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2008 Eastman D'Ambrosio Signature ERO
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Serial #: 788 Body size at lower bout: 14" Body Depth: 2 1/4" Scale length: 25" Nut: 1 11/16" Neck depth: .87/.91, 1st/10th frets
Materials: Solid carved fine grained spruce soundboard; solid carved figured mahogany body and neck; solid ebony fingerboard; curly maple body binding and headplate; polished bone nut.
Hardware: All ebony hardware includes contoured tailpiece, finger rest and compensated adjustable bridge; gold Gotoh 510 21:1 tuners; Fishman Rare Earth soundhole pickup with thumbwheel volume control and endpin jack.
Notes: All solid. All carved. Hand built, one at a time, with remarkable high-figure tonewoods. Eastman archtop guitars are individually crafted by violin-trained luthiers, without shortcuts, the old-fashioned way. And they share the appointments of the costliest high-end guitars. Solid ebony fingerboard, lustrous curly maple binding. All at a price point previously dominated by factory plywood boxes.
The grandson of a master German ivory carver, luthier and designer Otto D'Ambrosio began his career at age 13 at the legendary Mandolin Brothers shop, on his native Staten Island. After learning from renowned builders including John Monteleone, Otto spent a number of years at Guild Guitars in Rhode Island, before opening his own shop, now located in Los Angeles. A noted designer as well as builder, D'Ambrosio partnered with Eastman Guitars to create an distinctive line of instruments, now crafted in California.
One of Eastman's rarest offerings, this D'Ambrosio ERO is an acoustic archtop with a number of truly innovative features. The fully carved 14" hollow body is just 2 1/4" deep and sits most handily under the arm. With its solid figured mahogany back, sides, and neck, the guitar tips the scales at a featherweight 4lb 5oz, which just floats on the lap or the strap. And most distinctively, the 22 fret solid ebony fingerboard joins the body all the way up at the 16th fret, affording unparalleled access to the highest frets.
An exceedingly rare bird, the ERO appears to have been issued for only a few scant years, and in exceptionally limited numbers: the scarcity of available examples suggests perhaps no more than a few dozen ever left the factory. The oval soundhole echoes Gibson's classic F series archtops of the early 20th century, and lends an appealing warmth to the classic parallel braced top, hand graduated from bookmatched, quartersawn spruce, with generous crossgrain silk.
The gentle D profile neck is smoothly tapered, with smooth, low action over a fresh high precision setup on a solid ebony fingerboard. Fitted with a Fishman Rare Earth soundhole pickup with thumbwheel volume control and endpin jack, this unique instrument has all original hardware and finish, with lustrous curly maple binding, and solid black ebony hardware. Free of buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, the guitar shows only a few incidental finish nicks in its all original nitro lacquer violin burst finish.
An excellent demo of this distinctive model by our pal Tim Lerch may be seen here.
A rare and unique instrument, and one of the most original designs in a fully carved, pro quality archtop guitar. And a true best buy: one only, call now.
Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge phosphor bronze roundwound strings. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
Case: Original molded black hardshell case with velour lining.
