One of my favorite things as a custom guitar builder is creating one of a kind instruments. When deciding on my next project it occured to me one day that it would be cool to build a guitar that was an ode to the country of my Heritage and so the Rhapsody Italia was born. The fingerboard and headstock inlays are Malachite, Mother of Pearl, and Red Coral to imitate the colors of the Italian flag. I also used Green, Maple, and Red Purfling on the binding to add to the Italian flag color scheme. The "Piece De Resistance" however, is the hand carved side port in the shape of a silhouette of Italy itself. This guitar is the perfect blend of old world heritage and new world design. The back is solid Honduras Rosewood which is carved and arched giving the guitar a more balanced tonal dynamic with an enhanced mid range that is missing from most flat tops. The Carved back also helps to project the sound better which results in greater volume and an enhanced tone. The top is a stellar piece of Carpathian Spruce that give the trebels that bell like quality and adds incredible sustain. The unslotted pin bridge affords a better anchoring of the string to the bridge plate which makes for a more solid and accurate tuning. Great for single line jazz, fingerstyle or flat picking the Italia has its own unique voice and is as incredible to look at as it is to play.
Specifications: 16" Body Width, 3 9/16" to 4 1/16" Tapered Sides, 1 23/32" Neck Width Honduras Mahogany Back and Sides, Carpathian Spruce Top 3 piece Mahogany Neck with Flame Maple Center Multi Ring Sound Hole Rosette with Abalone Inlays Curly Goncalo Alves with Red/Maple/Green Purfling on back and top Macassar Ebony Fingerboard, 12" RAdius, 25 1/2" Scale, 21 Frets Mother of Pearl Block Fingerboard Inlays with Malachite and Red Coral Stripes Stainless Steel Frets Macassar Ebony Headstock and Pickguard Brazilian Rosewood Pinned Bridge with Snakewood pins and Mother of Pearl Dots Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish Gotoh Delta Series 21:1 Tuners with Snakewood buttons Ultra Tonic Pickup Hand Carved Sideport of Silhouette of Italy Two Way Adjustable Truss Rod Hiscox Artist Lite Flite Case
