ARCHTOP GUITARS
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.
78-7330 Vernon Reid’s personal Bozo Podunavac (used, c. 1990) arched top Octave Guitar, #509-007, in excellent minus condition with original hard shell molded case, apparently modified by the maker from a fiddle case.
An Octave Guitar is a six-string fretted instrument the approximate size of a Concert Ukulele tuned one octave above regular guitar, so it can sound like a Japanese Samisen, or a high-string or a mandolin. The venerable Bozo P., of San Diego among other places, is one of the most revered of the early independent builders in America. He has made several levels of instruments – the Plain, the Elaborate and the Ungapatchka. I don’t know if this counts as Elaborate, but it has herringbone bordered birdswing soundholes, rope marquetry bordered top, 5-ply sides and back and bottom of heel, gold-plated Schaller tuners, etched diamond fingerboard inlays in an unbound ebony board, and a simple, unassuming non-engraved slide-on scalloped tailpiece cover that must have cost Bozo $2.80 at the time. This octave guitar is accompanied by a signed note from the esteemed, Grammy™ Award winning Mr. Reid (of the group, Living Color) that reads: “The Bozo Octave Guitar was originally purchased from Mandolin Brothers, circa 1995, who, at that time, said that there was one in the Chinery Collection and this is the only known other one. I have used it to make my own demo recordings but it has not appeared on any albums. It is a thing of magic.” $3,809 or, at our cash discount price $3,695.
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.
78-7084 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. $3,840 or, at our cash discount price, $3,725.
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.
78-7093 Gibson (used, November 1996) ES-5 Switchmaster, #93076004, vintage sunburst, in excellent plus condition,
quite amazingly clean and original, having three gold-plated built-in humbucking pickups each with its individual black plastic surrounds, a four-position slider control in the cutaway bout, an elevated three-ply bordered black pickguard (that does show light scratches), six (6) gold high-hat controls in the lower treble bout, a gold plated tune-o-matic bridge over a rosewood bridge base, a rosewood fingerboard bordered in white-black white on three sides, including the carat at the bottom, and inlaid with 8 mother of pearl block markers, white bound f-holes, four-ply white-black top and back binding, a five-piece flame maple neck, flame maple top, sides and back, and the coolest “squiggle” gold-plated trapeze tailpiece you have ever seen, etched “ES-5” with floral fillips. This is an exciting instrument, certainly one of the most compelling looking jazz electric archtop designs that has ever been created. Original 1957 to 1960 examples sell nowadays for $12,000 to $15,000; a newly manufactured example lists for $6083, and this one can be yours for only $3,087 or at our cash discount price $2,995.
15-6523 Guild (used, 1981) X-500 “Stuart” electric archtop guitar in dark vintage sunburst, #JB100095, in excellent plus condition with hard shell case.
The Guild X-500 was Guild’s answer to Gibson’s ES-350 – a laminated body (laminated spruce, top, laminated curly maple sides and back) 17” wide guitar with twin built-in humbucking pickups (the ES-350 had single coils). The Guild Stuart is a deluxe instrument having gold-plated, sealed-back Guild logo tuners with large metal buttons; eight block marker inlays in the ebony fingerboard - comprised of two pieces of mother of pearl and a centerpiece inverted diamond of abalone; crème-black-crème binding on each side of the front of the ‘board; three-ply f-hole and peghead binding, 8-ply top and back binding and four-ply side binding. It has the inverted bell-shape truss rod cover with “X-500” engraved in white, a strap pin is provided, we believe, by the manufacturer in the bass side near the neck, a three-way toggle, a master volume in the treble upper bout, a wooden two-piece adjustable bridge, a gold-plated harp-shaped tailpiece with floral etching, and four black plastic knobs – two for volume, two for tone, with gold caps in the lower treble bout. The black headplate is inlaid with the Guild “rooftop” logo, with a reversed “G” below that. The neck is a comfortable low profile and measures 1 10/16th” at the nut, the elevated pickguard is black plastic with white-black-white pattern around its perimeter. When it came in our workshop performed a much needed set-up and a reseating of the bridge so that it now makes full contact with the top. There are areas of finish disruption on each side of the heel of the neck, but on the treble side one can see an incipient seam separation between neck and body, and, as well, a misalignment of the purfling between heel cap and treble back edge. We trust that this will lead to nothing averse, but it could and we need you to know about it. Otherwise the guitar shows less sign of use and wear than any 26-year-old archtop should be entitled to enjoy. It has been a cared for and well-protected instrument, beautifully maintained. There are minor indications that it was held and played, including some light scratches behind the headstock and small, unimportant signs of contact with the hand, the sleeve, the jacket or the trouser – but such signs are beyond small. It is accompanied by a brief signed note from its last owner, the famous author, teacher, practitioner, Ronny Lee. Mr. Lee writes: “This Guild X-500 is one of the favorite guitars in my collection. I have used it many, many times in hotel, restaurant and private party engagements. It’s a great all-around instrument.” (signature), Ronny Lee. Mr. Lee’s web site states: “Ronny Lee is the author of more than one hundred instruction books which are sold throughout the world. Also, he has written popular, classical and rock arrangements for numerous publishers. His articles on all aspects of music and the business of making music have appeared in trade and consumer publications. He has conducted workshops and seminars for music teachers, and has officiated as adjudicator at major music festivals. A guitarist, teacher, writer and singer who is knowledgeable in all styles of music, Ronny Lee has performed on thousands of engagements. These include club dates, recording sessions and frequent appearances at various resort hotels. Ronny Lee currently teaches Guitar and Tenor Banjo in New York City.” The guitar will be provided to its next owner with a copy of The Ronny Lee Step-by-Step Guitar Method, Volume 1, Copyright 1974. $3191 or at our cash discount price $3095.
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
78-7302 Gibson (used, 2006) LeGrand in Wineburst (wine red with slight sunburst) finish, #22576001, in excellent plus condition having only two small chips out of the back near the center, showing a few minor dings and scratches here and there around body and neck but overall in excellent plus condition with original hard shell case.
The Gibson package of “stuff” resides in the case including promotional papers, cable and also the Gibson Custom-Art-Historic Certificate lies within the case. This is Gibson’s highest level acoustic archtop outside of the Citation (which they seldom make). It has the long scale of 25.5” and, also like an L-5C, it has the 1 11/16th” nut width. It is quite fancy, having the split diamond Super 400 type abalone 5 part headstock decoration, the central rectangular piece being highly colored abalone; it has 4-ply headstock, pickguard and fingerboard binding, 6-ply top binding, split block pearl and abalone fingerboard markers in 8 positions starting from first fret, the name LeGrand in white on the white bordered black truss rod cover, gold-plated, sealed-back Gibson logo tuners with large metal tulip buttons, a floating humbucking (BJB style) pickup and a single ebony cylinder volume knob on the lower treble portion of the elevated tortoise type pickguard. The bridge base is carved of ebony with a small flower on each side while the bridge top is gold plated tune-o-matic. The tailpiece is Oettinger style with six fingers, in gold plate. F-holes are bound, sides and back are bordered in two-ply white-black. The guitar is set-up perfectly and sounds concert capable right out of the box. $6180 or at our cash discount price $5995.
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.
15-6994 Benedetto (used, c. 2006) (hand made in Corona, CA, USA) Frank Vignola Deluxe, #175, near mint with original TKL 5-ply faux alligator covered deluxe hard shell case with a thermometer/hygrometer inside.
Behold the fancier of two versions of the short-lived Benedetto model, a run of only eight Deluxes were produced. This has a 1 ¾” nut width, a 25” scale, and is equipped with a DeArmond burgundy center floating pickup, one of the finest pickups for jazz as has ever been invented – the type that attaches to the strings below the bridge so that there is no penetration of the guitar. This guitar was “final approved” by Bob Benedetto on 12/15/05; the interior label bears his signature. This is a gorgeous instrument having an ebony headstock overlay bordered in white and bearing the “Benedetto” modern gold script logo and an ebony truss rod cover held in place by one countersunk screw. The ebony fingerboard (with the little flower inlaid at frets 12 and 13) is likewise white purfling contained; the pickguard is small but pointed (like the head referred to on that 1969 Jefferson Airplane album), the bridge is pointed on its base and gracefully carved of ebony, the tailpiece is ebony, harp-shaped, and displays Mr. Vignola’s name in abalone. The carved spruce top is close-grained and exceedingly high quality, but as fine as it is cannot surpass the ineffable beauty of the flame-grain, tiger-striped sides and back offset by the reddish-hued tortoise shell celluloid binding, itself buttressed by five-ply purfling on the front, four-ply black-white on the back, and two-ply on the sides. The back of the neck is mahogany; the birds-wing shaped soundholes are bordered in tortoise, the nut is ebony and so are the buttons on the Schaller mini-tuners. The reason that most fine archtop guitars are made of carved maple and spruce is because it is not only gorgeous but it sounds outstanding, and this guitar leaves nothing behind in the Wish List of the professional jazz player. $9274 or, at our cash discount price, $8995.
78-7011 John Buscarino (new) Artisan Custom archtop acoustic guitar, natural (blonde), #MB1298407, with Deluxe Ameritage hard shell plush lined case.
Especially designed with the working musician in mind, the Buscarino Artisan is a practically priced archtop that stands on it's own as a quality players’ instrument. Its statement of elegance and simplicity makes this guitar a pleasure to own and play. The Artisan is constructed of select woods, and comes with a solid ebony tailpiece and pickguard, floating pickup, custom 5-ply, plush lined double arched case. The Natural finish is standard, the body bindings are flamed maple, and the builder provides a sound port on the upper bass side in the form of a four- part flower. It is, in every way, simply a great guitar.The Artisan model comes standard with a multi-layered and beveled headstock of solid ebony and maple. The face plate is a single piece of solid ebony inlaid with the Mother of Pearl “Buscarino” logo. The Artisan has a three-piece multi-laminate neck constructed from rock maple; however this example has a special top of European maple. It also utilizes high quality quarter sawn nicely figured and seasoned maple for the back and sides; John calls it “AA” grade. It has a Buscarino innovative tailpiece – a superior performing component carved in the shape of a harp, that adds sustain and warmth to the performance of this and every Buscarino archtop guitar. Said tailpiece is sculptured from a solid block of ebony with a machined solid brass-hinged bracket for coupling this tailpiece to the body. The tailpin doubles as a jack. The Artisan comes with a one-piece solid striped ebony 3/16" thick pickguard; the compact design of this pickguard does not restrict the "F" holes as to allow the sound to freely transfer from the body. The body and neck are bordered with matching wood binding on the body and neck; the f-holes are unbound, and with Schaller gold-plated precision tuning machines with ebony buttons. It is equipped with the custom Buscarino Signature floating humbucker designed by Kent Armstrong. The floating pickup is specially tuned to maximize the performance of the archtop and enhance that classic jazz sound, designed with special feedback reduction features and molded into an ebonized epoxy compound for long life and superior performance. This particular Artisan was built with a 1 ¾” nut width for ease, comfort and peace of mind. The headplate and fingerboard are striped ebony with a great deal of black spidery contrast over the mocha and dark chocolate background; the pickguard, bridge and tailpiece are matching striped ebony. Top and back are bordered in five plies of ebony and spruce, sides and side of the neck in three-ply, the heel cap in ebony. The ebony fingerboard is neo-classical, meaning no inlays on the front surface, but there are black dotmarkers on the bass side in 10 positions, including a double dot at the 12th.
SPECIAL FEATURES: The builder says that this custom blonde guitar has the “Macassar-ebony-everywhere” motif – normally this rare material will look a bit grainy, but John Buscarino uses a unique method of making it both smooth and with deep color. Here’s how he does it: he covers the wood with Super Glue and then he sands it, which fills the pores, and then he buffs it. This Artisan has many other wonderful options, not the least of which is the Virtuoso (his highest rated archtop guitar) style side port in the form of an open flower made up of four artful cuts in the upper bass side to allow the player to hear the sound faster than the audience does. This feature is $250 extra, then there’s the snake wood tuner buttons; the European spruce top adds $300, the Macassar ebony adds $500, the stainless steel frets add $100 and the Ameritage Deluxe hard shell case is included. John says that this is the last Artisan at what is now “the old price” and the next one will be more. The pickup is also special – it’s an Alnico III that requires 600 extra turns in the windings to get the super fat built-in humbucker sound. Buscarino says “The jazzers like this – it gives you the sound of an old Fender tube amplifier when you roll off the treble. It is as smooth as silk. And then he provided the instrument with a concealed volume and tone knob under the pickguard. Oh, yeah, he also shielded every electric component so that it produces no hum – everything s shielded including the end pin jack. Wow – that’s a lot of work. One of the finest new archtop guitars in our inventory, this is available to you at the exceptionally low price (for all that you are getting here) of $9857 at our discount price, or $9560 at our cash discount price.
15-6982 Gibson (used, 2001) Wes Montgomery L-5CES, wine red, in excellent condition, #23461007, with original hard shell plush lined case.
We present a wholly original Gibson Wes Montgomery that shows a modicum of normal playing wear – but less than most. There are a couple of tiny nicks on the top in the upper cutaway bout, otherwise just the types of scuffs and tiny dings one expects to see; almost no sign of fret wear or gold plating wear. Being a bona fide L-5CES this has a 25.5” scale and a 1 11/16th” nut width. The top is bordered in 6-ply, headstock and pickguard in four-ply, sides, back and fingerboard in two-plies of black and white, with an additional white-black-white border following the birds-beak design of the white bound fretboard. The headstock, with its stately center dip, bears the “Gibson” pearl logo in postwar script and there under a large pearl flowerpot and ferny flower, and under that a white bordered black, bell-shaped truss rod cover bearing the “Custom L-5” inscription. The fretboard is inlaid with mother of pearl blocks in 8 positions; the single humbucking pickup in the neck position is gold-plated covered, as is the tune-o-matic bridge with the wooden base, and the silver and gold trapeze type tailpiece that states “Wes Montgomery” vertical on the silver part, and “L-5” in filigree on the gold plated part. Finished in a translucent wine red (royally rich) the back is considerably flamed maple, the sides and 5-piece neck moderately flamed maple; the back of the headstock is finished in black with a widder’s peak. The center of the heel has been fitted with a gold plated strap pin. The guitar plays like butter and sounds like gold. When new these fellows list for $9645. Your cost on this example is, however, only $4971 with a cash discount price of $4795.
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 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.
15-6817 Gibson (used, early 1929) L-5 acoustic archtop guitar, #88194, in very good condition with a 1950s Lifton alligator hard shell case.
There are few guitars in the Gibson roster as revered as the original 16” dotmarker L-5, the instrument with which Mother Maybelle Carter made her career. Everything about this instrument is elegant and tasteful, pretty and practical but wait, we are getting ahead of our story.Lloyd A. Loar, dressed in a gray hounds tooth business jacket with an lavender silk ascot rampant came to work for the Gibson Company in 1921 carrying his published treatises in a cloth carpet bag that he carried in his white-gloved left hand. “I’m Loar,” he told the receptionist, “Mr. Hart is expecting me.” President Guy Hart came out of his walnut wainscoted office, led the Acoustic Engineer to an angled table with a flat front ledge that held bottles of blue ink and quill pens and said “we’re looking for someone who will change the course of western music as we know it, who will provide us an instrument that has both amplitude and attitude, mellifluousness and melodiousness, presence and punch and I’m told you’re the person for this job.” Loar said nothing, but he pursed his lips, sniffed briskly, and picked up a sheet of parchment from the drafting table, drew two graceful lower case letter “f”s in mirror image, pushed his chair back and said “There. That’ll do it for today – I’ll be back tomorrow to design the first adjustable truss rod system and bridge.” Hart was enheartened; Guy was genuinely giddy with the anticipation of having somebody to work with somebody who really knew what he was doing, someone who would create mandolins and guitars using violin principals, who would make the Gibson name synonymous with “exquisite” and establish unequivocal eminence within the music industry.
We see these monoliths of effectiveness and simplicity, these carved archtop guitars from the year of Black Friday so seldom that we are, ourselves, giddy with gladness at having one of them visit. The triple-ply bound snakehead style peghead is inlaid with “The Gibson” below which is a 2 3/16” tall flowerpot and flower and below that a 2 ¼” long bell-shaped plastic truss rod cover followed by a bone nut, a crème bound ebony fingerboard with 7 dotmarkers in 6 positions, terminating, like Bugs Bunny, with a carat. The darkly shaded top, displaying a hint of sunrise orange in the middle of a dark brown background, is bordered in ivoroid and black with ivoroid binding the sides. Said arched top has twin lovely, lithe 6 ½” f-holes, an adjustable two-piece bridge whose ebony base bears the Jan. 18,’21 patent stamp but whose saddle (the top part) appears to be Brazilian rosewood and thusly is a more modern replacement. The tailpiece is original - a simple, worn gold-plated trapeze bearing no marker’s mark; the tuners are open-gear Grover G-98, gold-plated and worn. The back of the neck is worn from playing, and so is the rest of the instrument – the body, neck and headstock show dings, scratches, chips, mars, body contact erosion, nicks, scrapes and belt buckle marks.
The back has an 11” long hairline center seam sep at bottom and a repaired 5 1/2” crack on lower treble bout of the back. There are separations where the sides are pooched out a bit from the back binding at the upper treble and bass areas to the left and right of the heel of the neck. The ivoroid heel cap has shrunken a bit allowing one to get a piece of ordinary paper underneath just the cap. This is not a neck separation, only cosmetic. In addition to all of this time-based aberrance, there is one man-made alteration - the instrument appears to be oversprayed with varnish or lacquer, and then, thereafter, it was played for decades, leaving wear over the overspray. The nut is bone and appears original; the frets are worn but our workshop will have performed their fret dress (leveling), a cleaning, a set-up and restringing. The original pickguard is gone but the gold-plated flat portion of the L-bracket that attaches to the treble side remains. Having a replica pickguard made and installed would dress the guitar up handsomely, but even as it appears now this is one amazing creature – a remnant from the golden age of production luthiery, from the era of Mother Maybell and (until October 29th of that year) madcap postwar optimism and mirth. $14,229 or at our cash discount price $13,995.
15-6744 Gibson (used, 1952) ES-350, sunburst, A-10440, in excellent minus condition with apparently original alligator type hard shell case.
NOW ON SALE: There are few Gibson archtop guitars more beautiful than the ES-350. This 17” wide soft cutaway with twin built in P-90 black pickups is based off of the original ES-300 which was the fancy non-cutaway design that had itself developed out of the ES-125 and ES-150. The non-cutaway -300 debuted in 1940 and the cutaway ES-350 (originally an ES-350P for Premiere) came out in 1947. Its single-ply crème bound Brazilian rosewood fingerboard is inlaid in 8 fret positions with double mother of pearl parallelograms. The top and the back are bordered in crème-black-crème, the sides in single ply crème; the neck is maple on left and right with an ebony center stripe; the one-piece maple back and the sides show a modicum of mild figure. The crème bound headstock is inlaid with the Gibson postwar script logo and below that is inlaid a Gibson flower. The black, elevated pickguard is bordered in white-black-white on all sides. The bridge is the original two-piece Brazilian rosewood adjustable, and the tailpiece is quite unusual in that it is Grover-style, with four art deco raised horizontal lines in the cross piece and the section that’s screwed to the bottom side takes the shape of a key. Although not signed, and similar to the bridges you see on D’Angelico guitars, and yet it is the original tailpiece (absolutely, positively) – this guitar has never had any tailpiece but this one. It is shiny gold-plated and the bottom section looks like a key. It is quite unusual. The sunburst is a gorgeous two-tone tobacco, the entire instrument is really quite beautiful, being sunburst on every side and the back of the neck.This guitar has three repaired side cracks on the bass side, a tiny hairline on each side of the phone jack on the treble side, which is common to many archtops. It shows normal signs of use and wear overall but especially on the bass side where the finish is chipped, finish checking overall, some dings and nicks especially on the end of the heel, a small finish disruption the cutaway side of the neck heel, some scratches but only a few – it is overall remarkably clean. The tuners are replaced gold-plated Grover Rotomatics; the original Kluson tuner holes remain. There are two gold cylinder knobs in lower treble bout and a master volume control near the cutaway; its pickups are two black P-90 single coil. We believe the case to be original - it is similar to an Epiphone case or a D'Angelico case, however, the fabric is coming up and the ribbon that holds the lid open is broken. Nevertheless the case is in "good" condition. In 1948 Gibson made the ES-350 with two pickups and this deep-body, full depth model was discontinued in 1956. In 1951 Gibson made 70, in 1952 they made 122. From there on production was downhill with 87 made in ’53, 58 in ’54, 44 in ’55 and 45 in ’56. We believe that you will agree that this guitar sets the standard for beauty, sound and sensual elegance among Gibson archtops of the early ‘50s. THIS WAS $6,078 but is NOW ON SALE for $5670 or at our cash discount price $5,500.
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.
15-6256 Epiphone (used, 1953) Zephyr Deluxe Regent, #64288, sunburst, apparently original hard shell case.
This is a classy old model, and large, too, being nearly 17 1/2” wide at the lower bout. It shows normal signs of use and wear including scratches, nicks and scrapes, the frets are brandy new, replaced by our workshop of consummate artisans. We have also made and installed a new pickguard and set the guitar up to perfection. The ebony fingerboard is bound in crème and fancy with a black-white stripe on the left and right; the headstock is similarly two-ply bordered and bound in crème and its pear wood headplate veneer carries the large postwar script “Epiphone” logo and a 4 ¼” flower and vine under the logo and over the triangular white truss rod cover bordered in white black and held in place with one recessed flathead Phillips screw. The fingerboard proffers 7 block marker inlays, 6 of which are made up of two pieces of abalone with a triangular pearl section at the middle; twin built in pickups are “New York” single-coil with crème housing and oxidized gold-plated covers, the bridge is rosewood, two-piece and probably original, and the tailpiece is FrequenSator (Pat. Pend.). gold-plated and holding together nicely. Two brown radio knobs inhabit the lower treble bout and a continuous toggle control for pickup selection remains completely usable but it is missing its cap (said cap resides in the case pocket but it’s broken and a section of it is missing). The headplate overlay has been reglued by our repair shop and we made and installed a new heel cap. The back of the neck, although it shows wear, appears to have been refinished or oversprayed, and there is some chemical reaction to the finish on back of neck, perhaps from a strap it once had. The gold-plated tuners are original Epsilon etched back, with caramel shaped ivoroid buttons. This is a fine and beautiful vintage archtop guitar with two hundred and eleven years of professional playing time left in it. Hopefully you will be the one who gets to use it for the next 50. NOW ON SALE. WAS $4944 BUT NOW AVAILABLE FOR $3608 or at our cash discount price $3500.
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.
15-6585 Ted Megas “Athena” 17” cutaway Model, #1750, June 2003, blonde, flame maple and spruce, with an original Cedar Creek hard shell plush lined case.
A classy and extremely beautiful traditional jazz instrument, with a 5-piece neck is comprised of 3-pieces of natural flame maple with two contrasting stripes of perhaps rosewood. The Athena is Mr. Megas’ top of the line 17” archtop, and is provisioned with a floating Kent Armstrong gold-plated pickup off the ebony, nearly triangular, pickguard which is bound in white-black-white. There is a jackpin/tailpin on the bottom side. The f-holes are bound in single-ply crème; the fingerboard has four-ply purfling on each side – including around the squared bottom and said ebony ‘board sports split block mother of pearl fingerboard inlays in an ebony board in 8 positions starting from fret 1. The headstock is 8” long and bears the Megas name in mother of pearl script and a keystone (sort of) there under in bright of mother of pearl etched with the vertical letters “Athena”. The top is bound in five-ply, the two-piece back in three-ply; the back of the headstock is painted black in the ‘50s tradition. This guitar is made from incredibly fancy flame grain maple. The headstock has a modern pediment, not in the D’Angelico tradition but equally elegant. Its ebony and gold tailpiece is multi-layered like a fine antique dresser, crafted in a unique design attributable to this builder. The tuners are Schaller sealed-backs with ebony buttons. The truss rod cover is ebony and held in place by two screws. Its condition is excellent plus, nearly new. Its playability is superb, its sound heartwarming. $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.
15-5022 Gretsch (used, 1958) Country Club, Model 6196 in Cadillac Green, #27492 with original hard shell case.
Few electric archtop guitars in the history of 20th century design are as beautiful or as compelling as the Cadillac Green version of the Gretsch Country Club. This model started out in life as the “Electro II Cutaway.” Leading up to this point one must remember the Electromatic Spanish – from 1940, a 17” wide electric non-cutaway with a single DeArmond pickup and two knobs which became 16” in 1949, and then the Electro II non-cutaway, also 16” with two DeArmond pickups and 3 knobs (wow) that was sold only from 1951 to 1954. That same year, 1951, Gretsch introduced the Electro II Cutaway which was, again, 17” wide with twin DeArmonds which, at that time, had a script logo, bound headstock and fingerboard and a harp-shaped trapeze style tailpiece. In ’52 one of the three knobs ambled up to the treble bout, the model was granted a top binding in three plies. 1953 brought a new bridge and an adjustable truss rod; 1953 the three-ply binding on the fingerboard and the headstock. They say ’54 was going to be a good year – since the G-cut out tailpiece that this one has was introduced, the Gretsch logo became “T-Roof,” the tuners stair-step, the hardware gold plated, the pickguard unbound, and, new for this model, the Cadillac Green color. All of these appointments are found on this example. 1958 brought in the twin Filter’Tron pickups, the twin toggles in the upper bass bout, the roller bridge, and the Neo-Classical thumb-marker inlays (all of the half circles are on the left edge of the board, as those left behind, watching a ship sail off into the distance. Jay Scott, in his excellent reference work, The Guitars of the Fred Gretsch Company (Centerstream, 1992) says “The Cadillac Green Model 6196 Country Club that graced the cover of the 1955 catalog along with other Gretsch dazzlers was jazz guitar perfection itself, a heady combination of functionality and sparkling color.” The original price of a PX6196 Country Club, 17”, twin-pickup, cut-away, Cadillac Green in, say, 1954, was . . . . Ea. $385. Later on, Jay says, “Cadillac Green was introduced in 1954 and graced the company’s guitars until 1968. It was an opaque, bright emerald metallic that had a tendency to fade – sometimes to a near-khaki color depending on the amount of exposure to light and other elements. Similar to Fender’s Sherwood Green metallic introduced in 1958, it predated Fender’s use of the color by four years.” We note that this Caddy Green hasn’t faded – it is still dark and as opaque as Black Forest Cake. It shows normal finish checking, some touched-up chips on the lower back of neck, and minor exposure of the “ears” on the headstock from time, dryness and pressure of the screws that hold the gigantic Grover four-stripe sealed-back tuners in place. It displays normal signs of wear especially on the bottom side; a small bit of pulling at the binding, mainly at the waist. Top, back and neck are four ply bordered, the large, long, wide-open f-holes are bound single-ply, the headstock is three; the pickup surrounds and Gretsch logo pickguard are gold plastic. The angle of neck to body is dead-on right, the truss rod works fine; this is thusly an extremely wholesome and healthy example that’s in the prime of its life at 48 years. The bindings are not deteriorating; it plays with a comfortable, low action, and sounds like Mt. Vesuvius after a night out with The Boys. $6,181 or, at our cash discount price, $5,995.
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.
48-4749 Guild (used, 1988) Style X-500 electric archtop guitar, sunburst finish, #JB100308, with worn but usable hard shell plush lined case.
This model Guild archtop guitar is no longer made but in its time it was considered a standard of the industry in an all laminated wood, all maple, twin-humbucking pickup, electric archtop jazz instrument. This one is in excellent, original condition showing so little sign of use and wear (just a hint of fret wear, a minor scratch here and there) that we are tempted to call it “near mint.” It is a stately old thing (sweet 19 now) but doesn’t show its age – the rooftop Guild pearl inlaid logo gleams manically from the black, triple-ply bound headstock with the scallops at the top, the Frank Gorshin two-tone “G” inverted logo is well fed, the inverted truss rod cover) bears the X-500 in white on its front. The ebony fingerboard is bound in crème and displays a white-black-white purfling on both treble and bass sides, and in between, 7 of those nifty blocks made up of two pearl sections with an abalone triangle pointing downward in the center. The last inlay at the 17th fret is just a block of pearl. Below that you have your twin gold plated humbuckers, your three-ply bordered black elevated finger-rest, pickup selector in the upper cutaway bout with a master volume control, and then four knobs in the lower treble bout for each pickup’s volume and tone. The adjustable bridge is wooden, including the saddle; the crème bound top and back are bordered in 8-plies of celluloid, sides and open f-holes in two. The neck is maple and maybe rosewood in five parts. The maple on all sides shows little figure, but the neck has attractive tiger stripe. A gold plated strap attachment is mounted to the bass side around an inch away from the heel fo the neck. The hard shell case was nibbled by mice, but there is not a single bite mark on the guitar itself. This is, after all, the best and highest purpose of the hard shell case; it has served the guitar well, and at the same time served those mice. Its tuners are gold plated Grover Rotomatics and the only thing missing are your lightly calloused fingers making aural poetry on its strings. Was $2985, NOW ON SALE for $2675 or at our cash discount price, $2595.
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
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