1996 Benedetto La Venezia

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Serial #: 38396, signed by the maker. Body size at lower bout: 18" Body Depth: 3" Scale length: 25" Nut: 1 11/16" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .82/.91

Materials: Solid bookmatched handcarved fine grain spruce soundboard; solid curly maple back, sides, and neck; solid ebony fingerboard; elm burl headstock facing with abalone headstock logo; ebony truss rod cover; polished graphite nut.

Hardware: Solid inlaid ebony tailpiece and compensated adjustable bridge; black Schaller Mini M-6 with ebony keys; adjustable truss rod.

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 product of Bob's Stroudsburg, PA workshop, this custom guitar is crafted of striking fiddleback maple, with a hand graduated soundboard of exceptionally fine grain, liberally interlaced with crossgrain silk. At scarcely over 5lb in total, the guitar is phenomenally light in weight for a full-depth, super jumbo instrument, and is notably well balanced on the lap or the strap.

Carefully maintained, the guitar is in 100% original condition, without buckle, thumb, or fingerboard wear, and shows no checking in its lustrous amber blonde finish. Apart from a bit of pick wear at the soundhole and a few fingernail nicks, the guitar shows few signs of play altogether. The gentle D profile neck sits smoothly in the hand, with easy, low action over a fresh high-precision setup.

The overall design is a model of elegant simplicity, with a highly figured elm burl headstock facing, and a tailpiece graced with a tiny pearl songbird. For all its visual appeal, it's the voice where this unique instrument really sets itself apart. The oval soundhole, along with the ultralight X-braced soundboard, all combine to produce a tonal pallete of remarkable depth and sensitivity, with notably enhanced bass response and sustain, making it one of the rare archops equally suited for both finger and pick style play.

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 bronze round wound 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.

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