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2010 Benedetto Americana

Status: Pricing and hold status for all instruments currently available is shown on our Instruments page here. If this instrument does not appear on the Instruments page it has been sold, and is no longer available. Photos and descriptions of Previously Sold instruments may be found here. To be notified of examples of this model or similar instruments in the future, please contact [email protected],. Please be specific on which instrument(s) you're looking for, and we'll be happy to contact you as soon as they become available.

Serial#: S-1774, signed by the maker

Body size at lower bout: 17" Body Depth: 3 1/8" Scale length: 25" Nut: 1 3/4"

Finish: Sunburst finish, nitrocellulose lacquer type.

Materials: Solid bookmatched handcarved fine grain spruce top; solid quilted maple back and sides; two piece tiger flame maple neck; solid ebony fingerboard; pearl headstock logo; ebony truss rod cover; 7-ply body binding; 5-ply neck and headstock binding; triple bound f-holes; solid bone nut.

Hardware: Solid ebony tailpiece, finger rest and knobs; gold Schaller tuners with ebony keys; compensated adjustable ebony bridge, Bendetto A-6 humbucking pickup with volume and coil-tapped tone control, endpin jack.

Notes: He wrote the book on archtop guitar building. Literally. The most influential jazz guitar builder of the late 20th century, Bob Benedetto almost single-handedly jump-started the contemporary revival of fine handbuilt archtop guitars, and his client roster is an A-list of the topmost echelon of jazz guitar talent. Many of Benedetto's design concepts have been adopted as benchmarks, and an entire generation of today's top-tier builders count themselves as students or disciples.

A full-depth 17" instrument, this striking guitar shows particularly intense quilted maple in the back, with the neck bookmatched in dramatic tiger flame. The soundboard is carved of solid fine grained quartersawn spruce, and parallel braced for maximum punch and clarity, like the classic L-5.

The headstock is in the style of the Venezia model, with ornate abalone and pearl inlay. The guitar has been maintained in wonderful condition, without pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear. Apart from some wear on the pickup cover, the instrument shows few signs of play altogether. The solid ebony fingerboard has a generous 1 3/4" nut, and the gentle D profile neck sits smartly in the hand, with smooth and low action over a fresh high-precision setup. The acoustic voice is warm, rich and focused, and the box retains a rich acoustic response that's transmitted faithfully to the amp through the built-in A-6 humbucking pickup. A special bonus is the push-pull tone control, which switches the pickup into single coil mode, an option no longer available from the factory.

Bob's Flagship Series guitars are made to order, one at a time, and the wait list can be lengthy indeed. A rare opportunity to jump the queue, and bag a bargain in the process. One only, call now.

Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel round wound strings (.012-.054). 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 deluxe arched Benedetto plush hardshell case.