It has the options of having twin gold-plated humbucking pickups with four controls for volume and tone in the lower treble bout, block inlay fingerboard markers at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15 and 17, and ebony buttons on gold-plated Schaller large, sealed tuners. The headstock is overlaid with a beautiful, highly figured two piece book matched wood, the black ebony fingerboard seems to be bound in polished ebony and the pickguard is ebony and unbound. In the Bob Benedetto tradition it has an ebony cello style bridge, a beautifully hand carved two piece ebony bridge, and a strap pin that doubles as a jack at bottom. There is, on this guitar, a mute toggle switch in the lower treble bout, but we note that when engaged, like so many who are presently engaged, it hums. We consider this a minor aberration and cannot, ourselves, do not desire to try to trouble shoot it because the bird shaped f-holes will not easily allow the removal of the potentiometers and wiring (please forgive us). The guitar is quite clean but there are normal light signs of use including chips of finish around the wooden bindings. Otherwise it works fine and sounds really good. One more story: the owner, who is an illustrious jazz guitarist known to players and listeners worldwide, once, um, sat on the guitar while it was in the recording studio. “You know that sound you hear when you sit on your guitar?” he says wistfully, “Well I heard that sound and cringed.” He sent the guitar back to the maker who glued the three areas on the east side of the bass bird-hole and touched them up, put a sound post inside to make sure the top remains upstanding until the end of time, and also touched up a tiny hairline crack at the bottom of the treble bird-hole. We should point out that there is a port, in a bird shape of course, on the upper treble side, to allow the player to hear his or her mistakes far faster than the audience does, which gives the guitarist time to correct the note before the audience hears it. This is a marvelous music machine, formerly owned by a master, and a guitar that may open up doors for you that you never thought possible, especially if you turn the door handle first. Its interior paper label reads “Custom made for my friend, Rodney Jones.” WAS $4221 BUT NOW ON SALE for $3706 or, at our cash discount price, $3595
ONE OF THE FINEST ARCHTOP GUITARS OF THE 20th CENTURY:
James D’Aquisto was a Master Luthier, the progenitor of tradition-shattering ideas in the art of the arched top six-string, whose work is legendary. His late model guitars broke through the ceiling of late 20th Century design in sound, beauty, originality and creativity and set the standard for all that came after. We are fortunate (to the point of incredulousness) to have obtained two of his best and rarest models.There is a concise history of D’Aquisto in the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, the brief entry supplied by Paul Schmidt. The following edited and extended commentary is based on that report:
James L. D’Aquisto (1935-1995) met John D’Angelico around 1953. At the age of 17 James became D’Angelico’s apprentice and by 1959 was handling the decorative work. After D’Angelico had a disagreement with another member of the shop during the business’ move down the street, D’Aquisto began doing some of the building and shaping, and this continued, with Jimmy taking on more and more responsibility, until the time of D’Angelico’s death in 1964. The loss of his mentor not only affected D’Aquisto personally but also professionally – although he took over the shop with the encouragement of John’s brother, business under his own logo started slowly. D’Aquisto continued to work, mostly repairing, in D’Angelico’s shop – 37 Kenmare St. in Little Italy. Finally – a year after John’s death, Jimmy summoned the nerve to build a guitar with the “D’Aquisto” headstock inlay. In 1965 James moved the shop to Huntington, Long Island and sold his first piece – based on the D’Angelico New Yorker. Just as John D’Angelico emulated the work of the 1920s and ‘30s Gibson L-5, Jimmy’s designs were initially based on John’s Excel and New Yorker models but with progressively less and less subtle refinements. In 1973 D’Aquisto again moved, this time to Farmingdale, Long Island. He made his first flattop in 1975 and first solid body in 1976. In 1987 D’Aquisto made a major design change with a guitar he called “Deco Avant Garde – New Model” in his logbook, and he discontinued the Excel and New Yorker models in 1991. Concentrating on creating more forward-looking and advanced models, he debuted the Solo – with its four soundholes – in 1994 and also the Centura Model (which had only 2 non-traditional soundholes). Reading through the entries in Jimmy’s Logbook (published as an appendix to Acquired of the Angels) we note that the builder entered 5 Avant Gardes, 9 Solos (first entered as “Savant – Solo 17”), 10 Centuras, some of which were non-cutaway, some 18”, one Special with a teardrop point for Scott Chinery, but most were 17”.
Here they are:
15-5843 James D’Aquisto (used, signed inside the back 9/12/93, under the top as 11/20/93 but entered in his log book on 2/23/94) Centura, 17” Cutaway, #1247, in excellent condition with original faux alligator black hard shell case.
As Shakespeare told us in The Tempest (IV, i. 156-’57) this is such stuff as dreams are made on -- European figured maple, striped ebony, black ebony and extremely close-grained spruce. This would be an X-braced guitar without body bindings – the edge of the top and back are the spruce and maple that comprises those planes, with a single black line of ebony and maple surrounding each edge to comprise a three-ply pattern on the face and back, two-ply on the sides and neck. The large, cats-eye shaped soundholes, each one almost a triangle measuring 5 ½” x 6 ¾ x 2 ½”, are positioned 1 ¼” from the outer edge of the lower bout on either side of a substantial ebony bridge with wedges and a removable saddle to allow height adjustment without metal posts. Our understanding is that John Zeidler (the other genius builder of the late 20th) refretted it (the original frets are in a baggie) and made a D’Aquisto replica bridge that fits it flawlessly (with the original in the pocket of the case).The pickguard is an original ebony small elevated fingerrest whose shape almost echoes that of the soundholes. The tailpiece is an original adjustable ebony wooden sculpture mounted to an adjustable height ebony matte finish base. This guitar has never had a pickup. The neck is carved of highly flamed one-piece maple with a front plate and backplate of ebony and a beveled edge; the fingerboard is ebony, sans dotmarkers on the surface but it has black side markers at 3,5,7,9,15,17 and a double at 12th, with a rounded end and three foreshortened frets for a total of 22. The fret width is 1.98 mm and fret height is 0.09 mm. There is a semi-circular cut-out at the center of the solid headstock and two small pointed horns. The “whale tail” striped ebony truss rod cover repeats the cut-out headstock design and is held in place by two roundhead screws. Tuners are the original gold plated Schallers with black ebony buttons and the case is the original black alligator 5-ply. For the statistically minded, per Leroy Aiello’s log book, the dimensions are:
Body width, lower bout – 17 ¼ ...........Scale length – 25 ¼”
Body width, upper bout – 13 1/16th”......Neck width – nut – 1 7/8”
Body depth, lower bout – 3 1/16th”.......Neck width – 5th – 2”
Body Depth, upper bout – 3 1/16th”.......Neck width – 12th – 2 3/16”
Body length – 20 ½”......................Nut – bone, original
This guitar shows finish checking on the backplate behind the headstock and just the hint of incipient checking on the front plate, but other than a few minor indications that it was played – some dings, some very small scratches – this looks like a guitar that might be one year old. This is the ultimate jazz guitar – suitable for solo or ensemble work. It would be the show-stopper in any band in which it found itself. The sound is large and lush and full of flavor, capable of artistic nuances beyond any and all instruments of like purpose. Although he made far fewer instruments than D’Angelico (we count 369 guitars and three mandolins in Jimmy’s ledger), each one is considered an example of the highest level of inspired luthiery the world has seen. It is generally felt that the late D’Aquisto guitars reach the pinnacle of perfection, that they have never been equaled by the work of any living builder and probably, over the next several hundred years, will not be. The price, by wire transfer of funds, is $125,000.
Advance Notice -- On Order from Hofner: “1959 Hofner Club 40” John Lennon Signature - Anniversary Model.
For the first time since the Beatles era Hofner is offering the famous Club 40 – an electric guitar in a natural blonde finish, having a single pickup, a hand-carved top, tortoise shell color pickguard with the John Lennon Signature/Motif. This instrument will be made in a limited run of only 120 pieces (we have two of ‘em on order). The reason it is both a Signature and an Anniversary edition is because Hofner is celebrating its 120th year in business. This guitar will be accompanied by documentation including a Limited Numbered Certificate, a copy of John Lennon’s original “hire purchase” agreement from when he bought his (we understand that the project and the provided copy of receipt are both courtesy of Yoko Ono) and a special signed copy of Andy Babiuk’s book Beatles Gear, in which a photo of the original guitar appears. John first played his Club 40 with the Beatles at the Casbah Club in Liverpool. You can see a photo of this type of guitar, in John’s hands, by clicking on http://www.thecanteen.com/lennon2.html (that text and photo is ©2000, 2006 by John F. Crowley). For more information, price, expected delivery, or to reserve one just email or phone us. Thanks.
15-5915 Gretsch (new) Anniversary Model in tone-tone green finish, Model G6188T-LTU, JT06105669, lacquer finish, with plush lined hard shell case.
The Gretsch List is $3300 and the Gretsch MAP is $2640.
15-5765 Jimmy Foster Model AT3-7, 7-string acoustic archtop guitar, #211, in excellent plus condition with apparently original hard shell case.
Jimmy Foster builds guitars in Covington, LA. There is an interview with the builder at Mel Bay’s Guitar Sessions (www.guitarsessions.com/jul04/guitar_maker.html) which lists the players who use Foster guitars, and this includes Paul Simon, Howard Morgan, Alan DeMause, and mentioned that he was, at the time, making a 7-string for Howard Alden. Well, friends, this guitar is the very guitar he made for Alan DeMause -- a gorgeous 17” wide acoustic archtop with a floating Kent Armstrong pickup that bears the Foster logo, having a long scale of around 25 ¾” and a nut width of 2 1/16th” (remember, it’s a 7-string). The single-ply white bound headstock has a polished ebony head plate with a single carat at the center, there under the script Foster logo, and under that two C-shaped squiggles, one facing east and one facing west, with a dot in between. Under that is a rosewood truss rod cover held in place by one counter-sunk screw. The fingerboard is single ply bound ebony without markers, though there are side markers; the pickguard is single white bound rosewood with a single volume control; the bridge is two-piece carved rosewood, the tailpiece is a rosewood harp with a metal U-shaped violin attachment at bottom that surrounds the tailpin/jack. The sides and back are quilted maple, the neck is one piece of tiger stripe flame maple; heel cap is ebony and so is the underlay on the back of the headstock, into which the serial number is pressed above the gold plated “Foster’s” logo sealed back tuners with small metal buttons. Said underlay terminates in a sharp point behind the nut. Top and back are bordered in four-ply, f-holes are unbound. Alan DeMause is a famous author of jazz guitar instructional materials and superb musician, so he did (actually) play the instrument, which shows a few dings and signs of normal wear, but nothing too obvious or painful. A copy of Alan’s book, How to Play the 7-string Guitar, is inside the case and will be provided the next owner. A hexagonal strap pin is mounted to the center of the back of the neck heel and there is normal finish checking. It is an instrument that’s 99% free of the usual signs of wear and was just recently set-up by Jimmy Foster himself – so it plays great and sounds beyond wonderful. $6181 or at our cash discount price, $5995.
15-5571 Bob Benedetto (used, 1983) 7-string chambered electric guitar, #9783, dark sunburst, a singular guitar, hand-made by Bob Benedetto, in excellent condition with apparently original hard shell case.
Bob made his first 7-string back in 1977, a piece that the Dean of the American Archtop Guitars built for his own personal use. He constructed it with a dual truss rod system to allow full adjustment on an expanse of fingerboard that measures 2 5/32nd” at the nut, wide enough for you to use as the deck of an aircraft carrier when you play with your toy planes. This guitar, made 6 years later, is a double soft cutaway instrument that has twin Kent Armstrong humbucking 7-string pickups plus an added (by a former owner) Roland Synth pickup between the bridge pickup and the “stop” bridge with its ebony contoured saddle suspended by two gold-colored corrugated edge risers. Below this is a hand-carved Benedetto harp style ebony tailpiece inlaid with a single three-leaf flower. On both the back of the headstock, in what appears to be an ebony back plate, and also below the strap pin that is mounted in the back of the heel, are two more pearl inlaid flowers. There’s one thing about Bob Benedetto – he sure likes little inlaid flowers. A similar flower buffers a curled banner on the headstock under the inlaid script “Benedetto” banner that reads “DeMause,” since this guitar was made for illustrious jazz guitarist/writer Alan DeMause of New York City. The nearly 8 ½” long headstock with the two protuberant bumps at the top bears a headplate of quilted walnut, and is bound with crème on the outside and the tiniest 8-ply black-crème purfling you ever saw. The crème bound fingerboard is likewise bordered and so’s the top. On each side of the fingerboard is found three-ply binding. A former owner has introduced the Roland Synth hexaphonic pickup and converted the two rotary knobs on the bass side and the toggle switch positioned in between to Roland ware; in addition the toggle switch underneath turns the Roland on and off or configures the guitar, in the upper position, for humbucking use. The large three-way toggle and the two rotaries on the treble side, control the hums. The guitar has an unusually shaped ebony pickguard on the treble side of the pickups, and the tuners are large-striped-back, gold-plated Grovers with stair-step buttons. The neck is curly maple, 5-piece; the back is figured walnut; the top is spruce. The owner says she will deliver the Synth that goes with this guitar so that its future owner can play it either way (or both ways). You, too, can be a string section or a tuba. The neck has a rounded low profile and even though wide it is comfortable and easy. This guitar shows normal light signs of playing time and use. There is an area on the back of the neck behind the third string (approximately) in the lower positions that’s worn, plus some crazing, some buckle marks, some chips and some dings. This is to be expected on an instrument that has had a professional career. With this guitar we will provide the buyer a home-burned CD of the music of Alan DeMause. If you play the CD for the guitar it may purr for you. Indeed, you may, yourself, purr. $18,042 or, at our cash discount price, $17,500.
15-5448 M Campellone (new) Standard Series, 17” acoustic-electric hand-made, carved archtop in tawny red sunburst, #3060806, with hard shell plush lined case.
We cannot, try as we might, find a finer American builder of attainable hand-crafted archtop guitars, each one made by one person, working late at night in a lonely workshop with nothing for company but a radio, a cat, and a headlamp than M Campellone (no period, please). If you’ve heard the song “Rhode Island is Famous for You” by Pizzarelli and others (the lyrics, written by Howard Deitz and set to melody by Arthur Schwartz, originally celebrated Coney Island and not Rhode Island), then you probably already know about M Campellone, who hails from the town of Greenville. The instrument is made from personally selected parallel-grain book matched Sitka spruce and three-dimensionally curly figured maple on the sides & back, trimmed with white celluloid around top, back, neck, f-holes, pickguard and headstock, plus a matching border on the pyramid-like stair step truss rod cover. Its top is purfled in white-black and its strings attach to a gold and ebony tailpiece resembling an oversized cigar-cutting guillotine, while its two-piece adjustable ebony bridge is beveled and compensated for improved intonation. A gold-plated Kent Armstrong humbucking pickup attaches to the tortoise shell color bound pickguard, which platform provides a volume control in the southeast corner. The fingerboard width is 1 11/16th at the nut, scale length is 25.5” and the string spacing at the bridge is 2 1/16th”. The sound, in case you are wondering, is wide-open, full flavored and silky with considerable chop and melodious mids to please any chord thumper while retaining a palette of warmth and articulation that will drive a soloist delirious with the unceasing desire to come home and play this guitar. And the price? Yes, you can easily afford it at only $4330 at our discount price, or $4200 at our cash discount price.
15-5334 John D’Angelico c. 1936 Style A acoustic archtop, #1156, in excellent minus restored condition with late ‘50s or early ‘60s Lifton brown hard shell case.
This is an extremely loud, and supremely fine sounding 16 15/16” wide acoustic archtop with a 1 11/16” nut width and a short scale of 24.9”. We feel that either John D’Angelico or Jimmy D’Aquisto refinished the instrument and performed some restoration. There are two small seam separations (glued in the past) at the top of and the bottom of the back seam; it has a re-gold-plated tailpiece with no engraving, a two piece adjustable hand-made by John D’Angelico bridge, a Leroy Aiello replicated double bound (crème-black-crème) pickguard in dark tortoise which has been compromised by being cut for a DeArmond pickup which is not being provided us with the instrument. The ivoroid bound, ebony, 8-dot-inlaid fingerboard has five single (unmarried) dots on the side and a double dot at the 12th. We see some glue drips on the inside of the bass f-hole. This guitar is lightly tone-bar braced. One piece of neck binding is replaced at the treble side of the first fret and there are some cracks in the fingerboard binding overall; tuners are original gold-plated Grover G-98s. There is an old repair crack from the pickguard area up to the treble upper bout and another crack, 4 ½” long repaired from the bass f-hole downward; there is some binding shrinkage on the top treble waist and also at the shoulders. The peghead is a semi-unusual (like my cousin Bruce) “center bump,” this having been made before the pediment and pineapple D’Angelico signature headstock design. The black headplate is inlaid with a “D’Angelico/New York” inlay with banner, and underneath that is a highly stylized decoration consisting of 10 diamonds and half moons inlaid, with a “Style A” streaming banner at the center. There’s a deep ding on the back of the neck at the heel. Overall this shows normal light signs of use and wear, chips on the headstock, dings, light dents, in keeping with its vintage. Notwithstanding this litany of character marks you get a superb sounding, commandingly loud, absolutely gorgeous, stunningly heroic 3” deep jazz person’s tool of choice. It is ready to make memorable music for the next hundred and fifty (or so) years. THIS WAS $14,428, and then reduced top $13,398, but is NOW ON SALE for $12,985 or, at our cash discount price, $12,595.
48-4299 John D'Angelico (used, 1932) Style B acoustic archtop guitar, #1020, equipped with a floating DeArmond pickup for amplified playing, housed in a later hard shell Gretsch style high-end wooden case, formerly white (now aged to crème) with leather trim.
This guitar was originally owned by the current owner's grandfather, Vince Finaldi, who is thought to have lived in Clifton, NJ when he would have purchased it, and then, in later years, in Denville, NJ. The serial number is #1020 and the exact date of manufacture was October 20, 1932. According to D'Angelico's Logbook the name Robert Lesser is associated with this guitar. It was a sunburst finished instrument that was, later on, refinished in a lighter sunburst finish, in our opinion, by John D'Angelico. The top is carved spruce, the sides and back highly flamed maple. It is a tone-bar braced instrument; the top and back are each bordered in three-plies of purfling, The tailpiece is extremely interesting - we feel that it was designed by John D'Angelico but that this very striking part replaced the original tailpiece that this guitar had (possibly a Grover) by utilizing the same three holes on the bottom side. This tailpiece is chrome-plated and moderately ornately etched with filigree on all three vertical areas; the curved area that comprises the top of the "harp" and the cross-piece was, etched "Vince" for the owner's granddad. The bridge is ebony with small wheels, whose top and bottom sections were shaved down, possibly to affect a lower playing action. Our head of repair, Leroy Aiello, rebuilt the original bridge, he reglued any and all loose binding, performed a fret dress and glued some rim separations. It is now ready for the next hundred and eleven and a half years.The pickguard is the original three-ply bordered - fascinatingly, it does not show deterioration of the celluloid which is considered nearly miraculous - but the earliest D'Angelico guitars most often do not show such chemical breakdown. The D'Angelico pickup depends off of the pickguard with the triangular box in the lower treble edge. A jack was added to the bottom treble side, which apparently once broke out since it was repaired, again we believe by John D'Angelico, with an aluminum plate. The neck is five-ply laminated and shows medium flame grain. The fingerboard is three-ply bound, and ebony, with 20 frets. The neck binding is loose. This board is inlaid with solid block mother of pearl inlays at frets 1,3,5,7, 9, 12, 15. There are no side dots. The headstock is pediment style with the "D'Angelico, New York" logo, banjos inlays including a banner with "Style B" etched and bordered in 3-ply binding. The tuners are gold plated Grover G-98s; the nut is original, the 20 frets are original.
And now, the dimensions:Body width, lower bout . . . 16 3/8" Scale Length . . . . 24 ¾"
Body width, upper bout. . . 11 7/16" Neck width at nut . . 1 ¾"
Body depth, lower bout . . . 3 ½" Neck width at 5th fret . . 1 7/8"
Body depth, upper bout . . . 3 ½" Neck width at 12th fret. . 2 1/8"
Body length . . . 20 ½"
There are ancient cracks on the bass side, some of which were too close to the kerfing, inside the guitar, to get glue into, but others of which have been properly glued by our crack repair staff; nevertheless, the cracks still show. There in a rectangular section of wood fitted to the area behind the side jack, and an aluminum plate. This is a wonderful sounding Style B D’Angelico, a guitar you can sink your teeth into (but please don’t). WAS $18,553 but now ON SALE for $15,981 or at our cash discount price, $15,500.
15-5057 Steven Andersen Model O-17 Archtop guitar – the O stands for Vertical Oval Soundport, the 17 stands for 17” wide, #388, in excellent plus condition with original hard shell case.
Something entirely out of the ordinary – Steve Anderson of Seattle, WA makes what he calls Specialty Archtop Guitars, and they are built in either 17” or 16”. He says that these only mildly arched models convey “The projection and playability of an archtop with the added warmth of a flattop” and he’s right about that. Modern, exciting touches abound including a carved contour at front and back sides of the cutaway, rosewood body bindings, a matching Macassar ebony truss rod cover, abbreviated pickguard, 2-piece adjustable bridge and harp-shaped striped ebony tailpiece. The top is closed-grained German spruce with a modicum of bearclaw, the sides, back and one-piece neck are fiddle-back maple that would do John D’Angelico proud. Tuners are black chrome Schaller label with black buttons, the back of the headstock is under laid with dramatically striped Yourcassar ebony and the heel cap is likewise ebony. A black-plated strap pin is affixed to the bass side in an accessible place. Another black plated strap pin depends from the butt. Even without markers on the front of the jet black ebony fretboard that may even be bordered in polished ebony, you get eight white dots in seven positions on the side. The oval sound port, in the upper bass bout, is generous to a fault, measuring 4.5” by 3” and it allows one to observe the interior cavity the way a sociologist might look at the aboriginal natives of a south sea island, or Superman might look upon his City in a Bottle. A hybrid instrument with a tone all it’s own, it may well be a tone that inspires one to play music of a type he or she has never thought about playing, midway between jazz and folk, gaining fret position access without the vertigo. $7,108 or, at our cash discount price, $6,895.
48-4841 Sam Koontz (used, c. 1972) Model SK-1 archtop guitar, #2030, 3-tone sunburst, in excellent condition with black hard shell, presumably original plush lined hard shell case.
Sam Koontz was a guitar builder who was decades ahead of his time. Regrettably, he died while young but his instruments, in extremely short supply, have become legendary. This is a large body standard design acoustic archtop bearing a DeArmond gold-plated floating pickup in the position just below the end of the 5-ply bordered ebony fingerboard. The pickup is attached, by a sliding metal dowel, to the bass side bottom edge of the bound fretboard. The thick elevated ebony pick guard, against which this DeArmond abuts, is 9-ply bordered and has affixed to it two white conical knobs, one for volume and one for tone. The headstock on this instrument is, like the reputation of its builder, extraordinarily big, being 8 ¾" in height, 4 5/8" wide at its widest point; said headstock is inlaid "Koontz" in large script pearl and has a medieval type crest below the logo. The truss rod cover looks like a ghost with its arms lifted and is held in place by two parallel gold plated Phillips head screws at "chest" height. Tuners are large striped-back Grovers with stair step buttons. The nut is polished bone and there is a zero fret under the nut; the fingerboard is inlaid with eight split block mother of pearl markers - alternating one diagonal ebony line and two diagonal lines. Each of the highly stylized and large f-shaped soundholes, diagonally measuring around 6" apiece, is bound in four-plies of white-black binding. The adjustable bridge, like everything else, is massive, with a split block inlaid on each side of the carved ebony base and a carved bulbous saddle. The bridge is current set to a high setting while the action remains comfortable. The hinged gold-plated trapeze tailpiece has a floral pattern in relief under the wave shaped cross-piece. The condition of this example is overall excellent, although the guitar shows a small amount of fret wear, a few crazing lines here and there. The instrument shows a number of small dings and scratches indicting signs of playing. All of this is completely normal, doctor, and in fact the guitar shows only a light amount of them. A gold-plated strap pin has been added to the bass side near the neck heel. WAS $41,234 NOW ON SALE FOR $31,955 or, at our cash discount price, $30,995.
88-2508 “The Zeidler Project,” a new acoustic archtop guitar, in quilted maple and Adirondack spruce top, with white Calton case. Mandolin Brothers, Ltd. has been chosen by the builder group to represent this unique guitar to the world.
All of the proceeds of sale will benefit the family of one of our most honored suppliers: the late Master Guitar Builder, John Zeidler. Here’s the background: “When fourteen of the world’s finest guitar makers decided to honor and support a colleague, they produced a unique and remarkable instrument - The Zeidler Project guitar. J. R. Zeidler was well known in the community of archtop makers. His instruments, and the man himself, were greatly respected by players and his peers. When he was hospitalized with acute myelogenous leukemia, undergoing debilitating and expensive therapy, his fellow builders came together in support. They decided to make a collaborative guitar incorporating many of Zeidler’s touches and even using wood he chose. The guitar will be sold to defray some of John’s medical expenses, and to help his family.” The Zeidler Project was coordinated by the Canadian luthier, Linda Manzer. It was a spirited, bold project - never before had a group of so highly respected instrument makers attempted such collaboration. Manzer said, “This was a chance for the archtop guitar building community to come together and focus all our skills on this one instrument to help our friend, John, and his family. These builders were just incredible to work with and we were all honored to be part of this truly unprecedented event. It was a very emotional and truly amazing experience. The end result is a guitar imbued with our collective spirit.” The entire group, paying tribute to Zeidler’s style and preferences, worked out details of the design. The guitar traveled across the continent to the shop of every builder - each of them adding his or her own touch to it, then passing it to the next builder.The soundboard, carved by John Monteleone, is Adirondack (red) spruce chosen by Zeidler at the beginning of the project. Tom Ribbecke carved the maple back, also provided by Zeidler. The rim/frames/sides bent by Steve Andersen who also attached the top and back to the sides. Steve Grimes made and installed the koa binding; John Buscarino made the neck. Mark Campellone detailed the headstock and added binding to the fingerboard and headstock. Bob Benedetto and several others carved the neck. Ted Megas did the fretwork. Bill Comins provided the fingerboard and made the tailpiece, using a Buscarino-supplied hinge. The pickguard was designed by Bill Collings and Paul Smith, the tailpiece by Bill Collings and Matthew Needham. The pickguard and tailpiece on that guitar were designed by Bill Collings and Paul Smith. Mark Lacey made the truss rod cover, “Z” peghead inlay and nut. Linda Manzer made the bridge, and also the original body mold with assistance from Tony Duggan-Smith. Tom Cerletti applied highly unusual gilding to the headstock that was especially requested by JR - the headstock appears to be kaleidoscopic - hypnotic -- refracting color and texture in ways that no headstock has, to date, done. The guitar then went to Richard Hoover of Santa Cruz Guitars, with assistance from Addam Stark and Stephen Strahm). Al Williams of Calton Cases of Canada supplied the professional travel case that houses the instrument. Professional photos were taken and donated by John Peden.
What a collection of signatures are found inside this instrument! Their individual waiting lists are often years long; their output limited -- yet they all took time to contribute to this project. John Monteleone says, “It’s kind of an impossibility that this could happen. Just the concept of pulling all these people together, who had the highest regard for reach other and for John. We all felt very close to him, attached to his sense of style, his natural abilities.” “A wonderful tribute to one of our finest” says Bob Benedetto. The result is an instrument that surpasses all expectations,” Linda Manzer reflected. “There was a magical thing happening as it was passed from builder to builder. Many of them wrote to me telling me how special it felt to have it in their shop and to be able to do this for John and his family.” J. R. Zeidler would approve it. He discussed the project with many of the builders and lived to see it partly completed. He died while the project was underway. The funds raised from this guitar will go to his family.”
Mandolin Brothers, on behalf of the group, seeks to find an individual buyer (or business, or museum, or a music café) that would wish to own, and perhaps display to the public, perhaps take on tour (send around to all of its cafés?). Or perhaps (if the buyer would so wish) it could be loaned to the world’s finest archtop musicians to perform or record with, a buyer who will embrace the instrument, as we all have, and join us in celebrating joy and jubilation in the commemoration of the life of one of the one of the finest fretted instrument crafters the world has ever seen. The price of the guitar with Calton white case is one hundred thousand dollars.
48-3708 John D’Angelico “Orpheum” (used, circa the 1940s) “Style E” acoustic archtop, #1087, whose neck and bridge were built (as original equipment) by John D’Angelico,
in very good plus condition with original hard case. John D’Angelico, the Wizard of Kenmare Street, seeking an opportunity to make less expensive guitars for the wartime or postwar player, purchased bodies from outside contractors, and did the rest of the work himself. This guitar has a spruce top and presumably laminated maple sides and back. The tightly grained and appears to be good quality. The maple back is one-piece and, like the sides, shows only an Imodium of curl. The spruce top hosts three hairline repaired top cracks plus one actual repaired crack to the right of the treble f-hole, the last of which is related to the debacle on the lower treble side, where you will observe around 12 cracks in a formerly crushed but reasonably well repaired and cleated area which old repair is probably what necessitated the overspray that the body received. Both f-holes are bound in celluloid and there is an area of discoloration around each sound port. The guitar has a John D’Angelico celluloid bound neck including a black ebony fingerboard embellished with large pearl block inlays in seven positions – from first fret to fourteenth; the headstock is inlaid with an “Orpheum” banner etched in a trapezoid with a black border, and an etched “Style E” in an inlaid pearl keystone. The guitar is acoustic only, and comes with no pickup, although there is a semi-circular cut-out on the pickguard where a floating pickup once resided. In addition it is bestowed with a gold-plated Oettinger style (but not Oettinger brand) “six-finger” adjustable tailpiece that’s missing 5 of its six individual angle-adjustment screws, and this is stamped, at its bottom “Pat. Pend.” The top binding is black-white-black, side and back binding are just black; there is a strap pin in the bass side near the neck. Its tuners are Grover large-back with stair-step gold buttons. The fingerboard width is a penurious 1 9/16th, but we still find it to be quite comfortable, and the scale length is a perfect 25”. The width of the body at its lower bout is 16 3/4”; it has 20 frets total and the string spacing at the bridge is 1 15/16th”. The two-piece adjustable bridge is a hand-made John D’Angelico construction out of what appears to be a Brazilian rosewood base and an ebony saddle. The top is bound in black-white-black, the sides and back in black.This instrument was owned and played professionally by guitarist Frankie Little who lived in Valley Stream, NY and played nightly in the The Frankie Little Trio from the mid-‘50s to the mid-‘70s. He contracted parties for the stock exchange, weddings, the San Gennero Festival, and had a steady gig at Mama Leone’s restaurant. He also played in “The Chefs” band whose musicians all wore the chef’s outfits and moved from table to table in the restaurant (hey, that’s show biz). Mr. Little started his professional career in vaudeville, playing the Paramount Theatre in Manhattan. He played in a group called The Red Jackets and he performed on the CYO circuit in canteens during World War II. He hung around with people like Boris Karloff, Burns and Allen when they were working in vaudeville, Jackie Cooper, Betty Boop (yes, there actually was such a performer) and Bob Crosby, Bing’s brother, who also had a band. Mr. Little’s 45-RPM recordings included “Redhead” and “Monkey Doodle Polka.” In the guitar’s case is found the sheet music to “Swinging on a Star,” copyright 1944. There’s a box containing a somewhat dried out fake nose, complete with box, copyright 1961, titled “The Snoz” – “Most natural looking of all” – with the instructions: “When smoking the smoke can be blown thru nose holes to make it look real.” On a collection of index cards, in the case, are the handwritten words to songs such as “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” and “Did Your Mother Come from Ireland.” There is a box of “Blitz Cloth” – “wipes away tarnish.” In addition there is a 10-cent Collegian spiral notepad with handwritten song titles, and, lastly an unused white matchbook that reads “Nancy and John, June 12, 1971.”
Our head of repair, who can smell a D’Angelico from two-blocks away, Leroy Aiello, himself, performed a needed neck reset and fret dress and this guitar now plays like the melted spread itself. Even before it was restrung, we could tell that this was going to be one colossal-sounding chord thumper and it turns out to be quite amazing sounding. It is truly the affordable D’Angelico-made alternative. WAS $8243. NOW ON SALE for $6180 or at our cash discount price, $5995.
88-1485 D’Aquisto (New) DQ-CRE Centura Chambered Electric, #0303019, almond sunburst, with hard shell case.
Featuring a solid carved spruce top with mahogany body, this guitar has a one-piece 22 fret maple neck and ebony fingerboard, which isn’t bound exactly, it’s beveled, and the edge is left unstained. The ebony-faced headstock has a truss rod cover shaped like a Seussian fish (great with butter), and the ebony button tuners are screwed to gold-plated hardware. The single neck position floating pickup is a humbucker, and you get a volume and tone control, each with an ebony knob. The adjustable ebony bridge is the later D’Aquisto design, which adjusts the action by the sliding of a tapered ebony crosspiece. The mahogany pickguard is slender and appears to float above the body. There’s a gold plated strap pin on the back of the instrument, below the heel. We ran this remarkable instrument through a Schertler Unico acoustic amp -- the fretting was fast and the tone was superlative, but most impressively it sounded like a D’Aquisto – no surprise since it is made to the master’s design. Your discount price is $2928 or, at our cash discount price, $2840
If you would like more information on MANDOLIN BROTHERS' products and services, please write, phone, fax or email to mandolin@mandoweb.com.
