New Luthiers added to Fine Archtops Website

We are pleased to announce the addition of some new luthiers to the Fine Archtops website. We want to introduce them and welcome them to the Fine Archtops family.

First, we have a couple from Switzerland who are world-renowned for building intricate instruments that are both exciting to look at as well as play. Claudio and Claudia Pagelli work in tandem to create custom guitars. The couple is at the pinnacle of their craft, and in many ways, in a class by themselves.

Claudio’s guitar building began as a teenager. He started primarily building electric guitars and also repaired and restored basses and flattops. Then he discovered the wonder of the archtop guitar, and he was hooked. Eventually, Claudia came along and began working alongside him.

Claudio is happy to have Claudia by his side building instruments. He said without her natural gift to create beauty, his guitars would look like they came from the stone-age. The team has indeed influenced a generation of luthiers, and they are proud to see their ideas being used by others who build guitars.

Claudio and Claudia build flattop, electric and bass guitars in addition to their archtops. They feel privileged to have a good reputation for building all types of guitars, and they are thankful for people putting their trust in their work.

Another Swiss luthier recently added to Fine Archtops is Nunzio Verdinero. Nunzio spent more than 20 years as a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer. He always had a great respect for the jazz guitar and players like Wes Montgomery. One day he found a broken guitar at a flea market and decided he would restore it with no known skills to do so. This began his passionate journey of becoming a luthier.

Nunzio desired to learn from a luthier, so he sought out help from other guitar builders in Europe. However, he was not able to find someone willing to teach him. Finally tiring of the search, he went to a carpenter nearby and asked if he could build his first guitar in the man’s shop. Nunzio soon discovered he possessed an untapped creative talent and natural ability to work with his hands.

Nunzio now creates unique instruments in his shop in Zurich. Using only the finest tone wood from Europe, his guitars combine cutting-edge design with beautiful engineering. He now takes pride in the fact of being self-taught, so he has not been over-influenced by any one luthier or cultural heritage. Instead, he lets his ideas flow freely to express what his view and his customer’s view of the instrument should be.

We are happy to welcome Claudio, Claudia and Nunzio to the Fine Archtops website. Please take a look at their archtop creations and learn more about them. Click Here to see the full list of Fine Archtops luthiers. 

Creating with a Custom Guitar Maker

If you would like a unique guitar built just for you, a luthier is who you need. A luthier is a professional custom guitar maker. They will work with you to create a customized, one-of-a-kind guitar like you’ve always wanted. If you decide to work with a luthier to create your instrument, there are some important things you should know.

Know what you want

Every part of your new guitar can be customized by a custom guitar maker. From smaller parts like the tuning keys and nuts to larger parts like the body and neck, the custom guitar maker will take your wants, needs and ideas to create the guitar for you. So before seeing a luthier, make sure you have a good idea of what you want out of your new guitar. Maybe there’s a specific type of wood you’d like it made from or a certain body style or color. Look at other guitars to get an idea of what you prefer. The custom guitar maker can always provide suggestions, but they will need your ideas to make it unique.

Make your expectations and needs clear

Once you know what you’d like in your guitar, make sure the custom guitar maker knows as well. If you want a blue acoustic archtop, be sure to tell the luthier those details. Be clear with the custom guitar maker so they will know how to create the best guitar for your needs. Open communication is the key when having a custom guitar built.

Be patient

As with anything custom-made, it will take time. A custom guitar is no different. It will take awhile for the custom guitar maker to create the piece with all the details you’d like. Luthiers consider the guitars they make to be works of art. Therefore, they will take their time to make sure everything is done accurately and with a high level of quality. Be patient and remember that the end result will be well worth the wait.

Expect a unique guitar

A custom guitar maker will create a guitar that is customized to you. The end result should be a guitar that represents who you are and that you will love playing. That is why it’s so important to know what you want and make that clear to the luthier from the beginning of the process. The custom guitar maker will want you to be happy with the final product.

Would you like more information or help with finding a custom guitar maker? Call Fine Archtops at 612-366-7120 or you can Contact Us.

Parts of a Custom Archtop Guitar

Even if you are a seasoned musician, you might not know all of the technical terms when it comes to a custom archtop guitar. Here is a quick rundown of the most commonly used terms.

Action – the height between the strings and the fretboard.

Archtop – this is a type of acoustic guitar that has an arched soundboard and is usually favored by jazz guitarists.

Bridge – the portion of the guitar’s body where the strings are attached and the saddle is held.

Fret – a strip of metal that is placed on the fretboard to indicate the location of notes for the guitar strings.

Intonation – an instrument’s ability to play and hold the correct note.

Luthier – a craftsman who builds guitars.

Neck – the long piece that extends from the body of the guitar; it contains the frets and fret markers, which identify where to press a string to produce a specific note.

Nut – a slotted bar that is rigid and used to separate and raise the guitar’s strings. It is located at the top of the fretboard. At the other end is the part known as the saddle. Together, they both keep the strings elevated off of the fretboard, which allows them to vibrate and create sustained notes.

Pick guard – this is a usually colorful overlay that protects the body finish from damage that can be caused by a pick or fingernail. They are usually made out of plastic.

Saddle – this is a rigid bar at the other end of the strings from the nut. It is located near the base of the guitar, which is embedded in the bridge. 

Tuning – when you adjust the guitar’s tuning keys until a specific string vibrates at the correct frequency and sounds the proper note or notes.

For more information on purchasing a custom archtop guitar, call Fine Archtops at 612-366-7120 or Contact Us.

Considerations When Buying a Custom Archtop Guitar

When you are in the market to buy a custom archtop guitar, you have to consider a few things before deciding on a final product. Custom archtop guitar luthiers are a great resource for answering questions about these types of guitars.

Custom archtop guitar luthiers understand these instruments and know them through and through. The luthiers will know what size, what type of pick up and what finish will suit your guitar-playing needs the best. 

Size

Custom archtop guitar luthiers will be able to help you choose what size guitar to purchase. They will ask you questions about your playing style to help them determine what size will be the best for you.

Pickup

There are two types of guitar pickups: floating and mounted. The type of pickup your guitar ends up with depends on the type of guitar and the type of acoustics you are trying to achieve.

Scale Length

Yet another thing to think about and discuss with custom archtop guitar luthiers, this is definitely up to each individual musician. For example, if you have small hands, you might want a shorter scale length.

Finish

What you are using your guitar for, how it will be stored and how it will be handled are all things to consider and will factor into your final decision. Again, custom archtop guitar luthiers can help you decided what type of finish is best for your guitar.

Use

What will you be using this guitar for? Will you just be playing it at home, or do you plan to entertain an audience? And, if so, what size audience? Custom archtop guitar luthiers might want to know this information because it will determine what your finished product will look like when all is said and done.

For more information on custom archtop guitar luthiers, call Fine Archtops at 612-366-7120 or Contact Us.

How to Care for Your Archtop Guitar

The day has come! Your custom archtop jazz guitar has arrived, and you couldn’t be happier. You are itching to start playing it, and you can’t wait to show it off to your friends and fellow musicians. To make sure your custom archtop jazz guitar is around for a good long time, here are a few tips on how to properly care for it.

Control the Humidity

The right amount of humidity in the air can greatly benefit your guitar. Too much humidity and the wood can get damp. Too little humidity and the wood can dry out. So how do you hit that sweet note of just the right amount of humidity for your custom archtop jazz guitar? There are special guitar humidifiers out there on the market, or you can purchase an everyday humidifier. Your guitar should be at 40% to 50% humidity whenever possible.

Get a Good Case

If you plan on taking your custom archtop jazz guitar to gigs, an open-mic night or even just to a friend’s house, you will want to make sure you get a good case for it. Some people prefer hard cases and others prefer soft. But no matter your preference, sinking some money into a good case can help increase the life of your guitar. Plus, it’ll make transporting it that much easier and safer!

Keep it Polished

Depending on what kind of wood your custom archtop jazz guitar is made out of, you might have to polish it on a regular basis. You can find guitar polish on the market, and be sure to use a soft and non-abrasive cloth (such as chamois or flannel). Never use a polish that contains silicone (such as Pledge). This can hurt the finish and seep into the wood.

For more information on purchasing a custom archtop jazz guitar, call Fine Archtops at 612-366-7120 or Contact Us.

Fun Facts about Jazz Guitars

We here at Fine Archtops just love custom jazz guitars. And we love to share our knowledge about these beautiful instruments. Read on for a few of our favorite facts!

• Archtop jazz guitars were invented in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at the end of the 19^th century by Orville Gibson.
• Wes Montgomery, one of the best jazz musicians of all time, taught himself how to play jazz guitars. He started to be booked for gigs within a year.
• The first archtop jazz guitars had an oval hole and they were made out of thicker wood than other guitars of that era.
• In general, higher end archtop jazz guitars will have solid wood backs and sides.
• There are several different types of jazz guitars besides the archtop. They include Russian and Portuguese guitars and flat top guitars.
• Acoustic guitars used to be used for jazz only but they have since evolved and are now being played in all different genres of music, such as folk, rock and roll, etc.
• In the 1990s, there was a renewed interest in acoustic jazz guitars, especially archtop jazz guitars with a floating pick up.
• A good solid top can make or break a guitar’s tone and overall sound quality.
• The earliest form of the modern acoustic jazz guitar is a Roman instrument called a Cithara. From there, the instruments were further developed by the Moors and had four strings instead of six strings like modern day jazz guitars. Six string lutes were very popular in Europe too.
• Electric guitars became popular in the 1940s.

We hope you learned a few new things about jazz guitars!

For more information on custom jazz guitars and how to get one custom designed by an experienced and professional luthier, call Fine Archtops at 612-366-7120 or Contact Us!

Sources:

http://www.archtopguitarsandbooks.com/category.php?id_category=10

http://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/1012/all-about--archtop-acoustics/12942

Choosing the Best Jazz Archtop Guitar

If you’re a long-time guitar player or if you’re just starting out, making sure you pick the best guitar to suit your needs and musical tastes is incredibly important. You don’t want to put a lot of time and money into an instrument that you’ll only play once or twice. There are several different kinds of guitars and one of the most popular types is the jazz archtop guitar.

Choosing the best jazz archtop guitar is a very subjective decision. A lot of the decision-making process will depend on you: how good are you at playing guitar? Are you a new student or have you been playing for awhile? What kind of music will you be playing, and how often do you plan to play? Will you be playing solo or in a band? Sit down and think through these questions and come up with some clear answers. That will help guide you in finding the best jazz archtop guitar for your needs.

There are three main types of archtop guitars: the solid body, which is what most jazz guitarists use; the semi-hollow body, which is more of a middle ground in terms of jazz guitars; and archtop guitars, which are higher-end guitars but they produce the best sound overall.

And remember that the old cliché rings true when you are in the process of purchasing a jazz archtop guitar: you get what you pay for. You don’t have to break the bank when you buy one, but you also don’t want to spend a small amount of money either, especially if you get a luthier to make a custom jazz archtop guitar for you.

When you are ready to purchase a jazz archtop guitar, contact us here at Fine Archtops. We can put you in touch with the best luthiers out there! Call us at 612-366-7120 or Contact Us.