You forgot the "Whiteface" Rollie 3.5F which has no grip.
It seems that the arch top guitar I custom ordered a decade ago might be ready this December. Its been perhaps 5-6 years since I paid it off our agreed upon price, but because I locked in a price early in my friend's career as a builder and creatively kinda single handedly did a kick starter to help my friend become who he is today I'll be getting a guitar that is worth about $50K.
My friend now has a back order list that covers 3 years worth of work and he now sends away new customers for repairs. I've known Cris since he was 18 years old and now he's 42. Back in the decades past I use to beat on him and yell at him, but now we are like family.
In arch top guitar building the old man (now dead) DeAngelico (only built a little more than 1,000 guitars in his lifetime) built the best hand built arch tops on Kenmare Street on the Lower Eastside; when DeAngelico died it Was Jimmy DeAquisto, Deangelico's apprentice (only built about 850 guitars in his life time) who became "the Man;" and when DeAquisto Died the Man became John Monteleone (still alive, but now an old man). Interesting to note is that Monteleone has two waiting list: the first is the "long List" which is just the waiting list for the short list which is also seven years. At the time your name comes up onto the short list a a down payment of half the price is required or you loose your spot.
Because I'm "Calzone" I took note a a guitar show that my friend Cris was getting losts of attention from some very influential people. One was a very high end vintage guitar dealer who seemed like he was grooming my friend Cris, and I observed this high end dealer spending a lot of time with Cris with a few visits to Cris' booth.
I really like this one red guitar that had been just completed for the show, and I spoke with the person who ordered it. I told Steve how much I loved the guitar, and I out of politeness asked if he would mind if I ordered one just like it. It ended up that Steve is a great-great Jazz player, but he is fin-ick-EE and kinda crazy in that he was also nit-picky.
Anyway about a week later another friend, Dave, called me and told me to call Cris if I wanted the guitar that is now known as "Red." It seems that Steve wanted changes to his brand new guitar, and realize that this was a custom guitar that was specially made for him. It got to the point where Cris said, "I already have someone who wants your guitar AS-IS, and at this point since you want all these changes it would be easier to just make you another guitar."
One of the characteristics of the best high end guitar builders is that they are slow and always cronically behind schedule, but I made a flat trade with a guitar I owned for Red. A legend began: my friend Dave kinda got mad. Dave told me, "I've been waiting for over two years for Chris to start building a guitar, and you only had to wait two weeks."
Then the original owner, Steve, had deep remorse for not keeping Red as Red got louder and fuller as she got broken in, and every time Steve saw the guitar he got sick. Cris kinda liked to see him suffer and the chat kinda spread among all the great players. LOL.
In arch top history there was this man, Scott Chinery, who was wealthy. He owned all those GNC heath food vitamins stores that are a chain, but he was also a guitar collector (now dead). About two decades ago Chinery went around to all the high end guitar builders and commissioned all of them to make a blue arch top guitar for him. He gave each builder the same can of blue nitrocellulose lacquer with basically a blank slate to create a competition between the best of the best. This collection became known as "The Blue Guitars," an art book was published to document the collection, and all these guitars were displayed at the Smithsonian. BTW Chinery even owned the original "Bat Mobile." LOL.
After I secured Red I talked with Cris about making me a "Blue" guitar a decade ago. Cris was too young and unestablished to be part of the original collection, and the idea was to commission Cris and offer a blank slate just like Chinery did to inspire innovation and creativity. Chris became inspired and got all kind of excited. I told Cris that no other customer will likely give him a blank slate, and that it would be in his own special interest to make a guitar that otherwise might not be built to establish his legacy. I in return would get a guitar that had tremendous value added, meanwhile I would be helping someone who I consider a younger brother.
About seven years ago Cris calls me because he has something to show me. I head out to Long Island to see an arch top guitar that Cris developed that has side sound holes. What is really innovative is that the side sound holes and one of the top's sound holes has a "Trap-door" that opens and closes to tune the sound and projection of the guitar. This 17 inch prototype became known as "Carmela" because it has a brown burst, and Carmela kinda created a sensation establishing Cris as the next "Man" even though it was just a prototype that was built to hone skill and be a working proof of principle.
A handful of 17 inch Trap-Door guitars got made and now they sell for $35K. One of them already was blue so now my blue guitar has been upgraded into a "Blonde" meaning a clear finish. Cris tells me the figured maple he got that is wide enough for an 18 inch Trap-Door has figure that is very 3-D and resembles shattered glass that is spectacular. The top that was hard to find wide enough has "Bear Claw" figure in it, and is 75 year old cello wood (European Spruce).
I'm kinda motivated to get my chops down, woodshed, and finally become the player I was ment to be after having a disrupted life. I don't think next winter will be so bad, even if I have to stay inside.
Cal
