Music to Your Ears at Fine Archtops Thanks to Carbonaro Guitars

For more than 30 years, Robert Carbanaro has been making guitars that are unique and beautiful. His journey as a luthier started in San Francisco on Haight Street, an area that has been known for its music and culture for decades. You him and many other talented luthiers at Fine Archtops. Each luthier is a master of their craft and each instrument they create is truly a work of art. These guitars not only play exquisite music, but they are also stunning to look at. Robert Carbanaro takes pride in every guitar he crafts and his attention to detail shows in every single one.

Robert Carbanaro is one of the best luthiers in the business, making hand-crafted archtop and flattop guitars. His guitars will inspire you to play the best you can, and every time you pick up your instrument, you will have a magnificent piece of art in your hands as well. You can find more details about him and his workmanship at FineArchtops.com.

You can make beautiful music with one of Robert Carbanaro’s hand-crafted guitars no matter how long you have been playing. Even for the most seasoned guitar enthusiasts, these guitars will enhance your musicianship, and you will be able to play melodies and tunes that will be music to your ears (and your audience’s) for years to come.

Get more information about Robert Carbanaro and his splendid guitars through Fine Archtops. Here you will find a link to his website that will provide ordering information and more. Robert Carbanaro is in talented company: FineArchtops.com also has a slew of other luthiers who make guitars that are just as gorgeous as his are. Get everything you need to play music at this site: amplifiers, speakers, stands, cases and more!

Going to Guitarlington 2013? Send Us Your Pictures

Are you one of the lucky attendants to this year’s Guitarlington 2013? The event runs Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, and many of our awesome archtop guitar luthiers will be in attendance.

If you’re going, we’d love to see your photos! Either share them on our Facebook page or tweet them to us @finearchtops.

In other Guitarlington news, the great Bob Benedetto will be displaying his latest build, the 45^th Anniversary Cremona Archtop. A traditional 17” pure acoustic archtop carved from the finest European tone woods and amazing detail in the inlays, headstock and every other area. Check out pictures on our News & Events page. 

Mark Bailey’s Kithara Archtop Guitar

Kithara. It was the crème-de-la-crème instrument of its time. Now, the name has been put to good use by luthier Mark Bailey. Watch and listen:

 

Mark’s Kithara is a guitar worthy of the name, as Mark explains:

 …a guitar worthy of the name…that’s what I wanted to make  

The Kithara is the flagship model of the Bailey collection – a modern take on the traditional archtop design. If you are a soloist then you will appreciate the Kithara as the cut away allows full access to the higher frets.  

Passion, tradition and technology combine to create what I believe to be the most beautiful guitars in the world  

The ultimate guitar… 

The Kithara is absolutely stunning. Check out pictures of it and get ready to salivate.

Richard Heeres Guitar in the Making

Richard Heeres is one of the esteemed luthiers we have the pleasure of working with here at Fine Archtops. He is native to the Netherlands, and about 50% of the guitars he creates are custom requests by archtop lovers around the world. He specializes in archtop guitars, but also creates Flamenco, Nylon Jazz and Classical guitars. You can click here to learn more about Richard Heeres' guitars.

Richard Heeres Guitar Photos

In a recent update from Richard Heeres, we received some exclusive photos of Heeres crafting an archtop guitar. We wanted to share those photos, and a little background, with you.

It all starts off as raw materials. It's hard to believe something so simple will eventually become such a masterpiece. Pictured below are two pieces of wood that will be used in the creation of this archtop guitar.

Truing the materials used in the guitar making process is important to the finished product. Taking some time to make sure everything is level and even in the beginning can help in the long run. In this photo, Heeres is truing what will become the back of the guitar. 

Finally, the guitar starts to take shape! In these photos, Heeres has begun to roughly cut out the pieces of the archtop guitar. In the first photo, Heeres is cutting out the shape of the guitar, and in the second photo, the piece is on a carving machine for further refinement.

Next, the use of a finger plane helps put the "arch" in archtop guitar. Due to the fact that it's so small, it can do some very intricate work. Talented luthiers, like Heerse, use the finger plane to touch up aspects of the guitar by hand.

If you're looking for more information about Richard Heeres and archtop guitars, please visit our website!

Jim DeCava & Michael Coppola

We recently received an update from Jim DeCava, which included the following note from guitarist Michael Coppola:

In 1986, I came up with the idea for an eight-string guitar with higher strings between the 4th and 5th to be able to play piano chords and harp-type lines (like Lenny Breau harmonics). I went to James DeCava with this idea and have had, over the years, three eight-string guitars made by him.
 By the year 2000, I added another string and had five different nine-string guitars made by Jim. We call the first of these "the Hydra" named after the nine-headed monster of Greek mythology. This year, I came up with an idea to have an archtop nine-string guitar made in the style of the Howard Roberts by Gibson and other companies. I further decided to have a lower register/longer scale on this instrument. I've had the guitar about a month and have been toggling between 2 different tunings
1.       All strings down a fifth (low note A)
2.       All strings down a fourth (low note (B)
 In either case, the guitar has an amazing richness for solo jazz gigs, and my singers are in love with it! We call this new beast, "The Hydra Roberts."

Here’s Jim and Michael with the Hydra Roberts:

And here’s Tommy Emmanuel playing around with the Hydra Roberts while Michael looks on:

Mark Lacey's Guitars for Rich Shapero

There are beautiful guitars, and then there are beautiful guitars. At Fine Archtops, we are lucky have such a talented pool of luthiers. They all create masterpieces as part of their livelihood and Mark Lacey is no exception. His fine guitars have been played and commissioned by great guitarists, most recently Rich Shapero. This isn't the first time Lacey has built a guitar for Shapero. These beautiful works of art are just an example of all the fine work Lacey does.

Brief History of Mark Lacey

Lacey studied and began building instruments at The London College of Furniture and Interior Design. Since then, he has worked all across the world from Norway to California. Early in his career, Lacey worked primarily repairing guitars, until he broke out on his own in 1988 and opened a custom guitar shop in Los Angeles. He currently lives in Nashville and works from home. Over the years, he has repaired instruments for many notable musical acts, such as Pink Floyd, U2 and Paul McCartney, among others. For more information about Lacey, you can visit his website.

Orpheus Model for Rich Shapero

The photos below are of two 17 inch Orpheus Models that were crafted for Rich Shapero. Shapero is a writer and musician who focuses on creating entrancing works. He has both visual and musical art available on his website. He focuses on making his thoughts and passions available for other like-minded individuals. To create his beautiful music, he needs a beautiful instrument. That's where Lacey comes in. Lacey worked to create and make a couple of guitars for Shapero. At Shapero's request they were created in vibrant colors.

To read more about all of our luthiers, including Mark Lacey, please visit our website.

Stephen Marchione Featured in Article

On June 11, luthier Stephen Marchione was featured in an article published in the Houston Chronicle's music section. The article, written by Robert Stanton, features Machione's early years and creative process. It's always excited for Fine Archtops to see one of our own in the news.

The article was written after an in-depth discussion with Marchione. He describes what goes into making one of his masterpieces, as well as how he learned to make them. He is a true craftsman and a master of his art. He's designed and created guitars for some of the finest in the business. Paul Kogut, a New York jazz guitarist composer was quoted in the article as saying:

"His guitars are special because it's a combination of the craftsmanship, and the materials are top-notch," he said. "And he's studied the whole tradition of guitar   building, even going back to studying violin techniques, drawing on centuries of knowledge."

Congratulations to Stephen Marchione on such a fantastic write up. To read the complete article, please Click Here.

To find out more about Stephen Marchione, please visit FineArchtops.com today.