Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends
archtop.com
1997 Megas Athena
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 by 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.
SN# 1601, dated 2/97. Body size at lower bout: 16", Body Depth: 3 1/4" Scale length: 25" Nut: 1 /34" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .81/.95
Materials: Solid bookmatched handcarved fine grain spruce top; full-depth handcarved solid AAAA maple back, sides, and neck; solid ebony fingerboard; pearl headstock logo; 7-ply body binding; bound f-holes; solid bone nut.
Hardware: Hardware includes hand carved ebony and brass tailpiece, snakewood finger rest, gold Schaller M-6 16:1 tuners with ebony keys; compensated adjustable ebony bridge; floating Kent Armstrong PAF humbucker with volume and tone controls, 1/4" endpin jack.
Notes: Famously born from the head of Zeus, the goddess Athena was renowned as a patroness of wisdom, strategy, and handicraft. (The ancient Greeks named Athens after her, too.) How fitting then, that this marvel of musical craftsmanship was inspired by her abundant creative superpowers.
Twelve guitars a year. Year in, year out. That's because renowned luthier Ted Megas builds each of his meticulously crafted instruments entirely by hand, working solo in his Portland, Oregon shop. Like the late Jimmy D'Aquisto, Ted grew up with a background as a player as well as a craftsman, as is evident in the player-friendly design of his creations. Light in weight, and well balanced tonally as well as physically, Megas' guitars offer outstanding performance and playability, with eye-popping attention to detail.
This example of his Athena model was built in Ted's former San Francisco workshop, and was originally commisioned by Dexter Johnson of Carmel Music, just down the coast. She's crafted of spectacular bookmatched AAAA fiddleback flame maple, with a comfy 16" body that's just 6lb 2oz, and balances nimbly on the lap or the strap. The color and grain structure of the hand carved, tap-tuned soundboard are strongly suggestive of Adirondack spruce as well.
The X-braced soundboard is meticulously graduated for a warm, classic bop tone, rich in harmonics. Immaculately maintained, the guitar remains in all original showroom condition, with excellent neck angle, bridge height, and without apparent playwear of any kind. Premium touches abound, including the striking snakewood finger rest, and the stylish art-deco ebony and brass tailpiece. Action is smooth and low, with a gentle D profile neck, and a fresh high precision setup over the solid ebony fingerboard.
The floating Kent Armstrong 12 Pole PAF provides warm, accurate amplification of the deep rich acoustic voice, and excellent balance for strings of all types. A handsome touch is the extended back plate which covers the heel, a rarely seen flourish of top flight luthiery indicative of the superlative level of craft throughout. Ted's guitars are built to order and very scarce on the vintage market. Priced at a fraction of the current cost, this phenomenal instrument is supplied with its original deluxe heavy duty plush lined tweed hardshell case..
Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel flatwound strings. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5464" to 5/64" at the 12th fret, with light relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends