An Elegant Archtop

I’ve been a player of jazz guitar since about my freshman year in high school. Moreover, I have been a fan of the amazing art of lutherie involved in building archtop guitars. One of the absolute best builders out there is a gentleman by the name of Steve Andersen out of Seattle, WA. If you are fortunate enough to have both money (not cheap) and patience (long waiting lists), I can’t recommend Steve’s work highly enough.

I had this custom guitar for several years until I decided to sell it in order to buy a sailboat. After kicking myself over the decision for years, I can’t tell you how happy I was to find it years later, owned by a reputable collector who was kind enough to sell it back to me. The natural beauty of the solid spruce top and gorgeously flamed maple back are perfectly complimented by solid ebony – hand carved with a designer’s eye for detail and aesthetics. I’ve never had a guitar that “sings” like this beautiful masterpiece.

She is quite a special instrument – Serial # 118, the first 18″ body he made, along with what I believe is one of the first graphite/ebony custom tailpieces, later only found on the “Emerald City” model.